Running Naked

This morning I ran in my new Marathon Dress. I ordered it from the Skirtsports Outlet. That's right, it's been available for years, and I just ordered it last week. It came in the mail earlier this week but I wanted to wait for the right run to test it out. Today I was scheduled for a 60 minute run. So when my alarm went off at 5:50 am, I threw on my dress, gave an approving glance to the mirror and dashed out the door. I was hesitant to order the dress. I have been a dedicated Skirt fanatic since the purchase of my very first Skirt in 2005. I own the MarathonGirl in almost every color and print ever made. It's all I wear to run. I can't put my finger on exactly what was holding me back from buying the Marathon Dress earlier. Was I afraid of what people would think seeing me run down the street... in a dress? Did I think I would be too warm with the dress on? (I am the type that refuses to wear anything more than my skirt and a sports bra if it's warmer than 35 degrees out.) Anyway, I started my watch when I hit the bottom of my driveway as is my ritual and took off down the block. I passed a guy on the way out of the neighborhood and he gave me a big smile as I waved hello. I smiled back feeling better already. I dashed across the street to pick up the canal where I like to run. All I could think about is why did I wait so long to run in a dress? It was amazing! It is the closest thing to running naked. As a retired streaker (my sister and I had a goal to streak all the parks in our college town before we graduated) I know what it feels like to run naked. And this was it. The dress draped nicely but barely touched my skin except for the built in shelf bra. Not at all clingy like I imagined. I felt free. I felt like a super hero. SkirtGirl! Come to inspire all the lazy people of the world to get off the sofa! Surely if you saw someone running in a dress.. you'd want to go run too. You'd want to know what her secret is. You could try to catch her. But you won't. Why? Because when you feel good about yourself, you run faster. And SkirtGirl feels great about herself in her new Marathon Dress. And she's not about to give away any of her secrets. I found myself thinking that I could order the dress in black, throw it over my favorite bike shorts and Marathon Dress becomes Commute to Work on a Bike Dress. And then there's the question of whether or not to have my name emblazened across the front for when I run the Boston Marathon in it. Because it's only appropriate to run Boston in a dress. Right? Anyway, I'm so glad I tried the dress. Running will never be the same!