Welcome! This Blog is run by two amazing lady runners who don't fit into a box.

Chrys:
I am a runner who does NOT fit into the stereotypical body type of a runner. I have hips, a bum, thighs, and breasts. I jiggle all over the place no matter how much spandex I put on, and my gut usually hangs over my shorts. I work in the mental health field, and have a passion for inciting outrage regarding the media's portrayal of women, their bodies, and their abilities. I am a beautiful woman who sometimes struggles to remember it. I am a runner who sometimes feels more like a slogger.

And

Rachel:
I have the spirit of a runner inside me that just won't let me quit- no matter how much I sometimes would like to! Physically, I certainly have many of the things Chrys mentions up there- hips, thighs, bum, boobs, tummy, all of it- and Lord knows all of it likes to jiggle around while I do just about anything, especially running! I am passionate about body image, the Health at Every Size & Size Acceptance movements, and love finding inspiration in as many places as possible. Working as a therapist, one of my personal goals is to live as in-line with my values as I possibly can- this blog is one of the ways I figure all that out.

Join us on out adventures in running and ramblings on Body Image.

Sunday, May 31, 2015

You are smart. Your plans are solid.

Today, I was reminded of the importance of preparation when doing a “long run.”  For me, a long run is currently anything more than about 5 miles.  What is considered a “long run” is certainly VERY different for each individual.  Today, my plan was for 10-12 miles.

I started off my run SUPER well prepared.  I have been struggling with the humidity that living in Louisiana during rainy season brings, so I had frozen two bottles of water overnight, and set them out on the front porch as I started, with plans to loop back around mile 5-6 for a water break and to re-fill my fuel belt.  I then planned to swing back by the house around mile 10 for another water break/refill and either take the dog for a walk or take her with me to finish my last two miles, depending on how I was holding up. 

I did really good with my usual pre-run preparation.  I had a protein bar, and gave it about an hour to digest before getting started.  During that time I drank an energy drink (my current normal morning routine whether I am running or not, since it’s just too warm for coffee!), and I even remembered to take my inhaler well before setting out, giving it it’s optimal 30 min to get to work before I started challenging my lungs. 

I was all set!

I should have stuck to my plan! Around mile 2.5-3, I decided I could keep going on, as I had only JUST tapped into the second of my three water bottles on my fuel belt.  Around mile 4, I decided that I should just go ahead turn around at mile 5ish.  I would get to turn around at one of my favorite turn around points, and I would get home just in time to take the dog out.  Perfect, right?!?!  Well… it WOULD have been, if I didn’t run out of water around mile 6 (remember?  Right around when I would have been stopping home for a refill?) and had just turned around not too long ago.  By mile 7, I knew I wasn’t going to make it to 10 miles without water, and cut my route short to head home.  Around mile 7.5 (2 hours in), I realized I never used any of my honey gels.  I usually take them around 45-60 min in, and then every 45 min or so from there. 

Wait a sec.  So I am battling the heat, out of water, and on mile 7 having only had a protein bar for fuel?!?!  Yup.  I am that smart. 

So, here I am, having done 8.25 miles instead of 10-12, having not walked the dog, and feeling silly for not having prepared.  Let this be a lesson to us all (and hopefully mostly to me! I do tend to learn things the hard way…. Several times over.) 


Be prepared! Stick to your plan!  It is always ok to deviate from a plan, especially if you are having an extra difficult time, facing the possibility of injury, or other such things, but you are probably a pretty smart person, and your plan is probably pretty solid.  It is there for a reason.  Try to follow it.  

Thursday, May 21, 2015

How I Fell in Love With Taylor Swift: A Manifesto

OK. So ‪#‎TaylorSwift‬. OMG. So much OMG.

For years, she was just some chick who made some decent music. Whatevs.
Then some of my friends became obsessed with shake it off. Ok. Cool. This is a fun song.

Then. Then! Then I saw the Shake It Off video!!!! It made me super crazy happy. She wasn't taking herself too seriously. She was having FUN! It wasn't super sexy or super anything. It was just FUN and celebrated different types of dance and was just FUN! I fell in love with Shake it Off.
Just a few weeks after that, I first heard Blank Space, via a video she did with BBC1 I believe, which was basically an extended selfie of her and a DJ (?) singing and dancing around in the car. What? I do that! A LOT! Rather exuberantly! And the song itself. She is clearly poking fun at her reputation and being tongue and cheek. So fun! Plus its a super fun song and it reminds me a little of some of my relationships when I was younger.

Shortly after this, I purchased the album on iTunes, and really enjoyed the majority of it. So, when it came to be that she would be kicking off the US leg of her 1989 World Tour in little ol' Bossier City, LA, where I recently relocated, and my friends wanted to go, I was IN! I haven't been to a show in ages. I haven't been to an ARENA show in WAY ages. I haven't been to a POP show since..... ummmm.... New Kids on the Block.

But here it is. I am a 33 year old woman, super psyched about going to a Tay-Sway concert, complete with rockin' my 80's-i-fied puffy painted shirt.

The concert last night BLEW ME AWAY. I LOVED IT.

Two things that REALLY stood out to me were that a) when her hair got messed up, she left it there, b) while all the same basic size and shape, there was actually a good amount of diversity in her "backup" dancers. c) She was really in the moment and, while I am sure it was super scripted, seemed to talk from the heart.

She talked about how she has a lot of amazing friends right now - her friends, family, fans, etc. She talked about how music has helped her get through the rough times in life, and in a way that legit seemed real. She talked about not fitting in. About how, even being on an amazing tour, selling a gajillion records, etc, THAT hasn't made her happy. That learning to be herself and embrace who she is at any given time, even as it changes, is what lets her be happy in life.

Taylor Swift. I wish you were my friend. I wish I had as good a head on myself at age 25 as you do. Even if you don't believe half the stuff coming out of your mouth, it will sink in as you keep saying it, and (this sounds terrible, but I kinda think this is even more important), it will sink in to the minds and hearts of the millions of young people that listen to your music, go to your concerts, and follow you on all the social media.

Yeah. Some of the sexualization bothered me, with the young audience. But lets be honest, most of it probably went over their heads. Yeah, you feed the "fairytale" stereotype that I don't believe is healthy. But you are an amazing woman, and I adore your freaking face. (I wanted to say "self" but the consonance of "face" just was too good!)

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Fitness Blogger Photoshops Her Body In Real-Time In Response To Hateful Comments, and Has Me on the Verge of Tears

Well... that time has come again.  It's been over a year, and the desire to re-dedicate myself to this blog is running strong.  I have several ideas bouncing around my head, but today will be a short and heartfelt post.

My friend recently posted this video to facebook on my wall.  Had she not, and had only tagged me in it, I would have posted it to my wall myself.  I watched it and legit almost cried.  Then my friends commented on the post, and I almost cried so many times over again.

The response to this video surprised me.  There were people who I expected it to resonate with, due to their jobs, their passions, or their life experiences.  There were also people who I would never have expected it to resonate with, but who it did.  Who then decided to take the risk to open up in a (semi-)public forum about their reactions and their own inner most feelings.  Responses from people who are thin and not.  Responses from people who are male and female.

I am so proud to have the friends I have.  I am so proud to be where I am in my life.  I have so much farther to go.  So many more things to experience, and so many more ways I hope to grow.  Recent changes in my life have highlighted that in so many ways, and this video, along with the response from my friends, has reminded me that I am able to share these things in a public forum, and that maybe I can lend strength to others in the process.

I don't use the word "love" lightly.  But I love so many of you.  For your strengths and weaknesses, for your perfections and your flaws, for your experiences that have shaped you and the experiences yet to come, because I share them with you or I can learn from you via them.

I am clearly waxing rather sentimental at this time.  There may be more of that to come.  Hope you don't mind.... and... well... if you do, then you don't have to read my wonderful blog that I share with a wonderful smart introspective woman.