As I've said before: Ah garb! I love garb but hate clothes shopping. Just one problem - the 3Day rules and Illinois state law require clothing in public.
The reason I mention this is last week it occurred to me: Ah man! I only have one outfit that really works for hiking. Emphasis placed on hiking, which requires substantially more gear and fabric strength than a good long walk. On the other hand, in order to make it 60 miles in Chicago's humid temperatures, I'm going to need something soft and seamless that will wick away the sweat. Either way, one pair of denim hiking shorts and a tank top wouldn't cut it when I don't have access to laundry. (I did the wash-n-wear thing with my hiking clothes a lot this summer!)
Fortunately, my dear friend Eve was with me Thursday when I happened to drive by a Sports Authority. On a whim, I decided to stop and see what they had for fitness clothes. Eve is always down for shopping - she's really gifted at it and has impeccable taste - so she gladly joined me. Her talent for finding things on the clearance rack was a God send, but I have to admit, we had slightly different opinions when it came to clothing priorities.
Mostly function versus fashion.
Eve would dig through the wracks, find really cute and really short blue and green hiking shorts and throw them at me. I would try them on, laugh at the fact that I thought I looked like a human Easter egg and shudder at the thought of walking in something with a 1 1/2 inch inseam for 20 miles. Granted, I know women who could get away with wearing those shorts for 5 to 10 hours a day, but they're distance runners -- not former equestriannes with thigh muscles the size of their heads.
I, on the other hand, found the Champion (read boxing) brand shorts for women. They were on the sales rack and available in my size in both pink and white. They also hung down to my knees. Eve quickly vetoed this possibility, based on the risk of "man tan." Understandable concern, but at least it reduced the odds of people walking behind me getting more of an eye full than they bargained for. I'd hate for anything to think my clothes are working as hard as I am.
Ultimately we came to a compromise: Champion had another line of really cute cross-training shorts that hit just about mid-thigh and that cleared the fashion test. They follow current trends in that they are designed to be folded over at the waist. I paired them with three nice Under Armor high heat tank tops (Eve's spectacular clearance find) and New Balance socks that support the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure!
I tested the entire shebang on the tread mill and was quite pleased with the results. Especially when Eve - who works in the apartment leasing office - greeted me with "I love that outfit, it's so cute!"
No man tan here, baby.
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