Day 64 - May 10, 2010

7 miles (including 30 minutes of hill intervals)

The Running Skirt....

My new running skirt arrived in the mail today. I must admit, it is not my first one. A few years ago, I noticed them at the Missoula Marathon (2007, I suppose) and thought they were cute. I bought a cheap one to try it. I wore it a few times, and although I found it comfortable while running outdoors, I did not like running in it on the treadmill, and I especially did not like stretching out or lifting weights in it afterwards. After one or two uncomfortable weight lifting experiences, I shelved the skirt.
Honestly, I didn't think too much about it. Only afterwards, did I find out the running skirt was such a hot topic. Bring it up with any runner, and they will likely have an opinion, and a strong one. I tried to explain to Pete the other day, on our long run, that it is a topic as controversial as other popular running debate topics, like, taking walk breaks, barefoot running, or Dean Karnazes.
I must give you the background on my history with shorts, before I explain why I decided to buy it. With the exception of running shorts, I very, very, rarely wear shorts. Obviously, if you know me, I am not one to dress up, but I do usually wear skirts in the summer. I'm not talking fancy, I'm talking about cheap cotton knee length skirts with a t-shirt. I guess it goes back to when Pete and I went to Italy in 2002. I was very heavy. For those of you who did not know me at that time, I'm not talking about 20 pounds. I was close to 80 pounds overweight. We went in the middle of summer, and it was very hot. It is no secret that I am not a very fashion minded person. I try to blend in, and be comfortable. I like jeans and t-shirts, and at that time, if it was hot, I wore shorts. It only took me about fifteen minutes in Italy, to realize I was the only one, in the entire country, in shorts. Even the other tourists knew better. Let's just say, I did not feel very attractive, running around in my Yankee shorts, showing off chubby white legs, sweat dripping from everywhere. Ever since that trip, shorts have left me with a bad feeling.
Running shorts, on the other hand, are very practical, and who cares if you are attractive or not when you are running? You are supposed to be sweaty, smelly and working hard. The last thing I want to do is turn my favorite sport into a pageant. I've never showed up at a gym with makeup and perfume, even back when I was single. I actually went to a women's only gym when I was single (okay, so I might have fancied up a bit at that time, had men been in attendance), because when I am working out, that is usually what I am trying to escape. I don't want to worry about looking attractive; I want to get strong. That is one thing I really like about running. You can measure your success on how much faster you run, or how much further you made it, instead of how many pounds you lose. For me, a woman who has struggled with her weight her whole life, that is so empowering. It feels great to take time to use my body, instead wasting time worrying about what other people think when they see it.
So, if running shorts work for me, why would I bother with the skirt? Maybe I still can't get over the Italy incident, but really I just want to look cute for my husband on our anniversary. It is that simple. I understand I am going to be smelly, grimacing, and probably cursing as well, but, I must admit, when I tried on my new skirt tonight, I felt sort of feminine and cute. I thought, why not?
Well, I can come up with one really good reason why not...I'll definitely be doing some trial runs with it, but if I find it comfortable, I am going to go for it in July! Heartfelt apologies to Melinda, and all running skirt haters:)
I'll be sure to give the details after the first trial run!