Who are we?

Elisa:
I have been interested in cultural movements since going to my first music festival at age 4 and deciding I needed to learn to skateboard. Since then I have tried Ultimate Frisbee (too clumsy), skateboarding (what a disaster), snow skiing (wrong location)…any sort of sport with a community and a culture. Since buying a kickin’ cruiser in February, my love of cycling has taken off. Add in the fact that the movement seems to be exploding in Birmingham, gas prices are ridiculous and that my long, stick legs seem made for cycling and you have a budding biker. Since doing Cheap Women a year ago, a blog project seems the natural way to get started and make some lifestyle changes. My main goal is to begin to commute most places on my (soon to be named) bike, and using my car as a secondary form of transportation. I am also very, very interested in the cycling culture and being part of a community of like minded, awesome folks. Non-racing cycling seems to be a boy’s club, so finding my niche and getting some women involved is going to a major part of this project for me.
And meeting hot guys. Obviously


Amanda:
When I was asked to be a part of a fitness blog, my initial reaction was, “Wha? Me?” Fit is not a word that I use to describe myself, despite much effort to be so (two half-marathons, numerous 5k’s and 10k’s, endless hours at the gym). Maybe I don’t try hard enough, maybe its my addiction to candy. Who knows.


After a three-year love affair with running that ended with three nasty (and embarrassing) falls and an injury that just won’t quit, swimming was recommended to me by my physical therapist. Until this year, I hadn’t swum since I was a kid. Even then, it was more the, “Mom-watch-me-do-a-hand-stand-under-water” type of swimming than the, “I’m-going-to-kick-your-12-year-old-ass-in-this-freestyle-race” type of swimming. I mean, I only learned to swim with my face in the water this summer. Lame.


No matter how inexperienced I am or how much I hate wearing swimsuits, I really enjoy swimming and look forward to learning more about it through participation in Triathablog. Here’s to learning a new sport, having killer arms, and looking super awesome in a swim cap.

Carrie:


Maybe it was my childhood clumsiness (dinners during which I didn’t fall out of my chair were rare); maybe it had something to do with the polyester, tomato-red cullottes I was forced to wear for six years as a P.E. uniform—but I’ve never been what you’d call an athlete.

It wasn’t until after college, when I could no longer substitute Mountain Dew for sleep, that I cared about my health. Vegetarianism became a foundation for learning about the impact of food and environment on my health, and it’s important to me still.

I experimented with veganism and fasting and started to practice yoga, following instruction off an old cassette tape. Eventually, I got myself to yoga class, and I think that broke down a lot of my fears about being physically active.

There are so few obstacles to running—you don’t need gear, a gym, or even instruction. It costs very little, but it’s very effective. I’ve run off and on for years, but it’s only fairly recently that I realized it can actually be FUN.

My run is time purely for myself. I can listen to cheesy music or a presidential biography (I’m kind of an audiobook nerd). Sometimes, no matter how slow I’m running (make no mistake, I’m very slow), I feel like I’m flying.

About a month ago, a cocktail of unseasonable illness, a later sunrise, and an increased workload took me off the trail. But I miss it, and I’m looking forward to getting back.