Athletic Running/Walking Wear for Athenas

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say larger women (and by larger I mean women whose BMI would classify them as overweight/obese) who shun exercise do so because it can be so dadgum uncomfortable. I speak from painful personal experience; over a year ago, when I began exercising, I could not walk more than 2 miles at a 20 minute/mile pace on a treadmill, I could not pedal my bike up a 15% grade hill even in my granny gear, and five minutes on the elliptical was my max. More to the point, I had parts that bounced so violently as to cause bruising, I lived in fear of chafing, and at the end of a workout my hair and body were completely soaked with sweat. (And this was in February).

The long and short of the matter is, it really doesn't have to be that way. Good exercise gear goes a long way toward making you comfortable and getting yourself out of your own way. I have some recommendations, based on my own experiences. Here they are, in order of importance.

1) A GOOD SPORTS BRA. I am a 36DDD, so I speak from experience here. This is a must, and it will make an enormous difference in your comfort level. "Good" depends entirely on the sport. For anything at all high impact, such as running or tennis, there's only one word: ENELL. Yes, they are hella expensive, ugly, and hard to put on, but once you do, NOTHING MOVES. Yep, it's true. For lower impact sports like cycling, yoga, racewalking, and such, I love Moving Comfort. I love Moving Comfort so much, I wear them for everyday undergarments. These two companies took me from painful bruising to not thinking about my boobs at all during exercise. If that isn't a ringing endorsement I don't know what is.

2) SHOES THAT FIT YOUR PERSONAL FEET. For the love of all that is holy, please. Do NOT go to a discount shoe store and stick your feet in the cushiest shoes you can find. Do NOT go to your local mall's Lady Foot Locker. Those people know bupkis. Instead, go immediately to your local running store and tell them what you intend to do with your feet (walk a 5k? run a trail marathon? skip to the grocery store three times a week?). If they don't assess your gait, find a store that does. Once they've listened to you and watched you walk or run, they should bring out a number of different shoes and let you try them on and do your thing in each of them. If they don't, find a store that does. Then, pick the shoes that feel the best on your feet out of the ones they've recommended. Buy them; price should not be an issue, as good shoes will make or break you. Once you've found your shoe, buy new ones every few hundred miles.

3) DRY WICKING SOCKS. Do you know how much sweat your feet put out daily? About two tablespoons. If you wear cotton socks, that water will stay near your feet, keeping them cold, damp, and prone to blisters. Do NOT wear cotton socks. Get some socks with dry wicking capability.

4) COMPRESSION CAPRIS OR TIGHTS. Now, I know what you're thinking. "Spandex? On my ass? No thank you." I ask you to reconsider. There is nothing worse than shorts creep. Except for maybe chafing between your thighs. Neither is pleasant, you'd agree. I have yet to have a problem with either since I invested in compression running capris. C9 by Champion (available at Target) are reasonably priced (twenty bucks) and work reasonably well for the novice run/walker. Again, no cotton. Cotton kills. If you live in fear of people seeing your butt jiggle, layer shorts over compression capris or tights if you must. Me? I don't give a rip.

5) TECHNICAL TEE. What's wrong with an old cotton tee? Go walk/run ten miles in one in 70degree weather and then get back to me. They get clammy and heavy and the seams can cause underarm chafing. (Ask me how I know). Technical tees are available for not much money (ten bucks) at Target. They make you so much more comfortable. Consider it an investment in yourself.

6) HYDRATION SYSTEM. This can be as simple as a handheld bottle with a handstrap (2 bucks at WalMart) or as complex as a hydration waistpack (fifty plus bucks), but you will need to replace fluids. As they say in the Army, "hydrate or die."

Really, that's what you need to avoid unnecessary pain and suffering while exercising as an Athena.

Metrics: March 27, 2011

10.2 miles, 15.10 minute/mile. Tired. Tiiiiired. But now that I'm in the double digits, it's all good from here.

Metrics: March 13, 2011

8.4 miles, 2:12. 15.40 min/mile.

weight: 199.6. WOOT!!!!

half mary in 8 weeks.

first ride on the new bike. man is that thing fast. and I didn't even clip in yet.

Metrics: March 3, 2011

2 miles, 29 minutes. 14.5 minute/mile.

30 pounds down. WOOT!

resting heart rate: 62

blood pressure: 118/72

recommendation from doctor: "if you want to lose more for looks, fine. if not, don't worry about the scale. your numbers are great. keep doing what you're doing."

bike: 2007 Specialized Dolce Sport, carbon fork and seatpost, Look clipless pedals, Cateye computer with cadence monitor, Specialized shoes. $580. (everything I ever wanted I found on Craigslist).

first duathlon of the season: June 12, 2011. South Shore Duathlon. run 2 mi/bike 10mi/run 2mi. Time goal TBD, but I think it will be 1:30.

My Husband: or, Why I Can Go Farther Than I Think I Can

Last Sunday was a training "run" for my half marathon in May. (Note: I do not anticipate running the entire time, but am training to complete the distance before the time cutoff. I know there are people out there who don't believe this "counts." They can kiss my grits.) I needed to do seven miles. This is the longest I've ever run/walked, and I wasn't sure that I could do it without considerable pain and suffering.

Ah, but I forgot my secret weapon: my dear Sweetness.

My intervals were thusly: 5 minute warm up walk, 90 seconds run/90 seconds walk, 2 minutes run/2 minutes walk. Rinse, repeat, ad nauseum. He was right there with me the whole time, even after mile 6, when I was pulling it out of somewhere I didn't know I had. He told me my form was good, how much I'd improved, how impressed he was with my ability to run through to the end of the interval, navigate the snow and ice piles, hills, whatnot. And when my mp3 player ran out of juice, he cued my walk/run intervals.

I did seven miles in a little less than 2 hours. Ran the last stretch into the driveway. Felt really good at the end.

And couldn't have done it without him.

Steve Cullen Healthy Heart 8k, February 12, 2011

8k is 4.97 miles. It's very funny, they put a 5 mile marker just a few steps past the finish so you can do a "five miler."

This was a great run. It's put on by the Badgerland Striders. While warming up, I met a nice lady from Shorewood who beautifully summed up the atmosphere at a Striders event: "the normal people run here, not the high tech really fast people at the RACC races."

She was right. All kinds of people, not a lot of competition. Mostly just a good excuse to drink beer and eat chili at the end.

Again it was unseasonably warm, about 36 degrees. I wore tights, a singlet and a long sleeve shirt over it, and Injinjis and the Brooks Wondershoes, and wished I hadn't worn the singlet about a mile in. My first and last miles were slow (18 and 19, respectively, the first because I got stuck behind some people and was horsing around with my mp3 player, the last because I was tired and it was uphill), but miles 2-4 were at a nice 13-14 minute/mile pace. Sweetness came back to find me (he finished in less than 50, that speed demon) and finished with me.

I was the last official finisher, but there were three unofficial behind me. Not that it matters. The lady who finished right before me was a walk-runner too, and very nice. I'm sure I'll see her around at other events.

After, Sweetness treated me to coffee and a seven layer bar. OOOoooh, I hadn't had one of those in years. Yum.

And then, I went home and registered for the half marathon in Kenosha in May. Y'know, just to keep myself moving.

February Is Freeze Yer Buns Off Month

Apparently. It's so cold my nose hairs freeze when I walk outside. Brrrr.

Sweetness tells me that the weather forecast for our 8K on Saturday is 34 and sunny. Dang, I hope so!

Also up for the weekend: Candlelight snowshoeing at Pike Lake State Park, followed by what I am almost certain will be an embarrassment of marginally nutritive food eaten. But hey, I eat all my Weight Watcher points, snowshoeing for 2 hours earns me more than I can usually eat in a day . . AND I lose a pound to a pound and a half per week. So there.

A couple of non-scale victories: new undergarments in a smaller band and cup size, and new running jackets, size large (down from XXL just a few short years ago). My "skinny" jeans are getting loose. Buying "all new" is not my forte, I just don't like dropping a huge bunch of cash all at once, but Sweetness says it's all good, and my trip to the outlet mall with my bestie helped.

Speaking of my bestie, her birthday's tomorrow, and I have to get her present. Peace out.