Real Models from Title Nine

I came across a great catalog today which sales outdoor/athletic clothing for women called Title Nine (just now got the reference to women's collegiate sports). Of course I loved the merchandise in their catalog, but what I loved more were the models that they featured. They are all real women and the catalog features each one by identifying their name and a few fun facts.

What I also loved was the Founder's note on the inside front cover. I felt that this statement really defined me well Obviously, I am their target audience. Here is what it says:

"An athlete is...
A Mom squeezing in her workout before the kids wake up.
Candace Parker squeezing in one more rep as she prepares her post-partum body for another season of pro hoops.
A woman who juggles work commitments but never forgets her commitments to herself.
That woman on the elliptical breaking bad habits as she builds a better body.
Dana Torres (who by the way is my hero) breaking barriers even if she's not breaking records.
A girl discovering the competent machine that is her body.
A woman discovering the same thing.
What is an athlete? An athlete is you." -- Missy Park, Founder

If you have an opportunity, check out their site which also features these "real" models

Share the Road

By the time I have almost completed my morning five mile run, most people in town are just staring to wake up and grab the morning paper. As some jump in their cars to head to the local convenience store or to work, I am reminded that they may not have had their morning cup of joe and are not completely awake. This must have been the case this morning during my pre-dawn run as I had to leap up to the curb in order to avoid an oncoming car. Actually at the time it was pretty light outside so I am still not quite sure why that black mustang did not see me.

I bring this up because every morning I pass runners, cyclists and dog walkers on the street. When I am in the driver’s seat of a vehicle, I make sure to give these folks plenty of space in their lane. If the inside lane of traffic is open, I get over. However, I don’t believe that this is the case for most inhabitants of my community.

Case in point: this morning as me and two girlfriends were running (I was in front and the other two were side-by-side maybe 10 feet behind me), two cars honked their horns at us. This was not a friendly “hey, you runner chicks are hot,” kind of honk. It was more like a “get the h-e-double hockey sticks out of the street” sort of honk. Now that is just not nice and it is especially rude to the people who live nearby and may be awakened by these rude honkers.

This also happens frequently when we are out cycling. In fact on Saturday the same group plus a few others were out and the exact thing happened – a big nasty honk and there may have been some choice words yelled. Thankfully there was plenty of wind to battle, so sounds were sort of muffled. Crazy thing is that when the person honked, they happened to honk right in front of a caution sign that reads, “share the road,” and has a photo of a bicycle. The irony.

What I like to tell these drivers out there is that we (runners and cyclists) also share the road. Cyclists are not expected to ride on uneven sidewalks at speeds that can range from 15-20 mph. Sidewalks also do not always exist on stretches of road for runners to use. So the next time you go out in your car and you see runners and cyclists, please do us a favor and share the road. If you choose to honk, just know that I may shoot you the bird.

Can women really have it all?

As I write this post, I am being as productive as one possibly can on one's lunch hour. While I am eating at my desk (a lunch that I prepared myself), I often take small breaks to type this post while chewing and while also attempting to read a certification manual.

I mention this because this a real example of how working moms and even non work outside of the home moms operate. I believe that women, not just moms, are truly gifted in the art of multi-tasking and that our kids, families and lives would suffer if God had not bestowed this gift upon us. Does anyone find it strange that gift somehow is a rare find in those of the opposite sex? Sorry, guys -- that is just how it is.

But the real question is, did nature just make us this way or did we simply evolve after women's lib? While my gut tells me this may have something to do with nature, I cannot escape the thought that it may be our own mothers and grandmothers who paved the road for their daughters to have this "liberation" or what they consider "freedom."

Tell me again, what is so free about working full-time to help provide food and shelter for your family, all the while juggling many different roles as employee, wife, mother, and friend?

Did these ladies get it wrong when they asked to have it all --you know, equal rights with men? Are we really equal? I guarantee that most women work as hard, if not twice as hard as their male counterparts and are still not paid an equal wage. We work harder because some work is simply non considered a "man's job." Are these gender roles fair?

So I pose this final question to you: If one could reverse women's lib and take back women's traditional role as homemakers, would you choose that option?

Not sure I would. What I do know is that we as women need to do a better job of trying to blur these traditional gender roles. Ladies complaining about our husbands gets us know where. We have to act and it is time to hand over the apron.