A Runner's Ramblings

Muscle Mania?

In my small town a fitness club is about to open and it will have a physical trainer who is a female bodybuilder.  Another fitness club in town also has a female bodybuilder trainer.  The fitness programs at these two clubs have a heavy emphasis on weight lifting/muscle building and seem to be very popular among 30 and 40 something year old women, which has left me wondering, when did wanting to look like this….

 

instead of this…..

 

 ….become desirable in women? 

I understand that beauty (and sexy) is in the eye of the beholder, but why would any woman who is not a competitive bodybuilder want to develop a body that more resembles a man’s than a woman’s?  Is this new fitness fad occurring in other places besides my small town? 

The female form has been worshiped, adored, idolized, celebrated and exploited since the beginning of time because of our soft curves, not because of hard muscles.  Is building muscle an act of defiance against the male driven ideal of a woman?  Not many men, that I know, will look at a woman rippling with muscles and think she’s hot.  I consider myself a feminist and part of my belief in empowering women is to celebrate and embrace what makes us different from men, starting with our bodies.  We shouldn’t let anyone define what our bodies should look like, whether it’s Hugh Hefner or the latest fitness fad.  And I do hope this is just a fad, because women wanting muscles like men makes think we haven’t come a long way, baby.

A Brief Reflection on 2011

2011 was mostly the best of times, except for March, when my mother passed away (March 21st to be exact, David's birthday).  She was 87, had mostly a good life, and died at home.  My sister and I were with her when she passed.  If this was a not-so-brief-reality-t.v.-like reflection, I would share what ensued after her passing - too many months of what often felt like I had a starring role in a mashup of a Alfred Hitchcock-Christopher Guest movie; but this isn't one of those reflections, so I won't be sharing.

Now on to the best of times…..as a mother of a high school junior, the verklempt moments are increasing as the reality sets in that college is less than two years away and the first stage of empty nesting will begin.  Rachel is so ready for the adventure of college and living in a place where you can leave the house without running into ten people you know.  Oh wait, that’s me who is ready to live someplace where I can revel in anonymity and imitation Democrats don't outnumber real ones. Rachel is mostly a typical teenage girl.  She has a wickedly wonderful, edgy sense of humor and a straightforward way of dealing with her peers (including boys) to which I say, “You go girl with that edgy humor and straightforwardness!”  This year she has a true college-prep schedule so countless hours are spent doing homework and studying as well as preparing for the SATs.  Piano practice is suffering the most from her schedule, yet her musical ability never ceases to amaze us and remind us that making piano lessons non-negotiable was a very smart parenting decision. Her great love for travel and new adventures was apparent this summer:  she spent ten days in Kiawah Island, South Carolina with her bff;  a week of sailing camp at Cornell in Ithaca, and a ten day People to People Technology Leadership Summit at Stanford Univ.  She was one of approx. 150 students, ¾ of the students were boys and most of the girls in Rachel’s dorm were from China and spoke little English.  She had a great time!  This past fall she made two solo weekend trips to NYC to visit friends while I challenged the Guinness World Record for consecutive anxiety-filled hours by a Mom. Thank goodness for cell phones!  This winter, for her third year, Rachel is on the high school swim team and in the spring, she’ll once again do track.  Plus, to support her shopping habit, she has a job as a bus girl at a local restaurant.   And, to keep the anxiety high and the gray hairs sprouting, she has her learner’s permit; but fortunately, in Maryland, teen drivers don’t get officially licensed until they’re 16 ½ years old. 

 
Rachel in Monterey, CA

David and I spend most of our time trying to make sure Rachel is content and healthy by helping her make the right decisions about school, college, work, life, etc.  We try not to think too much about how quickly the time has passed since she was a baby, toddler, little girl, tween and now 16 because if we did think about the limited time between now and college, we’d be crying most of the time!  David is David, every Monday he goes to lunch and smokes cigars with his friend, Bill, and on other days he's in his barn or at the marina doing stuff involving “B” words (bike, boat, bus) – things I don’t want to know about.  And this fall he put on his travel agent superhero cape and planned a wonderful trip to London for us over Thanksgiving!  

 

As for me, I still need a 12-step program for volunteering and I’m still running.  As already noted here in this blog, on Nov. 6th I ran the NYC Marathon, had the time of my life, and raised $5,013 for the A-T Ease Foundation!  You can read it all by clicking on the photo of my feet to open the page to include past posts.  And the one good change that will come when Rachel goes to college, is that it means I'm on the downhill side of being a stranger in a strange land.  So when I'm getting weepy from thoughts of my baby leaving the nest, I just have to remind myself that it also means I will be getting the hell out of Dodge sooner than later and slowly a smile starts to spread across my face.

Happy New Year!  Wishing peace, love and understanding to all in 2012!

 

 

For more marathon photos, go to my album on facebook:  NYC Marathon 2011

The Best Birthday Present Ever!

When Rachel's piano teacher asked her to participate in a four studio music recital on December 10th, my initial response was "no" because it was my birthday and we had planned a special family outing for that day.  Fortunately I realized that seeing Rachel perform on my birthday would be the best gift ever, and it was....