Friday, April 24, 2015

Fearless

I'm not fearless. Far from it. Between worrying about the babies, and dealing with my own anxieties, there are times when I just feel like one big ball of neuroses.

Recently, I became an Ambassador for Skirt Sports; a company that makes workout gear for women. Sure, they make cute workout clothes, but they also want to motivate women to get moving and reach their goals, and create a supportive community to help them get there. I've worn Skirt Sports to many races:
Like this one...

And this one...
I love having clothes to run in that fit me, keep me comfortable, and still make me feel cute!

As an Ambassador, I get to participate in races and events that Skirt Sports puts on, and I my first one was last weekend! Since they're based in Colorado, I might not get to run many of their actual races, but they've thought of that! They have a series of Virtual Races, so you can participate, no matter where you are!

On April 25th, I ran the 261 Fearless Virtual Race. This race is special, because it celebrates Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon. She ran wearing bib #261, and went through a lot to make it to the finish line. In the process, she opened a lot of doors for women in the running world.

Given how insecure I've been feeling about myself (and especially my racing) recently, I knew this was a race I had to run. Sure, I would only be competing against myself, but I'm my own worst enemy right now. Who else should I be racing? Even though I was running solo, I still treated the run like a race, and I pushed myself. It felt great to get out there, and work hard, and know that I was working to make myself a better runner, a better mother, and a stronger person in
Fearless!
general. My progress is slow, but I'm getting there.

The 261 Fearless race was a good reminder to myself that fearlessness means a lot of things. It means running races, even though they make me anxious. It means working on myself, so that the scary things lose their power. It means remembering to treat every day as an adventure, and trying to get the most out of it. That one can be hard to manage, with all of the daily little things that come with having two small hurricanes living in my house. But, they're also the most exciting adventure I can think of, and I'm trying to be better about finding the fun in the little times with them.

In 1967, Kathrine Switzer ran the Boston Marathon. She put her fears aside that day, and look what she accomplished! Today, I'm working little by little to put my own fears aside. I'm learning to be brave every day, in the little ways I can. I'm not fearless yet, but that's okay.

1 comment:

  1. I always like the phrase "progress not perfection" when I get down on myself. I wrote a similar post to this yesterday :) I'm a new Skirt Sports ambassador as well, and I'm glad you're on the team too!

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