Let's talk fashion...chubby girl running fashion, that is.

Okay, so in the few pictures I've posted thus far, I think its pretty obvious that I am no twig.  I'm sort of one of those "in-betweeners".  As in, I have to buy XL stuff at the "normal" stores, but most stuff at "plus-size" places like Lane Bryant is too big and doesn't fit me right.  Its kind of a crappy size to be, since it makes it challenging to find cute stuff that looks decent and fits nicely.  Part of my motivation in running is the idea that I might slim down a bit with time, but that is beside the point.

This post is going to be somewhat of a rant.  Consider yourself warned!

When I started running, I just went to Kohls and bought some "running" capris.  They are Tek something brand (specific to Kohls) and I was excited to be able to get a large instead of my normal XL.  I tried on other brands, in XL even, but most of the mainstream brands (Nike, Adidas, etc.) made me look and feel like a sausage that was bursting out of its casing.  Lovely mental image there, right?  I tried to find a picture to share from Google images, but they grossed me out so we'll skip that.

Over the course of my little running adventure, I've found myself wanting to buy stuff to support my habit.  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I rarely spend money on myself.  I'd much rather buy stuff for my kids, so this whole "shopping for ME" thing kind of took me by surprise.  It all started with those new shoes and socks.  I found myself wanting more socks...so I bought these little beauties:

I ended up buying them a size bigger than I probably should have, but they still work okay and they ARE super cute.  Socks are pretty easy though, when it comes to sizing.

When it comes to clothes for running, forget about it.  I tried the big box department stores, I tried sporting goods stores...nothing fit!  All of the tops (even in XXL) were way too tiny and constricting.  I felt like it was a slap to the face.  I mean really, who wants their fat rolls all on display when they are running in public?  Not this crazy girl, that is for sure!  I may be nuts, but I do have some dignity that I'd like to keep intact!

It seems really wrong to me that there isn't running type clothing readily available in stores that would actually fit bigger girls.  Seriously, if anyone needs clothing for running that is made from material that will wick away the sweat and prevent chafing, it is the big people!  It seemed like my options were to A. shop in the men's department or B. sweat my ass off in a cotton t-shirt.

I refuse to shop for clothing in the men's department.  First, because I'm NOT a man, and second because it is fundamentally wrong that I should even have to consider doing so.  I'm not built like a dude.  I have boobs and curves.  I should be able to find appropriate running clothes in MY size.  I really don't think that is asking too much.  I also really disliked the idea of running in clothing that I knew would make me more hot and sweaty, which is what cotton tends to do.  Thank goodness for Old Navy, where I found this in my size:

 

I then managed to find similar tanks at Walmart (of all places!) for half the price, so I bought like 4 of them.   (Perhaps Walmart understands that fat people can and do exercise too?)  I generally try to avoid Walmart, but I had to take one for the team on this one.  I needed tanks to run in the summer and not die, and I am on a budget. I do have five children, remember...so even though I was shopping for me I couldn't really justify spending a ton on shirts to sweat in.

This whole shopping thing fires me up every time I think about it though.  I feel like there is a disconnect in the sizing of "active wear" and regular clothes.  I should not have to purchase clothing multiple sizes larger than I would normally wear.  Talk about making me feel like a fat ass.  It pissed me off enough that I had to buy an XXL sports bra.  I know the gals are ample, but good god that made me feel like a heifer.

Now that I've lost a few pounds, I was able to purchase myself some Nike running shorts the other day.  Sure, they are XL's, but at least I don't get that whole sausage popping out look going on anymore in that size I guess.  Baby steps, Jen...baby steps.

And while I'm talking about my chubby girl running fashion, I must make a confession, which will actually further support my claim that I've lost my mind with this running thing.  For as long as I can remember, I have had a hatred of the fanny pack.  On more than one occasion I have mocked people wearing them in public.  Do you want to guess what I sent my husband to buy for me the night before the Seaway run?  A freaking FANNY pack, that's what!

He tried to be nice and called it a water belt, but let's just call a spade a spade here.  Its a fanny pack.  A cute pink fanny pack, but still a fanny pack.  You may be wondering what provoked me to send him to buy a fanny pack...it was that darn sense of dignity rearing its head.  You see, I'd been carrying my inhaler tucked into my bra during my runs.  It wasn't ideal, but my capris don't have a pocket and I needed to carry it somewhere.  So, the night before the race I suddenly realized that if I needed to use my inhaler, I'd have to fish it out of my bra with like a thousand people there.  That idea did not appeal to me one bit, so I bit the bullet and told Cory to buy me something to carry my inhaler when I was running.  This is what I got. 

Its actually not as bad as I thought it would be.  The water bottles come in handy, and staying hydrated while I am running makes it much easier in the long run.  I still don't love that I'm wearing a fanny pack, but I'm nuts now, so I just be sure to mock myself when I wear it and that makes it acceptable.  I'm an equal-opportunity mocker, you know.

To recap - stores and companies that make active wear for women suck.  They need to get with the program and realize that us chubbier ladies might like to look decent while we run or exercise too.  I may not be one of those skinny running chicks, but I deserve to have the option to look cute when I'm sweating my butt off too.  Big girls can and DO look cute too, darn it!

I've realized that I kind of like shopping for me, and I can use running as an excuse to mentally justify it to myself.  I know I don't have to do that, but its how my crazy mind operates.  But, as much as I like being able to shop for myself, I really wish that finding comfortable, cute running clothes would be a little easier for me.  And to be clear, I'M not the problem here.  Those clothing companies are.  There are lots of girls bigger than me who run (and many of them run way further than I do!) and I'm betting they'd like to be able to buy stuff from the store rather than buying online and hoping stuff fits or looks good.

We should stage a rebellion.  Big girls unite!!  (Or something like that!)