Those of you who read this blog, I mean REALLY read it, know that I'm a faithful, enthusiastic reader of the Athena Diaries.
Not too long ago I noticed that GeekGirl had a little note at the end of her blog roll asking any Athenas and plus-sized endurance athletes interested in being added to it to email her. I was immediately interested but thought, "I can't do that...I'm an Athena for sure, but I'm no endurance athlete. I mean, the other kick-butt women on the roll do TRIATHALONS, and races named things like "Black Warrior 50K" (that's 5.OH., not 5). A few days later I saw it again and thought "what the heck?" so I did. And wonder of wonders....I was added! Very cool.
You might be wondering what an "Athena" is. In the running world there are special categories for people who don't fit the runner stereotype: the young, lean (read near-anorexic) smallish person. That would include any person over age 40 (they are "Master" runners -- nice reframe, huh?),
any male runner weighing 198 lbs or more (they are "Clydesdales -- not such a nice re-frame unless you like those kinds of horses),
and any female runner weighing over 150 lbs. We are called Athenas. I love, love, LOVE this label.
Here's why: In ancient Greece, Athena was known and worshiped as the goddess of wisdom and the more disciplined side of war (unlike Ares -- the god of bloodlust and slaughter). She is often accompanied by the goddess of victory, Nike. Now there's a kick-butt woman!! (You're welcome for the Greek mythology lesson.)
Basic physics tells us that the less you weigh, the faster you'll go. Hard core racers take this so seriously they have special shoes that can weigh as little as 4 ounces. That's light. My Asics weigh 11 ounces -- OMG! they're like lead!
And there's a formula for estimating how much faster your race time could be depending on how many pounds you lose. Good thing I'm not hard core. I'm really not that interested in trying to lose a bunch of weight just to shave off a minute from my 5K time. Besides, who wants a puny woman when you can have an ATHENA?
1 comment:
A friend of mine pointed this post out, which I missed somehow. I wanted to let you know that for the dudes, the Clydesdale label is very cool. I know. I know. It's insane. I mean, it's a big furry HORSE, compared to a goddess, it comes up short, right? But it's a "beautiful, powerful animal," according to my hubby. WhatEVAR.
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