The Race Shirt Controversy

I'm linking up with Erika for TOTR!

It's easy to pick out new runners at races; 90% of the time, they're the ones wearing the race's shirt.

Now honestly, I don't find this topic controversial, but I do have a pretty strong opinion on it for myself. When I signed up for my first race, I wore the race's t-shirt because the race organizers asked us to...and it was cotton, to boot.

Since then, I developed the sneaking feeling that I shouldn't wear the shirt until I'd earned it by beginning - and hopefully finishing - the race.

It's also how I felt about owning any kind of 13.1 or 26.2 paraphernalia or putting the distance stickers on my car before I'd completed those races.

There are other, more valid reasons to save the race shirt until after race day.

1. I don't do anything new on race day. It's a good rule for a reason; you have no idea if that new shirt will chafe, bleed color, or otherwise bother you until you've tested it out! Even for a short race, I prefer to wear my tried-and-true racing clothes.

One exception to this rule: I bought this tank top the night before Cape Coral because I knew it would be too hot NOT to wear white. I didn't regret it. 

2. Some shirts aren't the right style. Many winter races give out long-sleeved shirts, but it's often in the 70s or warmer on race day! And quite a few races give out cotton shirts, which I absolutely won't run in anymore. Not to mention that I prefer tank tops and very rarely run in any kind of sleeved shirt; I find them annoying.

Space Coast was a November race and their shirts were long-sleeved, but the race-day temperature was in the mid-70s!

3. I put a lot of thought into my race outfits. I spend good money on my cute running clothes and I debate multiple outfits before leaving the house on race day. I factor in temperature, humidity, the possibility of rain, whether it will be partially-cloudy...I'm not going to eschew my perfectly planned, color-coordinated racing ensemble in favor of the race shirt!

Just a few "Flat-Ali" pictures. Laying it all out is imperative to planning. The bottom three are each of my marathon outfits!

4. It's not good fashion. You don't wear the shirt of the band you're seeing to the concert, you know? The same rule-of-fashion applies to races. 

Okay, that last one isn't really a valid reason, but it's how I feel!

The truth is that I rarely wear race shirts for anything other than lounging around the house or coaching volleyball. Someday I'll get them made into a quilt, but it hasn't been a priority.

I know plenty of experienced, talented runners who wear the race shirt on race day, but for me, it just never felt right!

Where do you stand on the controversy?

What do you do with all your race shirts?

ABK

PS: Skirt Sports is having their Spring Sweeps giveaway! It's really easy to enter, and they'll be giving away a $100 gift card every day until March 30.

Click here to enter!

Body Acceptance

I recently read an article that attempted - awkwardly and unsuccessfully - to promote "body acceptance". After some reflection, I think maybe the article itself wasn't the problem; my outlook is.

You see, there's a fine line between accepting your body and ignoring it. Or maybe I should say "neglecting" it. After a drastic rise in eating disorders in the 90s and early 2000s, partly (and superficially) blamed on the "heroin chic" look of models, we've finally come to a point when young women are encouraged to accept their bodies and treat them well.

This is the kind of body acceptance I can happily get behind.

And of course I'm delighted and supportive of this. Like many women - hell, like many human beings - eating disorders have touched my life in many ways. I don't write this with flippancy, and I don't take the issue lightly either.

But I am uncomfortable with the fact that suddenly any encouragement of healthy lifestyles seems to fall into one end of the spectrum or the other. We see women and men forcing themselves to exercise beyond what is necessary or deemed healthy; we also see them turning their back on any kind of self-improvement and hiding behind "body acceptance".

Should we accept our bodies? That shouldn't even be a question. Our bodies are fascinating machines; they work in ways that, to me, sometimes seem almost magical. It's mind-blowing to know the details of how our systems work to moderate our breathing, our temperature, our blood-flow, our energy...How can anyone look at the trillions of cells working in harmony to create a human body not find it miraculous?

Nature and its inner workings never fail to leave me awe-struck.

Our bodies are capable of amazing things. Running has taught me that. History has taught me that. We are physically able to do so much, and we are only here living our lives because we have a body to live in. Our bodies deserve to be treated well, taken care of, and respected. This means our bodies deserve exercise.

So why do I feel so uncomfortable with "body acceptance"? It's probably because these days that seems to be a euphemism for avoiding exercise. More and more I'm seeing this weird battle about what makes a woman a "real" woman. It started as a way to empower those that didn't fit the ideal, which is something like 95% of us. But it's become an "us vs. them" mentality. To hear the rhetoric, either you're thin, fit, and smug about it, or you're overweight, sassy, and proud.

Exactly. Whatever floats your boat, ladies and gentlemen.

Fat-shaming and prejudice is despicable, whether a person is fat due to simple inactivity and overeating or a glandular disorder. I believe in loving our bodies as they are; I also believe in self-improvement.

I believe in pushing yourself to see what you can really be. I believe in testing the paradigms we surround ourselves with in order to test and realign our world-view and our idea of "normal".

Why is this a desirable mindset?

There has to be a balance between accepting our bodies, loving our bodies, and improving our bodies.

This is the same reason I feel uncomfortable when people talk about exercise as a form of bodily punishment, as if their body is a disappointment or a wayward animal that needs to be brought to heel.

Exercise has taught me to love and accept my body, not because it has changed my body, but because it has changed my mind.

I'm afraid I've written this whole thing and have no answers for myself. How do we balance body acceptance and improvement? How do we seek to "fix" ourselves while still loving ourselves? Why does "body acceptance" have to mean neglecting making healthy exercise and food choices?

I don't think it should.

And because I believe in staying positive, and I need to remind myself that not everyone out there has such a skewed outlook on health and what bodies "should" look like, here are links to two excellent articles about bodies and weight.

The Different Body Types of Olympic Athletes

Female Bodies: A Weighty Issue

What does "body acceptance" mean to you?
What are your thoughts on finding balance?

ABK