This is sort of a guest post by … well … me. I wrote this a couple weeks ago over at a group blog that’s still in development. Since that’s not available yet for viewing (though it will be awesome once it is!) I figured I’d bring this over here to share with ya’ll. Hope you enjoy it.

In the last year, many things have happened which I didn’t expect. I dived into social media through blogging and Twitter. I got laid off. I started running in Vibram Fivefingers and barefoot, and realized I LOVE running. I found new social outlets online for running in dailymile.com and Barefoot Ted’s Google group. I began inspiring others to try running (and minimalist footwear, and barefooting). And then, last night, perhaps most unexpected of all, I became an expert on sports bras for well-endowed women. I was surprised, too. Let me explain.

Through dailymile, I post every run I do online. This post also goes out automatically on my Twitter and Facebook feeds, and to a widget here on my blog, so pretty much everyone I know online knows about my runs. Since the beginning of this year I’ve run four to five times a week, and my mileage and speed are steadily improving. I’ve also shared information about minimalist footwear, barefooting, Born To Run, the successes and setbacks I’ve had, and generally been open with my online friends about my running adventure.

So, yesterday, someone on Twitter suggested to a friend of theirs to follow me on Twitter for inspiration to get into running. She’d been wanting to do it and considering the Couch To 5K program, but finding it hard to get going. Flattered, I thanked her for the complement and followed them both back. Happy to be a positive force for this thing I love doing. Then the new runner sends me a note with this question:

Considering my Twitter name is badassdadblog, and that I put my bald-pated mugshot right there for all to see, I’m not sure what made her think I might be an authority on this subject. But, when someone asks a question, I have a hard time resisting the urge to go find an answer. So, I had a mission.

Born To Run?

In fact, she’s not the first woman I’ve heard raise this issue in one form or another. “I can’t run, it’s too uncomfortable.” “Some people just aren’t built for running.” “My boobs are just too big.” Though I know I have no firsthand knowledge or experience here, I can’t help but say (or at least think to myself) bullshit. This sounds like just another in the litany of excuses people give to avoid giving running a real go. But I firmly believe each person must find their own way. To running, to enlightenment, to happiness. One sure way for someone to not enjoy running is to have someone else tell them they have to. Do you remember gym class? Not my idea of a good time.

So usually when someone raises an objection, I let them hold onto it. I might argue another point of view, but I’m not here to argue or talk you into doing something. But this was different. She didn’t say “I can’t, because…”. She ASKED me what she could do. So, I set out to find an answer.

One of the things I love about social media is it is a wellspring of knowledge, information, and (perhaps above all else) opinions. In addition to dailymile, Twitter and Facebook, I also recommend Aardvark for getting answers to some pretty obscure or detailed questions from people who really know the answer. I put out a question across various platforms asking women who run for their solution to this problem. Is there such a thing as a perfect sports bra?

I got many answers. A few were from women embracing the shape of their bodies as a reason not to run. Some were from women genuinely seeking the answer to this same question. And some were from those who had solved this problem, and how they did it. These I cheerfully passed along, both to the original asker and to anyone else who cared to know.

What I learned is that there is no one answer, as everyone is different. This was no surprise. There were a few themes, though. Chief among them was that for very well-endowed women, or women who truly want to pretty much stop any and all unwanted motion, the Enell bra is about the best there is. This thing is pretty amazing. There’s even a video on their site showing how it works. It’s almost like a little vest that hooks up the front. It looks a bit medieval, but apparently this thing really does the job. And in another stroke of awesome, they sell a “male support vest” for the moobs! No kidding. Other recommendations included Moving Comfort, Title Nine, and Champion (which is available at Target, and probably the least expensive of the bunch).

Interestingly, while Title Nine has a lot of different models, apparently from different manufacturers, the one they call the “Last Resort,” for when nothing else will do the job, is actually the Enell bra. So in a way, that recommendation was validated yet again.

So, here endeth my journey into the world of supportive women’s undergarments (as far as I know). I hope you’ve found it interesting, and for some of you, I hope it proves useful. Maybe it can remove at least one of the barriers between you and this wonderful activity called running. Take it from me, it can take you places you truly never expected to go.

(Special thanks to Miss Grace at boobemancipation.com for donating the photo.)

“Live never to be ashamed if anything you do or say is published around the world. Even if what is published is not true.” 

Public Service Announcement: This is where I start saying fuck on my blog. This will likely continue. You’ve been warned.

I am obsessed with like Twitter. Lisa thinks it’s weird. Being honest, I thought Twitter was weird too before I figured out why it rules and became obsessed got into it.

I’ve been on Twitter almost a year, but most of that time didn’t count because I didn’t know what I was doing Twitter hadn’t gotten cool yet. My brother suggested I join. He’s techie and knows stuff so I thought sure, I’ll try it. In the beginning I didn’t get it. But once I figured some things out it got much cooler. Here are a few errors I made when I started on Twitter. I share them so that you may avoid them and learn from my mistakes. I’m a giver.

My 1st Twitter error: Tweeting (that’s the verb for posting updates on Twitter) exactly what Twitter asks you to tweet, “What are you doing?” The lesson? No one give a fuck what you’re doing most of the time. Be selective. Be interesting.

My 2nd Twitter error: Using it only one-way. I posted status updates mostly via instant message. This is like tossing messages over a wall to a crowd you can neither see nor hear. This is lame. Don’t do this. Lesson? Twitter is a conversation. Read more than you tweet. Respond to others. Interact.

My 3rd Twitter error: Using Twitter like Facebook. At first I only followed (that’s what it’s called when you read what someone else tweets) people I already knew. It seemed weird to follow people I didn’t know. What the fuck did I care what THEY were doing? The problem with this is very few people I knew were on Twitter, and most of them didn’t tweet very much. So my Twitter feed (the stuff I saw going by on Twitter) was kind of dead. Lesson? Follow interesting people. And don’t be afraid to unfollow (stop following) people who aren’t interesting or who piss you off. Who has time for that shit?

With all these things working against me, I lost interest in Twitter.

About this time I started reading blogs. Mostly mommy and daddy blogs. I’ll write more later about my journey into the blogosphere (how insidery and annoying is that word?). Reading these blogs, I discovered a lot of the bloggers I was reading were on Twitter. So I followed a few. And once I got over being annoyed about them constantly plugging their blogs (which of course I now also do), this was the beginning of my obsession what got me interested again, for real this time.

Here’s something I discovered about blogs and Twitter – both are a conversation. At their best they’re interactive. Comment on blogs. Respond to tweets. There are exceptions. Some bloggers and Twitterfolk (I use this because I hate the term tweeps, which many use to describe people on Twitter. I’m not a fucking tweep. I am Twitterfolk.) are funny one-way. They say stuff that makes me laugh, and that’s enough. @badbanana is a great example:

Now that’s funny. But much as I love me some @badbanana, he’s not what got me hooked. What got me hooked was conversations. Conversations in 140 characters or less with people. Interesting people, funny people, insightful people. People with questions I had answers to, and answers to my questions. Twitter is like a massive water cooler conversation. It’s the ham radio of our era. You can decide who you want to talk to, how often, and when.

And this is where Lisa starts thinking it’s weird. I’ve made friends. Most of these friends I’ve never met in person. And I follow them on Twitter and I read their blogs and I know things about some of them I don’t know about people I know IRL (In Real Life. That’s more Twitterspeak. Or maybe it’s blogspeak. Not sure.).

Her thinking it’s weird could also have something to do with me tweeting during dinner. Maybe I should knock that off.

EDIT: For some rather more coherent and potentially useful tips on using Twitter, check out Matt Singley’s post on 5 Ways to Follow Good People on Twitter.