Feminism and Running

I mentioned in a previous post that feminism and running were two of my favorite things.  Later on while I was running and a complete stranger decided to wolf whistle at me, the inspiration for this post came to my mind.
People often see feminism as a dirty word that means the belief that women should be given more rights than men, or that women are in some way better than men.  In reality, it is the belief that men and women should have equal rights.  So why do we need feminism and running?
Because men can run shirtless without the fear of someone making obscene comments about their bodies, or calling them skanks, or assuming that they are doing it for the attention.  (Spoiler alert:  We actually do it because running gets pretty toasty sometimes.)
Because we shouldn't have to have the fear of rape in the back of our minds whenever we run alone or after dark.
Because no one should ever believe it is acceptable to yell those types of things at a total stranger.
Because when a woman chooses to run alone, it shouldn't have to be considered unsafe because of the people she might run into.
Most of all, because how would you feel if it was your sister, your child, your cousin, your friend who was out there running alone and being harassed or frightened by people she had never spoken to?

Girls On the Run

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to participate in the Girls on the Run program as a running buddy.  It was a great opportunity, and it made the feminist in me more happy than I can say.  If you haven't ever heard of this program, it is one in which young girls can sign up to run one of their 5k's, then train with the local leaders and other girls in their area for a few months leading up to the race.  It helps these girls to make friends, learn more about staying physically fit, empower themselves, and discover their own abilities.  And they give the kids capes to wear the day of the race, which is probably the best part about it.
Why do I love GOTR so much?  Because it teaches young girls that they can do hard things.  It combines some of my favorite things:  Running and feminism.  Running taught me how to be more confident, how to believe in myself, and how to work hard for the results that I want in life.  It's always been my greatest form of stress relief, problem solving and self-discovery.  It's wonderful to see an organization that helps to teach others how to use running for something positive.
The day of the race itself was incredible.  There were hundreds of girls from all over Utah with family, friends, and their very own running buddies there to cheer them on.  Booths were set up where they could get fierce hairdos, temporary tattoos, and support from the community.  These young ladies had worked hard to prepare for this race, and it was great to see the positive reaction from everyone in their lives.
I hope that all of the girls who ran were able to discover for themselves how wonderful and empowering running can be, and that this program can continue to inspire many more young people in the future.  Keep it up, kids.

Summer Training

To start this post off, I would like to sincerely apologize for the last few weeks I've gone without posting anything.  Between my graduation and the fact that I had to wait for my new laptop to get here after turning in my school computer, I haven't had a chance to get on blogger in awhile.

Back to the point, can we take a moment to talk about summer training?  It's weird how out of shape your body manages to get in the two weeks between your last race of track and your first week of summer training.  The first week back, I honestly felt like I was an overweight clown trying to play the bagpipes while on fire every time I went for a run.  My poor little legs were so confused as to how something that had been so much fun just fourteen days ago was now sweaty, difficult, and incredibly uncomfortable.  (Part of their distress may have been due to the fact that I went off of my sugar-free diet for the two weeks I wasn't running and went totally crazy with the treats.  Sorry, legs.)  The idea of going for a run and being expected to do anything else at all in the same day was absolutely ludicrous.
Fortunately for me and every other distance runner ever, this phase doesn't last that long.  About after two weeks, running isn't nearly so bad, and summer running becomes the best part of the year for you.  My high school team did our runs at 8 a.m. to beat the heat, and our coaches always gave us otter pops as an incentive.  We did team breakfast on Mondays, and often had other team bonding activities after practice because we had way too much spare time on our hands.  Plus, there was always camp to look forward to.
This summer has been pretty different because of my work schedule and my training schedule.  Since I'm doing the workouts that Coach Weese sends me instead of those that Jim or the Park City coaches are doing, I no longer have a team to run with.  I'm very excited to move to Bozeman in August so I can meet all of the girls and run with other people again.  I also run later in the evening after work now, and I definitely pity the people who have to be around me afterwards because when it's 90 degrees out, I have a tendency to sweat like a sinner in church.  My sports bra and shorts tan lines are getting out of control.  People can spot that I'm a distance runner from a mile off.  It's a mess.  But it's totally worth it because cross country is the best.