First, the basics:
Who is Oiselle?
From their website:
Oiselle is a Seattle-based women's athletic apparel company that believes in the transformative power of sport and its ability to inspire strength, courage, and sisterhood. We live and breathe the sport of running, and we live and breathe the art of apparel design. In both, we seek quality and innovation. And to know that everything we do supports women who want to move, run, and fly.
I'm a recent joinee to the flock, running for the Oiselle Volee Team. This is a team made up of runners from all over the country, from your Average Jill like me all the way up to Olympians like Kara Goucher. Oiselle (pronounced Wa-Zell) is an athletic apparel company specializing in women's running gear that is designed by and for women. This stuff is the real deal and the company is not only committed to providing the best gear on the market: they are all about growing a culture of strong women. My kind of company! In my new series Oiselle Flight Fridays, I'll be bringing you one of the seven Principles of Flight from the Oiselle Volee Flight Manual each Friday. I'll also be reviewing a piece of Oiselle gear with each of the seven principles.
Oiselle Flight Manual. |
This week, I'm going over the 2nd Principle of Flight from the Flight Manual: Set A Goal, and also telling you all about my Embossed Roga Shorts!
So, without further ado, here's what the Flight Manual states:
2. Set A Goal
Athletic, personal, realistic, or wild and dreamy. We seek big accomplishments on significant stages and we define what those are for ourselves. No matter the speed or goal, the effort is marked by a willingness to see what's possible--to go fast, take chances.
Photo taken of the Set A Goal page from the Oiselle Flight Manual. |
Or, I'll make a quantifiable goal that's probably too easy for me to fail at. Like-- I will build up to being able to hold a plank for one minute. Ok. Nailed it. On like, day two of the thirty-day challenge. Did that really feel like something worth celebrating?
Last winter before the running and racing season really got going for me, my husband asked me what my goals were for my running and fitness for the summer. I think I said something vague like, "I don't know... I just want to do a lot of races." He said, "I think you should do a triathlon," which is something I've always had in the back of my mind to do, but instead of agreeing with him, I found reasons why I couldn't train for a tri. "We don't live near a pool..." and "I don't have a road bike..." Again, I let self-doubt get in the way of setting goals for myself. Others believe in me, but why do I struggle sometimes to believe in myself?
That is why it is so huge for me that I set a goal in the middle of February to hold 5K On the Farm. I made it official at our annual Montana Farmers Union Women's Conference by telling a room full of women that I would do it. Even as the words came out of my mouth, I wasn't sure if I believed myself. But, I kept it in my mind, and talked it over with Jeff several times. Then, in June we decided on a date and made it really, REALLY official.
We are now less than two weeks away from Race Day. We have 40 registrations for the race, as of this morning. You can sign up by clicking here: https://runsignup.com/Race/MT/Inverness/5KOnTheFarm
My goal is to have at least 50 people and I think we'll hit that. I waffle back and forth between-- "Wow! I'm DOING this and it's REALLY HAPPENING!" and thoughts of... "Holy shit! What if something goes horribly wrong? Can I really do this?" Yes, there are A LOT of last-minute details to work out, and not everything has gone as planned already, but I already feel like we've accomplished a lot. I made a big goal of planning and holding this race with the secondary goal of a minimum of 50 sign-ups, and I know we're going to achieve it.
The thing is, I feel like goal-setting is one area where success breeds success. Once you set a good goal and achieve it, it gives you the confidence to set more goals and achieve them. One of my new goals is to set better goals that give myself the credit I deserve! Goals that are measurable, challenging, yet achievable with hard work. It does no good to say, "I will do better in my next 5K," when what I really want is to be under 25 minutes in a 5K. What I should say is, "My goal is to run under 25:00 in a 5K. I would like to do that within the year of 2015, and these are the steps I'm going to take to reach that goal." And: "In 2016 I am going to register for and complete a sprint-distance triathlon. The challenges I need to overcome to do this are ____" and go from there.
When I saw this post on the Oiselle Facebook page about not giving yourself a Plan B, I thought it tied in really well with goal-setting. Read it here: Run Like There's No Plan B . Yeah, it's about allowing yourself to run professionally if that's what you want, but I think the underlying theme is good for EVERYONE. Don't give yourself a Plan B or an easy out when it comes to reaching your goals or striving for your dreams. Do what you love and let that be your only plan. Live like there is no Plan B.
Now, this is where a crafty writing segue would be nice as I'm going to change subjects to review some of my favorite running shorts: Oiselle Embossed Roga Shorts!
The Embossed Roga Shorts are the first and only thing I have paid full price for that I bought from Oiselle. This is not because I'm receiving anything from them, but because I'm a cheapskate and while I love running clothes, I do not have an unlimited budget. I almost always wait until things go on sale. But not for these! I wanted a pair of comfortable, neutral colored shorts I could wear with my Team Beef Jersey for racing. I surfed the Oiselle website for a while and weighed my different options. Ultimately, it was Jessie at The Right Fits and her constant praises of her Rogas that swayed me toward these. I went with the Embossed version because they're just a little jazzier than the plain ones.
Here they are on the Oiselle website: Oiselle Embossed Roga Shorts
They are $50 and they come in three colors: Deep Rose, Money, and Charcola. When I got mine, only Charcola and Money were available. I may have been very tempted to get the Deep Rose! Alas, I got the gray because I thought it would go with the most other items I already had.
Oiselle Embossed Roga Shorts in Charcola. |
Harvey and I are showing off the embossed fabric of these shorts. |
The dogs were clearly very excited to help me model my shorts! |
Oiselle Roga Shorts, which I sold on eBay for good money! |
- Mac Roga - Shorter inseam
- Long Roga- Longer inseam
- Toolbelt Roga - pockets galore!
- Roga Pant - it's a pant. Hence the name. ;)
There is definitely a Roga for every runner!
Oiselle Roga Pants, image from www.Oiselle.com. |
I think the Roga Pants might be a good item for me for Track Practice next season. They *may* be on my wishlist! Perhaps I should Set A Goal to own these pants? ;)
That's it for this week's installment of Oiselle Flight Fridays, this time brought to you on a Sunday! Ha! Maybe this next one will actually be posted on Friday??? Stay tuned for next week's post, when I'll be writing about the 3rd Principle of Flight: Own The Journey.
In the meantime, please consider signing up for 5K On The Farm! We have a Virtual Run option, too! :)
Great post! The Rogas look great on you and thanks for the shout-out :)
ReplyDeleteWHOAH- Roga pants??? I want those too! They look really comfortable and perfect for fall.
Yes I agree! Although I read in the reviews that people think they are too "balloon-y" so i don't know. Maybe size down if you order them?
DeleteTeam Beef causes is to find fun things in our quest for shorts that go with our jerseys!
ReplyDeleteSO happy for you and your 5k on the Farm, I love that you are making it happen.
Yes, this is so true about Team Beef! Now that I'm with Oiselle, I'm going to be wearing my Oiselle jersey sometimes, too. When I took the Team Beef survey that came recently, I suggested a headband or something so that I can still rep Team Beef even when I'm wearing my Oiselle singlet. *fingers crossed*
DeleteYes, I am super super excited about 5K On The Farm, too! We're learning a lot and there will be a few changes for next year, but people's enthusiasm has been really great and the signups have already exceeded my expectations! Thanks to YOU for signing up, too! :)