The Broad Appeal: The inner battle of the ‘active woman’ (and how to win the fight)

May 6, 2009 by Lani Voivod, Chief Scribbler.

Do you consider yourself an “active woman”? If so, which type? I believe there are two distinct types in the Granite State, and the divide between the two is as ruthless as Tuckerman’s Ravine.

Type No. 1 is the Winning Warrior.

Oh, she’s a glorious gal! She bikes, hikes, swims, runs, skis, snowshoes and skips from one sweaty season to the next, fresh-faced and feelin’ fine. She’s got coordinated and appropriate footwear for every one of her life’s leaps and bounds, and her sports bra is a scooping, shaping, anti-chafing support system that keeps her betties lifted as high as her endorphin-fueled spirits.

Yes, Ms. Warrior is an inspiration to all, and a testament to the health benefits of the well-oxygenated lifestyle.

Then there’s that other type of active woman… Ms. Perpetually Pooped. Ms. PP is active, all right. Problem is, she’s active to a fault.

If she’s a Career Gal, she’s the one managing teams, putting out fires, hustling leads, pleasing clients, serving customers and doing 17 odd jobs for an apple picker’s wages.

If she’s a Mom, you’ll see her zipping up and down the Hannaford aisles at breakneck speeds, running produce prices and meal plans through advanced algorithms that would put Pythagoras to shame. No doubt she’s got three birthday parties on the horizon, six loads of laundry to fold and marching orders to find balsa wood, Flarp and infrared goggles for a science project … due tomorrow.

As for the Students, Daughters, Sisters, Friends, Dreamers, Doers, Wanna-Be-ers of the PP paradigm?

Yup. All exhausted. And for good reason. Most of the aforementioned PPs wear at least six of those hats at the same time, on a daily – if not hourly – basis.

But it’s not like Winning Warriors don’t have competing demands. How do they pull off miracles of time management and self care no matter what life throws at them?

Winning Warriors nurture, nourish and satisfy themselves FIRST, so their health and well-being is the undisputed priority. Winning Warriors find the time, because they MAKE the time.

“Isn’t that selfish?” PPs wail, while family, friends, bosses, co-workers, neighbors, volunteer groups and pet chinchillas yank their limbs and scream out for their undivided attention.

“It’s the exact opposite,” Winning Warriors reply. “It’s SMART, because it’s the only way to bring our A-games to the rest of the people in our lives.”

Perpetually Poopeds, not surprisingly, are tired of hearing this. How do I know?

My inner Winning Warrior is, alas, Perpetually Pooped.

Still, as warmer weather rolls in and my rolls require more and more public exposure (You try staying appropriately covered at Gilford Beach while picking up sand toys and chasing the Speedy Gonzales of toddlers!), I’m determined to activate my Winning Warrior.

After all, she’s the one I’m counting on to kick dimpled buttocks at this year’s Timberman (short course) Triathlon on Aug. 22 at Ellacoya State Park in Gilford.

“Live free and tri.” Yes, Ma’am, that’s my battle cry, on so many levels. (Choke on that, inner Ms. PP!)

So, allow me to reactivate my initial question, and ask a follow-up:

1) Which type of “active woman” are you right now?

2) Which one do you want to be?

If the answers clash, don’t fret.

SWEAT.

Care to chime in? E-mail Lani@TheBroadAppeal.com.

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