Why Running is Important to Fashion

Running is critical to fashion.

"Ummmm...?" you say?

Season after season, show after show, pin after pin, and every time I see someone on the street that gives me pause, I've come to realize something. Fashion is about knowing your strengths and taking chances.

Sure, we have our uniforms. Designers, especially, are famous for theirs. Donna and Karl prefer sleek black. Dame Vivienne hasn't wavered - in 30+ years - from wearing that which she designs. Regular people, too, find what works and stick with it: a shape, a fabric, a color.

And then, one day, they - and we - try something different. We see something, are inspired by something, and decide to play.

Sometimes playing comes easily, and it works. Sometimes, the play feels uncomfortable, and it falls short.

Wish I knew where the image was from...

If you've been following me for a while, you know about the #healthyme journey I started in 2012. I started not because I wanted to play, or even because I was inspired. I started because I was unhappy and didn't feel good.

Well, my friends, it turns out playing does wonders for the physical and emotional souls.

You see, somewhere along the line, I learned to play, thanks in large part to my work with TrainerJen. I took a chance, helpless, almost, and willing to try anything, and she coached me into bear crawls and leaps and jumps.

And running.

She claims, actually, that I told her we could do anything she wanted - except running. I have no recollection of that brash statement, but apparently, I made it.

And then, about a year later, I took it back. Little voices started speaking to me, telling me to go for a run. They were kinda like those voices that claim you should try the fancy sweatshirt trend even though you don't think you like it and in fact you really despise it because you did it already in 1987. Then those voices keep repeating themselves every time you walk past the rack at Target and you think, "Well, maybe, it's kinda cute...but I can't."

"I can't run. I hate running."

"Well, if I'm going to try a trend, I might as well try it from Target, where it's not going to cost me as much."

"Going for a run won't cost me anything but time outside. And those voices."

So a year ago now, I went for a run. And then I signed up for races, and ran at least a mile for 64 out of 65 days straight. And now I'm willing to try almost anything, athletically or sartorially, because you never know what will work or make you stronger or happier or healthier. You never know what muscles you'll learn to flex and what new heights playing will take you to.

All of this is really warm up. Because I'm about to be a running pusher. You see, TrainerJen has a new program, and it kicks off this Monday night. She's hosting a Spreecast Webinar to talk about why everyone should consider adding running to their fitness program.

And no, the only reasons to add running are not just in case of zombie attack or to be able to wear a Viktor & Rolf gown.

But they're pretty good ones.

What: Why Everyone Should Run Webinar
Why: Zombies and gowns and playdates, oh my!
When: Monday, March 11, 7:30pm
Where: online - Spitfire Fitness Arts' facebook page has the details

Healthy Style: Black Friday Workout - Training to Shop

I did my...


Suicide sprints - for beating the crowds when I spot The Item

Medicine ball tosses - for reaching the top shelf

Farmer walks with weights - to be able to manage my haul

Did you...?

_______

In reality, I have zero interest in Black Friday shopping. Zero. I'll find presents for the people I want to give presents to, and they may or may not be on sale. If I score a deal, great. But I am not getting up at the crack of dawn - or not going to bed on Thanksgiving night, as people do nowadays, to get The Item.

What we will be doing today is loading up the car and driving north to my mommy's. We'll have a whirlwind drive up, stopping at a hometown favorite Italian place that used to be a takeout sub shop for The Best Cheesesteak Ever, visiting an amazing hometown museum, the Brandywine River Museum, to see their Christmas displays (and for me to get all wistful about Chester County, PA), and then enjoy a quiet Saturday running around outside at Grandmom and Pop-Pop's house.

We'll play in their driveway, make friends with their new dog, and imagine with the dollhouse that used to be mine. We'll revel in the quiet of "the country."

It'll be at least 10 degrees colder there, so I'll have an extra layer or two, but my uniform will be the same as today: skinnies, a top, and moccasins or riding boots. There is literally no need to look even presentable this weekend. Which is sometimes a joy.

Video thanks to TrainerJen, who had this crazy idea for a collaboration. And so we did. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would not be where I am with out the wisdom, grace, and guidance Jen has shared with me. I am thankful that she took the leap 10 years ago and started her personal training journey, and that her Spitfire Fitness Arts is what it is. Thank you.

Healthy Style: Of Flannel PJs, Sexy Underthings, and Other Small Victories

For anyone who's followed me on twitter lately, you've seen that I've been a big. fat. crankypants. Well, as part of that, and similar to when I had my epiphany a while back that my level of activity has a direct correlation to my mood, I've realized that the journaling I've done on this #healthyme journey (by way of my Weight Watchers blog, mostly) has also been critical to my mood.

Guess what?

I hadn't been journaling lately.

Now, I'm not saying this is the sole factor in my State of Crankypants, but it certainly is A Factor. So this morning, after I got done with a regular DayJob meeting, I re-started that journaling. And this is what I wrote, edited just a bit.

i'm going to start with my maintenance "Non-Scale Victories."

1: i've stayed w/in +llb and -4lb of goal weight. (WW recommends +/- 2lbs of your goal weight)

2: i purposely haven't taken my measurements (am waiting til the end of the formal 6 weeks of WW "maintenance"), but i still need to buy new/tailor old clothes, even the ones i bought prior to san diego.

3: i bought pretty cozy snowflake pajama pants. in an "S." they make me happy when i put them on every day after work.

Target Gilligan & O'Malley Women's Flannel Pajama Pant

4: i very happily bought sexy underthings. and new "regular" underwear, to replace the in-some-cases-nearly-10yo pairs in my drawer (seriously, VS cotton underwear, and in particularly, the PINK stuff, is SOLID)

5: since hitting my goal weight and going on "maintenance," i've had lots of pictures taken of me, and i didn't hate any of them. most of them, i loved. if you remember, this was part of what got me onto this #healthyme path to begin with.

6: i've maintained my commitment to stay active. i've been to a formal activity (gym, yoga, gym class) at least 2x/week, mostly 3x/week.

Image via

7: i am stronger and more flexible. i'm finally getting into up dog(ish) and was one of the few people in a sort of muscle/power/cardio class i went to on monday who shook her booty while doing the moves. it's something trainerjen has been trying to get me to do since february.

8: my default is fruit and vegetables, rather than cookies and ice cream. this doesn't mean i don't have the latter, but it does mean that i'm more apt to pick the former. my dinner/cooking default is also fruit/veg.

Image via

9: i'm shifting to whole foods, vice "reduced fat/sugar" processes ones. translation: butter vice smart balance. regular cheese vice reduced fat. and then watching the amounts. i'm using my fat and protein more mindfully.

10: i'm getting more sleep. we won't discuss this further, lest it become a goal discussion. but i'm getting more sleep.

11: i'm watching less tv. this translates to more time with the beans, whether chasing each other around the house, doing 7 puzzles at once (we did this the other night), baking scones to take to a dear friend, or just plain old reading side-by-side (they with their books, me with mine).

Image via

12: i survived halloween w/in healthy weight range

13: i'm going to be in a video. on the interwebs. it's just a teeny one, a bit of a spoof, but the person who asked me to collaborate on it rocks. i'm keeping the rest of it secret for now, until it's "release." most importantly, i wasn't the least bit negatively self-concious, only self-aware in the best of wasy such that i was a little bit silly and fairly present.

yup. 13. because i'm taking on the world. watch out.

now i feel better.

Healthy Style: Ooops! I Did It Again, OR Being a Warrior, and Not in the Way You Think

It's been a while since my last #healthyme update. In some ways, I'm much farther along in this journey than I ever imagined I'd be. And I've also learned, acknoweldged, and accepted, that while I've had some incredible "non-scale victories" lately, like walking into Nolita boutiques during #BeanintheBigApple and just picking up a dress, trying it on, and having it fit without batting an eyelash, or looking forward to buying more than shoes and accessories at the District Sample Sale in a few weeks, this is truly a lifelong journey. Readers and online friends have been incredibly kind and receptive when I've shared. So I thought I'd share a little bit more. So here's where I am, today.

This image, by Steven Meisel of Karolina Kurkova from US Vogue 2004 (via), is, to me, a picture of pure, graceful, and vulnerable warrior strength. Read on, and I'll explain.

I lowered my Weight Watchers goal weight 3 more pounds. This is now the 3rd time I've lowered my goal weight.

I've thought a lot about this. A LOT.

I hope I've challenged myself and my assumptions and my perceptions and my processing of others' comments about how I shouldn't lose any more weight and I should be careful and, and, and... Because no matter what I'd love to say about how important those comments are to me (preferably not so important), they are. Very.

A sage, strong woman I've met in the Weight Watchers Online community (and, who, by the way, butchers some of her own meat and fly fishes; she is my hero) described her "happy place" this way: "xxlbs, which means no muffin top in the size x skinnies, and I can't pinch an inch." xes because the number is not important. It really isn't. It is, however, important to me that there's no "dent" at the top of a fitted pant, that my VPL are not from a too-tight thong waist, and that when I wear a fitted knit dress, there's no bumpy stuff on either side of my bra. Vanity is reality.

It's also about health. It's also about sense of self. It's also about feeling and being strong. It's also about being patient and kind to my Self. It's also about being a warrior.

I was lucky enough to get an inadvertent private yoga session today with TrainerJen. Let's just say getting to yoga is long overdue for me. I struggled. Well, my brain wanted to struggle. And so TrainerJen kept reminding me to use my breath, let my breath carry me, and to just let the chatter be (because the brain will chatter, so no use in working to get rid of it).

I teetered. I tottered. My breath caught in places I didn't want it to. I couldn't get my chest to open up, or my heart to soar. And we repeated sequences over and over, opening a little more with each caught breath, returning to each breath, and shifting a hip, an elbow, a chin, or a shoulder to find that place where, as TrainerJen reminded me, "you don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders."

That one is hard.

On and off throughout the session, I noticed that my breath and eyes were nearing a sob. That's not unusual for me in a yoga session. I don't suppose it's unusual or unexpected for a lot of people. For whatever reason, it didn't come. And that's just fine.

After the last Om and namaste, we chatted. We chatted about what it means to be a warrior. There's an assumption in our western world that "warrior" equals "aggressor." Instinctually, I know that's not the case. A warrior is patient, noble, strong, and deliberate. A warrior acknowledges her strength and her self. A warrior understands her softer places and her vulnerable places, then builds those places into her strength.

A warrior also understands that help - and accepting help - is a loving gesture. That, perhaps, is the toughest thing to acknowledge, for me. My shoulders want to carry the world. Whether they take that upon themselves on their own, because I'm me, or whether our lives have taught them that, I'm not sure. But I'm going to try to acknowledge my limits, and patiently accept even my own help, in the form of deliberate, noble, strong steps. Those steps can be simple: making a list and checking things off one by one. Those steps can be complicated: asking for help from a place that has strings attached. But I'm going to do it.

And with that acceptance, and that sense of my warrior self, I will continue faithfully on this path of physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Warrior, heal thyself.

Guest Post: TrainerJen on The Zen Art of Running Like Phoebe

A while back, in anticipation of an actual vacation, I asked a few online friends if they would be so kind as to "pen" a guest post for me while I'm away. I realized after the fact that the women I've asked all have voices that have become important to me - all for different reasons. So I'd like to share them with you.

I've made a lot of this #healthyme thing. And I could not have done it without TrainerJen. Jen, who owns Spitfire Fitness Arts as well as training clients at a local gym and teaching yoga at studios in the DC area, has been a rock for me. A rock that has taught me everything she writes in the post below. Case in point, the guy who "attempted to make gym contact" (you know the type) by joking that he thought I had lost a contact or something. I was doing bear walks and crab crawls across the gym floor. Here's what she has to say.

“…you don’t care if people are staring cause it’s just for a second, then you’re gone.” Phoebe Buffay, Friends, “The One Where Phoebe Runs”

Close friends, Rachel and Phoebe, meet in Central Park for a run. Phoebe tells Rachel to go ahead and get started running while she ties her shoe. “I’ll catch up.” Phoebe says.

Rachel has found her pace and breathing rhythm, when Phoebe passes Rachel shouting, “That’s not running! Come on!”

Phoebe flails and lopes away. Rachel drops her head in embarrassment.

This happens in a 1999 episode of the tv show, Friends. It has become such an iconic metaphor for doing something your own way.

In April, DC Celine wrote about the episode in her post, Style Challenge: Running in Central Park, Lion's Breath, and Spiders. Just a few days before that, I had posted a video clip of the episode on a friend’s Facebook page because he was heading out for a run for the first time in years.

Training for 10 years in DC gyms, I have seen so many people taking fitness far too seriously. I see people doing the exact same routine on machines day and day out They seem to have become machines themselves. Other people shy away from trying new movements because they are afraid of what others will think of them.

Phoebe has so much to teach us about living. Here are 5 things I learned from her running style.

Who Cares What Others Think
Humans are meant to evolve. In order to do that, someone has to try something unique. They must stand out. Concern with what other’s think stifles evolution and growth for ourselves and for the whole of humanity.

We can never really know what someone else thinks anyway, so we are concerning ourselves with something we cannot control. Doing our own thing is something we can control. Daring to stand out becomes the act of a warrior.

Running Is Natural
Kids, from the time they can stand, run as much as they walk. They would probably run even more if fearful adults stopped shouting, “No running!” all the time.

Kids don’t have to be taught how to do run. There is no hesitation or worry about doing it right. There is something or someone they want to get to quickly, so they just run. No thought --emotion compels kids to run. Phoebe runs because running is one of the most human acts there is. She celebrates her humanity.

Stop Working Out and Start Playing
Can you imagine a 5-year-old running on a treadmill? It would not take long before they either started to complain, play with the controls or make up games on the machine.

Sometime in grade school, play becomes work. All the life and liberty of movement is forced out. When adults get on a treadmill, we put on earphones, watch TV or read to distract from the monotony of working out on machines.

Back to our episode - Rachel finally decides to give Phoebe’s running method a try, she exclaims, “I feel so free and so graceful!” She is filled with energy and vitality – just like Phoebe.

Be Present with Your Body
I dare you to run like Phoebe and think about your to do list at the same time. The moment you start thinking about something else, you would likely fall into a mechanical, droning jog.

To maintain the Phoebe run you have to concentrate. You have to pay attention. You have to become present with what your body is doing and feeling.

Change Your Thinking
“You have to let it all go, Neo--fear, doubt, disbelief. Free your mind.” Morpheus, The Matrix

Lawrence Fishburn’s voice saying, “Free your mind.” often runs in my mind as a mantra. When, we become attached to what we are able to do/not do, we define ourselves by these limits. “I’m not a runner.” “I don’t dance.” “I can never sing.” We create our own Matrix.

Let go of your old ways of thinking. To run like Phoebe, you have to free your mind to create a new way of moving. When you begin to do that, you discover that you are far more capable of doing things than you thought.

In fact, you have your own unique way of doing things. “This is how I run.” “My dance style is about exuberance.” “I am a virtuoso shower singer.” might be your new thoughts.

Go outside.

Run like Phoebe.