I have never yet finished a race on my hands and knees but this necklace sure makes me want to try! Funny!Part of being fitness oriented is setting goals. Everyone has them, whether it’s to run to the next lamppost before walking or to qualify for Boston. To stay and finish the kickboxing class or to get your black belt before you’re 5oth birthday. To learn how to swim or to swim around the world and get your own reality show. (That’s the real American Dream! Screw chickens in pots, we want a home redecorated in the style of Product Placement and the Jillian stamp of approval on our well-toned tushies!) Whatever your goal, nothing beats the rush of accomplishment and pride you feel when cross that finish line, whatever it may be.
So what could be more awesome than finishing? Getting a finisher’s medal to show the world that you finished! I jest. Sort of. While there is something to be said for just mentally congratulating yourself on a job well done, when you make a major accomplishment sometimes it’s fun to commemorate that moment with a little physical token. Some people buy a new piece of gear (hot little Lululemon running skirt, SeaBreeze?). Others get a tattoo but I’m risk-averse and also not confident of my ability to pick a design that would age well (this fear bred of a horror incurred as a young child catching a glimpse of a fairy-on-shroom inked on a very geriatric breast). And while I do love those giant, flashy medals it’s just not socially acceptable to wear them to, say, the office party or PTA meeting without looking like a braggart.
So I stick to jewelry. My thing used to be rings but I’ve started to run out of fingers – you can only wear so many before people start mistaking them for brass knuckles and sending you invites to MMA (mixed-martial arts) parties. (Had to throw that in there since I did, actually, today get invited to an official MMA press mixer. It’s in New York so obviously I won’t be attending but I was just flattered to be invited, especially since they thanked my blog for being such a big supporter of the MMA community. Apparently reading my blog before you e-mail me is overrated.) Moving onwards and upwards to the next available skin real estate, I’ve become attached to necklaces. Not to mention you can fit a whole lot more words on a necklace than you can a ring! Which came in handy when Sarah, GFE reader and owner of Tag! You’re It! Designs, contacted me about her fitness-themed jewelry.
Did I have an athletic accomplishment I wanted to commemorate in stamped metal? Does the world need a Tiger Woods statue fashioned entirely out of condoms?? OF COURSE! (You’d better believe there’s a picture in that above link. His belt buckle reads “Let’s do it, Tiger.”)
So what event did I pick to commemorate? Well it certainly wasn’t the time I ran until I fainted (see, I skipped the crawling part – the necklace would have had to read “Run” “Walk” “Faint” “Idiot” and that’s just not very inspirational). No, I picked my children’s names! Anyone who thinks childbirth is not an athletic accomplishment in its own right hasn’t seen the way I birth children. There was arm wrestling, lunges and 4 hours of speed walking, if you recall.
So Sarah made me a gorgeous necklace (full disclosure: it was free, thank you FTC) with all five of my kids’ names on it – she even remembered to include my daughter who died! I adore it and wear it every day. And she’d like to give one of you a free necklace! To see the design I would pick for you and to get all the details on entering, click over to my giveaway page.
What athletic goals do you have? What achievement are you most proud of? How do you celebrate your victories? Update: Y’all have got to read the directions! To be entered into this contest you have to leave a comment here AND one on Sarah’s giveaway page with the code GFE!
All pictures property of Tag! You’re it! Designs
This post copyrighted by Charlotte Hilton Andersen for use only on The Great Fitness Experiment.
These are great. My ultimate fitness goal is to beat my knee injuries and walk a few miles without pain. I'm not sure when I'll hit that milestone, but I have hope that I will one day. Because of that I'd have my tags read "HOPE."
That really is a great way to celebrate an accomplishment. Simple and stylish for both men and women. I would agree with your choice Charlotte. My biggest accomplishment is childbirth. It's the hardest thing I've ever done. And I've gladly done it five times.
I'm still feeling a bit somber from your other post so I have nothing sarcastic of self-deprecating to say.
I agree parenting has been my biggest accomplishment.
The goals I'm working on right now are my black belt in taekwondo and the RKC certification.
(Id pretend I dont wanna win—but I do. and I shouldnt be allowed given that Im stopping the gives :))
I adore that she included ALL of your children, Charlotte.
a few years ago I created the same sort of thing for my MIL and had to stop and ask my husband if I should include his sister who passed.
he was a bit horrified I would ask as the answer was a resounding OF COURSE.
That necklace is awesome. I think that is a very thoughtful gift.
What a nice idea!!!
My biggest accomplishment so far has been to keep running my relationship to my boyfriend since 9 long years, and care about our two cats (who are like children ;-)) – this is not a sport-specific accomplishment on the first glance, but i tell you, sometimes it really is, e.g. when i run through the flat trying to catch the cat to give her a pill she needs…just for her best 😉 or when i do 30 push ups (REAL push ups) just to show my boyfriend that i CAN do it 😉
as their names are max, balu and baghira i would get: "MaBaBa" on my necklace…nobody would understand, and i like that a lot 😉
I broke my ankle last week. So my goal is to stay as fit as possible while hobbling around in a compression boot. Not sure what the words would be on a tag: Break, Hobble, Heal?
Those are great! I think I would choose "I did it!"… It's the same sentiment as run, walk, crawl… 🙂
Thank you.
The necklaces are great. I think mine would say "breathe" because (as silly as it sounds) I forget to (especially when stressed!).
what a great idea! I would probably put my children's names on the discs.
I would like to put the year of the following accomplishments – run 1 full mile, run 26.2, bike 100 miles, swim 1 full mile, 1st triathlon
I have a friend who is so proud of her recent half marathon but isn't one to tattoo her accomplishment on herself. I would love to get her one that says "VB 13.1"
I just got myself a Bondi Band that says 13.1 (and it's hot pink!) to commemorate the half marathon I ran in Nov.
I tend to buy myself sports related stuff when I need motivation instead of when I need a reward.
My goal for this year is to run more races than the 5 I ran last year.
I would get the word 'swing' and the numbers 5, 10, and 15. I am a kettle bell enthusiast and when I first started I could only use the 5lb bells, then the 10lbs bells, now I can use the 15lb bells.
I love the idea of this! I think I would put "live" on my necklace to remind to me actively live each and every day.
I have accomplished a few fitness goals like winning/placing in 5K's, winning bodybuilding contests, just making it thru each workout. None is better than the other as each is a challenge that I completed. My current challenge is to age with muscles! 🙂
Hmmmm, what would I put on there…. To Life – that might be a good one.
I love it! I think that's a beautiful idea.
Hahaha! That's hilarious. Not you breaking your ankle – yeesh, I hope you heal quickly! – but your necklace motto.
I would put the word "now", both because I can procastinate, especially on my own personal activities (i.e. going to the gym, any kind of pampering etc.) and because I am working on living more in the present.
I do the same thing. I always buy a new piece of clothing to wear for a race. Wearing new clothes eases the nervousness and helps me relax. Finishing the race with a good or even a bad time is a reward in itself.
Love it! And congrats on getting stronger!
I love the run, walk, crawl necklace. If I customized my own I might go with DSM, 13.1, 2009. I ran/walked my first half marathon last year, and if I can get over a knee injury my goal is to do it again. 🙂
I would do, "chubby smoker", "fat ex-smoker", "runner/weight lifter/yogini".
That would be awesome to have–I'd be stoked.
I love these, and I love that your childbirth fitness achievements were honored. I was planning on commemorating my fitness achievements with little tattoos on the side of my foot (easily hidden and I hope my feet won't get too saggy as I age). I want to do a music note for each exercise format I teach, and 1 to honor my husband (a violinist). He's not 100% sold on the tatoos tho, so the necklace would be a great substitute. I'd do Dance, Kick, Hustle discs (I teach Zumba, TurboKick and am getting certified in Hustle soon). My next big fitness goal? Open tryouts for the Patriots dance team. I'm not kidding. They'll laugh me off the floor, but what a story I'll have!
I love these. And what a wonderful achievement your children are!
For me I think I would commemorate my recovery. I developed anorexia in high school and just recently returned to a healthy weight. Since then I've learned to eat and am learning to finally love myself. I never did before, ever. While I obviously have many hang ups that I didn't previously, that will probably never leave me, in general I am becoming so much more as a person. And learning to be happy.
Before my eating disorder I danced and played lacrosse, but then I was forced to stop so that I couldn't lose more weight through exercise. I'm finally allowed to run again! But I'm so out of shape that I just recently reached a mile.
On my jewelry piece I would write "enough". Because I am good "enough" (as a person), healthy "enough" (to exercise 🙂 !), strong "enough" (to survive the mental collapse that is anorexia and come out the other end).
My goal is to help others get healthy. The more I learn and the more I try, the more I want to bring others along on the journey. Changes in my job are allowing the time, so I am working on figuring out the method. And what do you know? People are opening up to it and getting motivated already.
The skirt picture is coming soon. The weather didn't agree with me this weekend and there were gale force winds, clouds, and showers so it did not get to debute
I would leave the words "Run" "Race" "13.1" on the necklace
Awesome. I would definitely have "Run" imprinted with a plan to later add "Go" to the front and "Win" at the end. This would have double meaning for me, an inspiration for my physicality and my spirituality: Go = (Mark 16:15), Run & Win (1 Cor 9:24).
My greatest achievement is my family. So I would love to get my kids names on a necklace. My goal for fitness is to comeback from some recent injury setbacks (hip and wrist) and stay consistent.
"Run Now" because sometimes I have to remind myself that running makes me feel better. Or maybe "Run Knit Eat Sleep" to commemorate my favorite things.
My current fitness goal is to get back in prime shape and use exercise to fix my knee pain. I want to be fit and pain free 🙂
I am most proud of 2 goals I have met int he past – running a 10K and performing a bellydance solo. It's amazing to have met goals and be able to look back on them and see what I can do…and *will* do 🙂
Comment +1….
Doh! Forgot the words!
Joy. Love. Dance. Live.
I would put my children's names because they are my greatest achievement. I like to carry them close to my heart as it reminds me why i workout….so I can be a healthy mom and be around to see them grow up.
My girls are my biggest accomplishments by far. Years ago at work I was asked what I wanted to be remembered for and the person started talking about their contributions at work. I responded that I wanted to be remembered for raising 2 amazing women – they were a bit speechless.
No physical accomplishments for the foreseeable future as I sprained my ankle on Sunday playing tennis – hit, fall, cry, …
I'd love to be able to wear a Run and Boston charm because I qualified this October. I think it would be fun to start with just a Run one and add another charm for each new accomplishment.
Right now my fitness goal is to not gain as much weight during baby number 2! And I love the necklaces. I have a rind that has my name on it and my little girls….it's intertwined and is really special to me!
ooops I meant ring!
Love the jewelry! I would have "26.2" for one disc and have "Focus" on the second if it were two discs!
Beautiful! Like you, I have to go with my children. The most amazing thing my body could ever do is bring my two beautiful daughters into this world. I refuse to be unhappy about my stretch marks because they are a sign of what amazing things my body can do.
Oh I would love one of these! I think I would get "Lift" – as in weights and what's it's done for me 🙂
Oh wow – I LOVE this. \”Enough.\” I need to make that my motto too. And congrats on your recovery – that's huge!
I too hope to be able to say that my biggest accomplishment is raising 4 amazing people!  I love that you said it at work:) And I hope your ankle feels better soon!!
Very clever!! I love it.
Oooh you should totally do it!! Keep me posted on how those try outs go – I'm rooting for you!
PS> Yay for Turbo and Hustle!!
I love these necklaces! I would get one that say "Swim" because that's what I do and what I love the most.
Love those! Hard to decide what I would get. It would either be my kids names or "Run" "Lift" "Play".
How fun! I did my first (Okay and only, because I sprained my foot a few days later and blah blah blah) 5K because of a Run/Walk promotion through Weight Watchers. The hype was that all 5K participants would get a fancy-schmancy 5k keychain. I was more than a little disappointed when they keychain thing fell through and I didn't get one–but I was still proud of my self for finishing. Imagine my delight when MONTHS later, the keychain shipment came in and I was the only one in my meeting who had participated and got the fancy-shcmancy keychain. Woohooo! Go me!
I don't know what design I'd pick for a necklace…maybe my son's name (MY SON!!!) because I know I wouldn't be expecting him if it hadn't been for all my hard work. Or how about "Push" as a handy reminder before, during, and after labor. LOL
I'd like the word "Commit"
No excuses for not doing things in life. Whether it's committing to running a marathon, getting in shape, being a better friend. Just commit and stick to it!
I love the idea of your necklace with all your kids' names on it. Seeing as I don't have kids, I'd have to say that I'd do something like "Run" and "26.2". My ultimate goal is to qualify for Boston, so I'd love to add a reference to that someday…
as odd as this sounds – my word would be "feel".
I spend so much time thinking thinking thinking, overanalyzing, planning, sorting, listing, agendizing….and rarely do I just feel.
Then I get into that zone, you know the one, where your carefully laid out workout plan just kind of fades away, where the perfectly tempoed heart-rate inducing music just lulls in the background, where you stop counting reps or breaths or steps and you just FEEL.
yep, that's my word. – love your posts Charlotte, keep em coming 🙂
Oh I love it!! Do you have a name picked out yet??
I think that's an excellent word! I know exactly what you mean about needing to make time to just… feel.Â
i love this idea.. something new to obsess about! 🙂
this is a great give away!!!!!! i would put namaste, om, shanti, love….i mean how can i pick but you get the drift 🙂
What a great idea!
I started running and biking to raise money for organizations that I, my family and friends have been effected by. I think if I designed a necklace it would say "I race for the ones that can't."
I have been running for years but am doing my first races over 5K this summer. I would want the words to say AK, Blossom, Heart.
AK – because I am a life-long Alaskan,
Blossom – I strive to continue to blossom everyday, and
Heart – It all takes heart baby!
I think mine would say love, gratitude, and 11.28.09
I the date is when I came home from the hospital
I had a PE this year and with the support of my husband came through and am taking up running. We hope to do a 10K in 2010.
I would love to see the one she made for you!! i would put faith hope and prayer on my tags. Those words describe my journey to get pregnant over the last 2.5 years.
How cool! I would love one of these. I always need a little inspriation to keep going and I think this would help keep me on track to get that extra workout in or to make the right food choice. With a 9 month old and a 2 year old, I need alot of kuddos some days!
I would put my childrens on mine because they are the greatest accomplishment. They are my ultimate motivation.
Maria
Great idea! I love these necklaces! The 3 greatest physical/ athletic accomplishments in my life are creating/ birthing my son, racing in triathlons, and getting through chemotherapy. I'm a 2 year (since surgery) breast cancer survivor. I was a sprint distance triathlete until I got cancer, but I stumbled my way through a short triathlon 6 weeks after chemo ended and another last summer. Life and mommyhood has finally allowed me both energy and time to train to compete for real this summer. My necklace would say Chemo '08, Luke '98, Tri always
Cheers! Noelle
P.S. Just discovered your blog… totally love it!
Oh that is so beautiful! I love that motto. And congrats on all three of your HUGE accomplishments!
My fitness goal is to finally run a 5k. I get so close and then for whatever reason (excuse) I quit and then it's back to the beginning next time!
Hi Charlotte,
What a great idea – the necklaces and the giveaway. But the best ideas, I have to say, are in the reader comments!! – everyone is SO inspiring and unique. I am touched by all the mothers who would get their kids names, and all the hope and pride and self-acceptance going on with athletic accomplishments.
My biggest accomplishment in the very near horizon (a bit over a month) will be finishing my certification as a 200 hour RYT (registered yoga teacher). It will coincide with my 2-year anniversary teaching yoga, and it has honestly transformed my life (as I suppose many yogis would say!) from a biochem grad student to someone completely more holistic.
So, I would get 'inhale', 'exhale', and 'authenticity' (if it would fit!), which is what I am striving for every day as I try to figure out what lifestyle works for me and brings out the true me – everything from diet (oh, another extremist view to try out! whee!) to sleeping habits to exercise love/hate affairs have tortured me since puberty and I am trying so hard now to remember who I was as a girl. What really mattered to me then, and who was I inside, and how can I reconnect with that authenticity of being now?
Breathing and yoga definitely help. If 'authenticity' didn't fit, I'd get 'svadyaya', the yoga term for self-study.
Long comment… sorry! But thank you so much for making me think about what's important to me!
Congratulations on gettig your certification!! That's HUGE! I'm so excited for you:) And I love the words you picked.
I would put Eliannna, Eden, and Owen on them.