Tacos and The Great Skirt Debate

Tonight was chicken taco night. I would say this at least a bi-weekly occurrence in our half Mexican household. Gil is Mexican and I am a lover of Mexican food so it is a match made in Heaven :)

Now onto the great skirt debate. If you haven't noticed from any of my running pictures, I run in a skirt. Always.

Now up until yesterday I had never known that there was a debate about running skirts (or skorts). It is obvious that I am in the pro-skirt camp. But from what I understand there are those that are skirt haters. The 2 main reasons that seem to be cited are:

• Running isn't about fashion
• You can't be a serious runner in a running skirt

For me running isn't about fashion. So why do I wear all of these adorable skirts? 

There are 9 in total. All from www.skirtsports.com

The main reason is comfort. My thighs chafe. I have what my cousin so fondly calls the 'chub rub.' This is when your thighs rub together and shorts become lodged in your womenly area and then you have both skin-skin and skin-cloth chafing. For me, I don't wear shorts. Ever. I wear sun dresses in the summer to avoid the 'chub rub' situation. Next. I jiggle. I am 5'1" and 155 pounds so I am carrying around extra weight. When I was running consistently I weighed 135-140 pounds and even then running skirts were my preference because I still maintained my jigglyness. 

Doesn't everyone wear a sweatshirt over a
sundress?

To avoid all these problems, compression shorts are the best. When I first started running and chafing I talked to a long distance runner friend and she recommended compression shorts which do not ride up and eliminate chafing. I promptly tried on a pair of these wonderfully skin tight shorts and took them off twice as fast. I was not EVER going to wear something that showed that much to the world. So put a skirt over the top of them and voila! No chafing and all jiggle is covered. Not to mention on the skirts I have they have 2 leg pockets and a headphones port on the skirt. This way I can keep a key, ID, a gel, and my iPod in my shorts and still be able to run comfortably. 

(Source)

Now am I worried about fashion when I run? No. I wear them because they suit my needs. Now, if you happen to be of the mindset that shorts satisfy your needs then so be it, wear them. If not, I say at least try a skirt. I am far from a gifted runner. It is not a natural ability. I don't make it look easy because most days it's not. I do it because I love the feeling afterwards, the runner's high if you will. However, a runner's high will not make me forget about my bleeding inner thighs on a 6 mile run so I wear something that is comfortable. I look at it like a sports bra. I have DD's. I don't expect other female (or male runners for that matter) tell me to wear a sports bra that would satisfy a person with a smaller chest simply because that is what works for them. So I say do what works for you and happy running. Sure I may look ridiculous in your eyes...but hey running isn't for fashion ;-)

Thumbs up for z-er-o chaffing.

The next argument is trash. Ever heard of Sally Meyerhoff? She wore a skirt when she won the 2010 XTERRA Trail Run World Championships. How about Nicole Deboom? She won the 2004 Ironman Wisconsin in a skirt. Both women have accomplished so much in the world of women's fitness and far be it from anyone to say they aren't serious. 

Sally Meyerhoff

Nicole Deboom

Am I a serious runner? Eh. I run. I put in the miles so I am dedicated. My goal in the next 5 years is run at the Boston Marathon. I will probably be in the very last corral but I want to run it. So am I serious? You decide I will just keep logging miles. Either way, if I wear shorts or I wear a skirt it is no way indicative of if I am seriously going to get up at 4am to run. Blah. 

Running the 1st leg of a biathalon on Halloween 2011.

Any opinions on skirts? Do you have a preference?

Other opinions on skirts can be found at:
She Runs Strong
Deseret News
Eat, Drink, and Run