Posted on April 26, 2011 by Ann Brennan
When I started running I wore big baggy shirts to hide my body. My hair was cut so short that didn’t give it a second thought. In short, there was nothing attractive about my running self.
This went on for several years until one day I realized that by looking messy, by not putting thought into what I looked like I was beating up on myself a little bit. I was going back to those days as a child when the family would describe me as the smart nerdy one and my sister as the pretty one. By wearing the asexual clothing and chopping off my hair I was reinforcing the idea that I am not the pretty one. Why bother trying to look attractive?
So slowly I changed the way I dressed. I bought cute running clothes that I looked forward to wearing. I let my hair grow out into a style that was less severe. Instead of starting my runs feeling negative about myself I began standing taller. I began to think of myself as an athletic woman instead of a messy fat girl.
Though I don’t wear make up or do my hair before a run and nobody would ever accuse me of being girly, I do find myself searching out the latest in attractive running gear. I switched from running shorts to running skirts. I buy tops that are cute enough to wear around all day because as a mom I often have to wear my running clothes around all day searching for the moment I will actually have time to run.
It was in this search for pretty athletic wear that I came across Sweaty Bands. To be honest, I first bought them for my tomboy of a daughter. Her bangs were so long she needed to pull them back, but a traditional hair band didn’t work for her because she plays soccer. She needed something that would stay in place and wouldn’t get in the way of heading the ball into the goal. More importantly she wouldn’t wear anything too girly. We started Meg on solid colors and ones that had soccer balls printed across the front. Since that time she has grown to like them so much she has picked them out for herself, each purchase becoming just a little more girly.
After seeing the Sweaty Bands on my daughter I have adopted them for myself. Instead of pulling my hair back into a severe ponytail I add a little flair with a variety of these cute little bands.
I don’t know that any of these things make me the pretty one, but I do know they make me stand taller. Feeling less frumpy gives me just a little boost of confidence and sometimes it’s that little boost that gets me out the door.
Thanks to the wonderful crew working the Sweaty Bands booth at the Boston Marathon Expo, I have two beautiful Sweaty Bands to give away to my readers. The first one is black with 26.2 printed in white running across the band. The second, which I would love to keep for myself but will pass along to one lucky winner, says LIVE – LAUGH – RUN and is blue with pink writing.
To enter my first ever giveaway leave a comment on this post. You can share your thoughts on fashion and running or you can just say I wanna win these cool bands. You can earn up to five extra entries by doing the following –
1. Follow me on Twitter – then come back here and tell me you are following me.
2. Follow my Ann’s Running Commentary on Facebook – then come back here and tell me you are following me.
3. Tweet “I just entered to win a Sweaty Band at www.AnnsRunningCommentary.com” – then (are you seeing a pattern here?) come back here and let me know you did it.
4. Enter the same message on Facebook – and (repeat after me) then come back here and tell me you did it.
5. And just because I am feeling extra generous if you are already a member at Daily Mile put the same message on your Daily Mile profile. If you are not a member join using this link Daily Mile – and come back here and let me know you have done it.
The drawing will take place on Sunday, May 1st.
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