It's a Slow Fade

As a young runner, I wore only soccer shorts and cotton tee shirts for my runs, even for marathon training. They didn't have technical fabric back then, and the only spandex available was designated for swimmers, exclusively. I'd finish up my runs with my tees stuck to me, twisted around my torso and with my soccer shorts scrunched up my thighs. It sucked. The mess those things made of my skin was even more criminal.

As the years ticked by, I'd find more and more tech shirts and shiny lycra in my running clothes drawer. I'd try to keep them to night-running only where I'd be slinking through the streets seemingly undetected. But as I kept adding on the miles and had to find ways to fit my runs in during the day, I noticed that these nerd factory-produced threads became like second skin and soon became a part of my new Zoolander-esque identity.

Then I stopped caring.

And so I show up to school at drop off and pick up wearing spandex tights pulled up to my neck, dorky mittens and toque on, vaseline smeared under my nose and I'm pretty sure I left zit cream on once.

If dorky running outfits are a crime, then lock me up and throw out the key. Or wait, I have a little key pocket zipper thingie wingie in my tights, so just give the key to me and I'll hang onto it for you.