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The world of social media has certainly changed the fabric of our society in terms of how you meet and connect with people: it’s strange, it’s bizarre, it seems impersonal, it can be deceptive, it can be downright creepy…the list goes on. But, from time to time, you come across an energy that you’re drawn to. I was a late comer to Instagram, really to look up powerlifting and Olympic lifting videos after one of my trainers introduced this world to me and I fell in love with it. Then what I quickly discovered was that Instagram is a great (and fun) way to find like-minded folks based on common interests. Whether you’re just a voyeur into someone’s life based on images they choose to share, or whether you actually take that step to comment and perhaps even reach out to them, is another level.
Stephanie Hutchinson was one such person in terms of someone I started following, because I liked her story, her perspective, her take on a common interest we shared – health and fitness – as a mom. I have pretty good spidey senses about people and there was an authenticity to her posts that appealed to me. This was perhaps about a year ago. I don’t quite recall.
Fast forward to this summer via you’re somewhat typical social media interactions, it landed Stephanie and I IN PERSON at Noorish back in early August. We had too many things in common and wanted to have a real live human conversation! I was tickled to hear that through what I shared online about my experience with my first Femsport event back in July 2015, she is taking the plunge and planning to do it in 2017. As part of this conversation, she asked if I would write for her blog about why Femsport made such an impression on me.
So here it is. I chose to format it like an interview. Which was weird, to basically interview myself.
Q: What is Femsport?
A: Well, rather than me ramble on about it, it’s likely easiest and best to just click here.
Q: How did you find out about Femsport?
A: It was one of the personal trainers at the gym that I work out at – Infinite Fitness in southwest Edmonton – that approached me to join her trio team. I was not familiar with Femsport prior. Last year (2015), I had reached a health and fitness milestone for myself in that after two years of hard work and sweat, I had finally lost all the baby weight I had gained from having four kids over a span of six year. I was a very active kid growing up, was a competitive swimmer for almost 10 years of my youth and led a pretty active life pre-kids, so when I was back at my “pre-babies” weight, I wanted to mark it with some new challenges. So in 2015, I had decided to do Tough Mudder Whistler with some childhood friends. And then Femsport was added to the list.
Q: What attracted you to Femsport?
A: Um, first and foremost, no running. Or very little. I wish I loved running, but I just don’t. So even doing Tough Mudder Whistler took some convincing in the form of bribery and a promise of a great girl’s spa day post-event. I did quite a bit of running in my late teens/early 20s, but between my ACL surgery knee and presumably something with turning 40 in a few short months, my body just feels beaten up when I run. The whole female empowerment and support thing was very intriguing to me as well. And it being a completely new challenge – things I’ve never done before like having to flip a 300lb tire.
But what intrinsically appealed to me most and I feel makes Femsport unique is that unlike most other fitness-related events available to the fitness lovers, amateur athletes and weekend warriors, is that while you enter as teams of three, it is also largely individual. Sure, you can use the other competitors as motivation to kick butt, but it’s really you against you. It’s technical in that there are pretty clear cut rules in each of the events so you can benchmark your physical abilities and performance, which I liked because I’m a bit nerdy that way. When you do run or OCR events – though you still have nerves – there isn’t the same spectator aspect to it like Femsport has, in my opinion. For many of us adults, we haven’t had this sense or experience of “all eyes on you” since our youth either doing individual sports or performing at the school Christmas concert. So, there is a huge mental component to it.
Q: What did you learn about yourself with this event?
A: As the cliché goes - “if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you” - definitely applied here for me. Our bodies go through so much hormonal and physical change when we have our babies, but beyond this is the inner growth that happens with entering the world of motherhood. There’s a lot of introspection, self-evaluation and epiphanies that happen throughout this time of life – at least it was for me. I thought about what kind of parent I want to be, how I want to raise and guide our children, what kind of life I want for them. I gained an appreciation or perhaps more empathy for all that my parents sacrificed to provide for us and protect us from when we were kids because parenthood and simply life – or “adulting” as per today’s social vernacular – is not always easy.
For me, having always been immensely career-focused and then having four kids in six years while maintaining my consulting, I didn’t realize how much of my true self I had lost. And I don’t use the word ‘lost’ in the negative, but rather it’s just the realities of juggling career, marriage, all the joys of pregnancy, labour and delivery, parenthood – that is simply the phase of life that I was – and am – in.
Femsport helped reignite a fire in me from a physical perspective. Working out is very much my form of therapy. It helps me stay sane in all the craziness that is my life. I lost this outlet for a while during the “we’re having babies for six years” time frame and that’s okay. When my youngest was done breastfeeding, it was time for me again. I was ready, in fact desperate, to reclaim my body back. Little did I know, though, that part of this reclaiming my body back would include the incredible amount of inner (let’s call it mental) growth that I would have.
And with each year lived and more life experiences gained in my corner of the world, I’ve come to realize that mental strength is probably the most paramount aspect to overcoming any and all challenges that are thrown my way. So with Femsport, I almost approached it like exercising my mental muscles.
Q: Do you recommend this event to other women?
A: Unequivocally yes! The event itself is very doable. It attracts all shapes sizes and fitness levels for this very reason. It’s a great spectator event where your family and friends can come hang out for the day with lawn chairs and an ice cooler of food and cheer everyone on. From a health and fitness and competitor perspective, it was so much fun. The camaraderie and energy you feel among all the women was unreal. As mothers, it’s pretty awesome to have your kids watch and see their mom be so strong, so fierce…OR, also see them be vulnerable and nervous. Either direction, there’s human learning to be had with the littles. I think quite often times, when we wear our "mother" hats, we forget that it’s equally important for our children to see that we’re also a person, a woman, an individual with our own goals and desires and fears.
Q: What next? Will you do Femsport next year again?
A: Yep, I think so! I turn 40 in January 2017 and I’m excited about this milestone birthday! I feel like I’m entering the prime of my life. I don’t need a party or want a big gift, but instead, I want to mark it with more and new experiences. We (as in my Femsport trio team) did the Calgary and Fort Saskatchewan events this year. We plan on doing the Fort Saskatchewan again in 2017 and perhaps the Kamloops one too. And I’ve decided to add a new challenge to my 40th year – road cycling – three 100-mile (160km each) events – the Gran Fondo Badlands, Gran Fondo Banff and the Tour de l’Alberta that is held in Beaumont. Go big or go home, right?
