Tuesday Tips, TestDrive & a Twirl (at your request a twirl).

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I cant imagine any of us need reminding that *tomorrow* starts breast cancer awareness month.

From this show to this site it’s been all over the news & the ‘net.

While I am going to resist (if by *resist* you mean leave it up to the truly qualified experts—–which I do) giving you a bunch of tips for early detection/prevention I did wanna throw out a few reminders.

  • Please to remember that, in pre-menopausal women, an extra 4.6 hours of moderate exercise per week (slow running) or 7 hours of easy activity (hello, walking or folding laundry with vigor!) can lower your risk of breast cancer by NINE PERCENT over sedentary women. The activity lowers your levels of estrogen and insulin both hormones which are correlated to breast cancer risk.
  • seen this yet? Is there a walk happening in your area? Just think how much extra activity you could rack up should you decide to participate (nudgenudge)! Not one in your town (*raises hand*) perhaps it’s a sign from the universe to be a Woman Warrior for your community and organize your own.
  • And this, an oldie but a goodie, is where I *know* all of you shall shop for your (non-running apparel) gifts this month. Yes? I thought so.

    • Now, onward to the Tuesday Truly Timely TestDrive.

    A review of running shorts which Id planned for some point in the future but, given the amazingly charitable nature of the company, cried out to be included today.

    Two words for you: Gracie’s Gear.

    Unfortunate enough never to have heard of them?

    Two more words for you: Gracie Gives.

    First the gear.

    Ive been working out in my Gracie support bra for a while now. Not only because of the way it holds my girls, the fact it entirely wicks away my vast amounts of prolific sweat glow and inhibits odor causing bacteria but also because of the POWER POUCH.

    Im not one to bring a purse to the gym and lost my driver’s license twice (required to show when I drop the Tornado in the daycare) before I discovered this bra.

    The shorts, however, had me a little skeptical.

    I wasnt certain they were my ‘thing’ (if by thing you mean do I really wanna risk my ass glutes hanging out—-which I do)—-until I totally was.

    and now the GIVE part of Gracie.

    Gracie’s Gear is one of the most charitable workout apparel companies Ive seen in a while.

    Through its GRACIE GIVES program the company supports foundations that focus on improving health & enriching lives (gee, I wonder who else believes in that? could it be a group which rhymes with the words zumbling zand?).

    Gracie Gives sponsors local races that raise money for charity, donates time (which I think is more of a challenge than money) & products to homeless shelters for women *and* 30% of the proceeds from their black with pink tops go toward raising funds for the treatment & prevention of breast cancer.

    Very, very cool in my opinion and precisely the reason I wouldnt take a freebie from Gracie.

    I couldnt take a giveaway any time, most likely, but definitely not this month.

    Instead, perhaps, should you be in need of a treat for you or a gift for a runningfriend check out Gracie’s site and throw some support her way.

    Gracie thanks you, I thank you, and all the crap stuff you can shove into the aforementioned POWER POUCH & not lose thanks you.

     

     

     

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    Comments

    1. The shorts are so cute! I must admit I’m far too body and booty-conscious to wear most of the gorgeous stuff on the site but I LOVE the idea of having an mp3 pocket. Although I’m a compulsive track skipper so I’d probably spend half my run groping my own boobs trying to get to the forward button on my Pod. Might get some odd looks….

      TA x

    3. ow ow! spandex clad mizfit butt? why hello!

      I’ll try and find some pink ribbon emblazoned thing today to wear to my first day of work. Nothing like being thankful.

    4. I remembered that Andrew. From your gratitude comment.

      lottsa pink around here as well. friends. family. so few untouched huh?

      and, on a very lighter note, TA? the shorts were a bit much for me to NOT run in.

      I did wear them to the gym once to lift and found I rushedandgotOUT.

      too short/revealing for this woman indeed.

      something about the constant motion of the run made me less inhibited (or, probably more aptly put, I so sucketh at the run that I was FAR MORE FOCUSED on breathing than if I were too old to be wearing the shorts :))

      M.

    5. they look great on you
      but i am pretty sure they would not look so great on me
      they might cut off my circulation
      does gracie make shorts for bigger girls???? (size 10)

    6. YES, FGF.

      and Im short (hello 27 inch inseam!).

      the inseam is longer in large and XL.

      two full inches I think.

      M.

    7. 27 inch inseam? Oh, thanks for making me feel even MORE like an Amazon… LOL. I think I’ll stick with the skorts, thanks, so I can concentrate on form and not flying flab…

      Today I will move the mammogram order back to the top of the pile… My son’s teacher is have a pink yogurt lid drive for his sister; I hate cancer!

      🙂

    8. Checking out the website today. Sounds like a great company! Do the sizes run smaller than normal or anything weird? I am always hesitant about ordering online when I haven’t tried a product. Sometimes things show up and are too big or fit my 12 year old!

    9. wait. Am I using the wrong term, Marianne?

      I am a 27 inch inseam (crotch to foot).

      On a 5 foot 4 frame.

      As in when I lifeguarded (no joke) I was given the nickname STUMPY.

      No need to be remotely jealous of my SHORTENING EVER PARR OF PANTS I OWN self 😉

      And lori? Will it trigger immediate eyerolling if I was TRUE TO SIZE?

      In that I’m a MEDIUM sports bra.
      The girls may be small but my ribcage isn’t.

      I’m a medium with GG as well.

      M.

    11. No, Miz, you didn’t use the wrong term…it’s just that my 12 year old has the same inseam… LOL. I can just picture you bent over your hems, measuring, cutting, doing a blind stitch…and then just ripping them off where you felt looked right!

      A great exercise for legs? Painting a room all by yourself, including taping and trimming…. It hurts so good!

    12. are you all up in my house with a CAMERA, Marianne?

      I’d think you were but you got it wrong. There’s no stitch involved. Just blind hacking with scissors and an embracing of the ‘strings’ of denim I leave in my wake.

      And I know you’re not hinting I cross CALL PAINTER off my ToDo list and paint the Tornados room myself.

      Can I even DO pink camo??

      Stumpy

    13. Reminds me: I definitely saw a chick sporting a Dirty Red skirt at the tri on Sunday. Thought of you.

      Oh MizFit. I LOVE running in tight tight shorts. I have friends who run cross country for a local university and they do their runs in *basketball shorts*. Can you imagine?

      As for this month’s special meaning to the female population, I had no idea. Because they haven’t said a thing about it on NPR.

    14. FOR SHAME Carl Castle (Karl Kastle?)!
      Maybe tomorrow when it’s officially OCTOBER.

      yeah.
      of all the skirts Ive met I love my DIRTY RED the best.

      wear it all the time.

      WANT HER to do a MizFit Dirty Red.

      IN CAMO.

      thoughts?

      M.

    15. Definitely snugger and shorter than what I’m used to wearing. I might make use of those as underwear under my capri-length pants!

      You can totally get away with that; you look like you could crack walnuts with those glutes and thighs.

    16. I am a cancer survivor, so this is an important issue for me. I hope we can all find something to do this month that will help those who are suffering from cancer now, or has survived cancer, or to simply educate others about cancer and how to fight it.

    17. Those are very cute. If the Bag Lady had a butt, she would want some. ~~sigh~~
      Unfortunately, she has a gargantuous shelf of blubber that would look ridiculous hanging over those shorts.
      (and a 32 inch inseam, in case anyone cares…)

    18. hello 32 inch inseam & dragonmamma.

      I need a highdef camera.

      So that all ya’ll can see my REAL WOMAN dimples.

      As per charlotte @ the great fitness experiment’s fab post about stretchmarks (have those too!) we all have it/them when we’re not airbrushed…

      Irene? I remembered that. I’ve been fortunate so far….but not so my friends and family.
      We’re all Warriors in this fight, huh?

      M.

    20. The power pouch concept is kind of cool although I must say I’m not sold on those shorts. I own exactly one pair of booty shorts and have worn them exactly once – to hot yoga. They sure do look good on you though and how much do I love a company that focuses so much on charitable work!!! Go Gracie Gives!!!

    21. CLICK HERE for charlottes stretch mark post—tho Im certain most of you already read it.

      and the bra? the HAT? the HOODIE? all fab Gracie Gear and now Im wondering if we mightcould ask her to donate the proceeds from THOSE for us.

      just this once….love my POWER POUCH.

      M., who’d NOT thought of them as booty shorts and now FOR SURE isnt wearing em to the gym again. only when she attempts to impersonate Atalanta

    23. Love the look of the shorts…on you! I would not wear them, but the bra or the shirt…I think I could do it!

      I have several people that I love dearly that are breast cancer survivors, and 1 that did not survive. Thank you for putting the information up and reminding people of how important it is!

    24. You look great in those shorts! I have too much loose skin on my lower body to get away with booty shorts at this point LOL!

      I love the tanks on Gracie’s site, I really need somewhere to hold my emergency information instead of inside my shoe 😀

    25. Ummm, thanks for the reminder. The Race for the Cure here is on Saturday, and I almost forgot!

      Thanks for the link. I have heard of them before, but hadn’t checked it out in a while. I am a sucker for merchandise from companies who support the cure. (She said with a pink KitchenAid mixer AND blender in her kitchen.) My mom is a breast cancer survivor.

      **off to register for the race**

    26. Hear that? That’s the sound of the sexymamamiz whistle!
      The shorts look fab on you, but I’ve always had an issue with shortshorts and my inner thighage – just never looked quite right together.

      Love Gracie Gives. They do great work!!!

    28. Those shorts look so cute on you but I cringe at the thought of my dimply thighs hanging out of them. Eww!

      Great company, though. Thanks for sharing info on them.

      I’m running in the Race for the Cure here on Sat!

    29. hmmm. may yank the video (if you come and read comments and think youve lost yer everloving as there’s no youtube :)) as I dont wanna distract from my intent.

      my really wanting to focus on the brand and the give and the importance of October (please to tape todays Oprah if you think of it/can stomach the great & mighty O. Id love your thoughts…) and not how I look in the shorts.

      (as theres a reason there is no asszoomage rear focus time and we in the sunsunsunBLURRYsun)

      go felice and robin!

      Im off to search for Austin’s race date.

      Miz.

    30. You such a stand up one not taking the freebie. The shorts and top are super cute! Yep October month my birthday my ta tas.

    31. cute………maybe someday I could get away with something like that?! Not right now though 😉

      Sounds like a fabulous company. I think every clothing company should “give back” if they are in the position to do so.

      I love the birds singing in the video 🙂

    32. I could never wear those shorts but they look great on you! Thanks for the scoop on this company that gives back.

    33. Thank you for the reminder, Miz, even if some of us (by us, I don’t mean me) don’t need it. I didn’t even realize there is a walk in my area on Oct 11. I had no idea, because the Race for the Cure is in May. So I’ll have to check it out.

      About Gracie’s Gear, the tops are really cute, but I could not do those shorts. I usually run in capris so that I am covered up enough. But I commend the women who are brave enough, or who have the assets to pull them off. Oh, and the comment about rubbing boobs in trying to change the song- ha ha, cracked me up. Since I use the Nike+ on my iPod, I push the center button to get spoken feedback so I would be poking my finger at the middle of my chest. All kidding aside, the pocket is great for the other things like I.D., money, phone, etc.

      P.S. I have a post on Worry coming later today, since I never made it to your comments yesterday (although I did read and watch in my haste Monday morning- just too much to say, as usual).

    35. She also has a very cool Empowering Women website and is the coach for the Zooma Run race series. She is one serious dedicated runner- mama!

    36. I’d not realized she coached for Zooma, Fitmom.

      She’s quite generous with the information, too.

      Clickclickclick on over to see her training tips AND PHOTOS of exercise suggestions.

      M.

    37. Would it be entirely inappropriate for me to say that you’ve got a really shapely butt? hehe.

      Those are some nice shorts. I think wearing shorts like that would make me want to keep exercising for longer. The idea of the sportsbra is great as well. And that is so awesome that they’re such a charitable organization! Very impressive.

      Thanks for reviewing these!

    39. Thanks for the link – great stuff! This is a timely post, just got back from being “squished” this a.m. They may call me back for a sonogram. oy.

    40. This may be the cold medicine/coffee mixture talking, but the shorts are cute, and I might start wearing them when I do yoga.

      Am now bookmarking the site for when I do sports bra shopping (congrats MizFit, you pulled me away from Champion’s XS bras).

    41. missicat? Stress none of us needs huh.

      Visualizing *no* sonogram.

      Focusing on clear mammogram.

      Can’t hurt, huh?
      M.

    44. Those shorts make me wonder about chafing…I usually go longer so I don’t have to bathe my inner thighs in Sports Shield before every run. I do love the pocket idea and would use it exactly how do did. Maybe throw in some GU for the longer runs.

      I am actually getting a mammogram tomorrow, didn’t even realize it was the first day of THE month! Found a lump, it is probably (hopefully!) nothing serious, but we do have the BRCA1 gene up in this family, so preventative care is key. Someone told me about that episode on Oprah and I totally forgot I wanted to watch it. Been a lot of talk about mastectomies among the women in my family as of late.

      I also had no idea about the 9% risk drop for non-sedentary women. Woohoo!

    47. Hm. I like the pocket, but think it might look weird on my ginormous rack. (Hee. I said “rack.”) I’m afraid it would look like my iPod was sitting on a flat shelf made of boobage. On the other hand, it would beat the heck out of carrying it! I wonder if the impact of it moving up and down would hurt the iPod after a while? I’ve heard some people say that.

      The shorts, OH THE SHORTS. I had a pair like that when I was dancing a lot. I only wore them with tights though, because shorts that short combined with throwing your leg overhead every other beat . . . um . . . let’s just say tights are MANDATORY. I don’t think I could wear them to run in now (and not just because of body insecurity) – I think I’d just feel naked.

      But then, I don’t run in knee-length shorts, either. Long pants, all the way. LOL

      (Pointedly NOT commenting about how you look fab in your little shorts, because you asked us not to. But you do. Look fab, I mean. ;:)

    49. What a great post, featuring an inspiring company. I knew exercise lowered cancer risk, but I didn’t know it was quite that much – great incentive to kick it up a notch!

      I bet I would have the same reaction to MizFit in the shorts – I feel so much more conscious of my appearance when I’m in the gym. But when I’m running outside, the way I look is the last thing on my mind!

    50. Miz, I’m nearly 5’7″ with a 26 inch inseam. My torso just kept growing but my arms and legs said “No way am I getting bigger, I hate heights!”

      I loved looking at Gracie’s Gear but until I banish some “toxins” (check out Cranky Fitness’s site today) from my back side, there is not way I could work out in them. I am however going to get something pink for work tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder.

      Jenn

    51. Yay! My husband and I are running Race for the Cure in Nashville this weekend! I’m excited for it!

      Love the Gracie Gear. I’d sport those shorts – I just run and work out at home – so no fear of the shortness from me. I think my husband may like them too (for me not him). 😉

    52. Having the pocket at the back does sound like a great idea. They remind me of the spandez we wear under our team garb for volleyball and soccer.

      btw, I’m back from my crazy week of education and will be trying to fit my workouts in again.

    55. Thanks – will defintely focus for both me and Hannah! I had a tech who was one of those types who has been there forever and she said to expect a call back when the results came in, that she had seen something that they need to check out. I know it’s probably nothing (been through it before), but it’s still ONE MORE THING!

    56. I love your videos 🙂

      Thats amazing that they dont’ ride up! They’re wayy cute and you look fabulous in them!

      Hope you’re having a good one!

    57. nope. No riding up (but they’re pretty *up* to begin with ;))

      And I think I like em because they are are so different from all my other BAGGY CITY shorts.

      And now I, too, and wondering how monoboob’y one might look with a big ipod (the video ones) in the sports bra pouch…

      M.

    58. I wish the sizing on the site was more specific. The bras & tops are super cute, but my guess is they still wouldn’t fit. *sigh*

      I didn’t get to run in the race for the cure this year (stupid PT) but I did donate to my friend who was able to run.

    59. CLARIFYING as people have emailed me and *I* read it as clear but upon reread? notsomuch.

      the statistic is an extra 4.6 hours of moderate exercise per week (slow running) or 7 hours of easy activity can lower your risk of breast cancer by 9% over nonexercising women.

      thanks for letting me know it wasnt clear…

      and Gracie shall be by, Amy, to talk about sizing. I think she’s traveling now but Ill get the 411 (as the kids no longer say).

      M.

    62. meribeth I’d say you’re a small…but I’m guessing from your blog pics.
      Is there an xs in the short (she thumbtypes curiously)?

      And Cammy?

      You’d so know yer inseam (ok I’m kinda guessing mine) if you were always so!excited! to find jeans in short lengths (ankle on most peeps).

      Read that they are a 28 inch inseam.

      STILL find them too too long.

      😉

      M.

    65. OMG OMG OMGosh! I’ve been longing for a bra with a pocket. Had NO IDEA this company existed. YAY!

      You know, you are causing me to spend way too much on nifty workout gear. I already bought shorties from Skirts Sports because of you…. what else are you going to come up with?! =)

    68. MizFit, the birds in your video seemed VERY impressed with the way you looked in your Gracie shorts…**whistles**

    69. I laugh that, while I do the videos at least once a week, Im not a fan of meonfilm.
      Im also the One Shot Wonder.

      so the birds a few of you have mentioned?

      never heard em 🙂

      M.

    70. Thanks for the reminder! I had my physical almost 2 weeks ago and still haven’t taken the slip the doctor gave me to arrange the boob squash. Will try do that before work tomorrow!

      As for the GG – some of it looks like it will be too small for me…..at least right now. Slowly shrinking so I’ll be able to fit into it eventually! Have bookmarked the site for future purchases.

    71. I don’t think there’s a month for Uterine cancer is there? I guess I will soak up some of the good juju from October. Because breasts are close enough (not in proximity) to the uterus. Both give life! And unfortunately, both can get cancer.
      I don’t need shorts. I would hate for someone to make a citizen’s arrest if I were wearing them out in public.
      Loved the Tuesday “Facetime.”
      Will write from Utah (hopefully).
      Bye for now.

    76. Hi Miz. Thanks for the very important message about Breast Cancer and the links to the Pink pages. As a survivor, I just want to hug all the people that have made the runs and bought the goods, making the very important research a reality.

    78. Another good post. Our gym on base is hosting an aerobathon in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. (I think it is to raise money) But the gym is going to offer free classes all day long. They are running through all of the classes they offer. Food, drinks, and T-shirts will be sold to help raise money…and I think they are also taking donations. It is going to be great!

    79. Hey Reb, I had no idea. Thanks for stopping by, commenting and sharing.
      Missicat?
      Hannah?

      Im still thinking about you.

      M.

    80. I will definitely go check out Gracie, not only because they Give, but that Power Pouch is a mega-cool idea. 🙂

      Think Pink!

      V.

    81. OK, I scoured the comments for what I was looking for… the closest I came was that the shorts don’t “ride up.” Let me just ask out loud (cuz I wasn’t gonna scrutinize your crotch in the video…. your butt, yes, and it is awesome, by the way): so no camel toe?

      Perhaps my post-preggo goal (still a ways off) will be to get myself into those shorts. I will just tuck that twin skin right in–cuz I already know that ain’t goin’ away–and go about my workout confidently (assuming my question above is answered negatively:-)

    84. Girl, you’ve got a great ass! Wear those shorts and flaunt it! If only I had one! 🙂 My family suffers from the “no-ass-at-all” disease!!

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