Athlete wannabes?
 

Hi everyone,

I'm currently making another attempt at getting in shape.:rolleyes: To keep myself motivated I decided to walk a marathon (or possibly half-marathon) at the end of November. I joined a group that does six months of training together and I'm enjoying it (of course, we're only at 7 miles so far!). Next summer I'd like to do a sprint triathlon--that's a half mile swim, 12 mile bikeride and 3 mile walk/run.

I'm lurking/occasionally posting at www.beginnertriathlete.com. The name seemed right for me!:D However, even the newbies there seem way ahead of me. Not so much physically (well, there's alot of that too!), but psychologically. They seem much more can-do, just do it, jump right in.

A thread a couple of days ago at the tri site really started me thinking. A guy asked, why women-only tris (like Reebok and Danskin)? The best answer, the one that resonated with me, said something I hadn't thought of before.

======This is the part of the thread from the tri board I'm talking about:======

"Title IX passed in 1972. That means for every woman older than 33, the idea that they, as women/girls, deserved the same time and money and attention re: athletics was not something they grew up with. So it's not that they can't do stuff, or that they are lesser athletes, it's just that MANY women are missing a psychological part of "athletics" that many men and younger women have possibly taken for granted I can;t imagine not growing up doing sports and what that must be like to just start out as an adult.

"I was taken seriously and cheered on by my parents starting at age 4 when I played Kiddie Kick. My dad was out there all the time validating and bragging about me, I have always felt like a woman, a strong woman, and I never felt I had to "soften" myself or dumb myslef down to be less threatening to men (there was an old thread about exactly that happening still! Imagine how your mom felt in 1940!) .

"There is a huge amount of confidence and faith in oneself that athletics provide.But it's a chicken and egg thing, it is hard to join a sport or team if you have no confidence that you can do it or that you even belong there. I am 32. I grew up with little league, soccer, ice hockey, at the local level, school level, collegiate etc. When I try a new sport, I feel pretty sure I'll pick it up and have fun, and if it's hard, so what? I am used to working hard! I know how to fall down. I know how to react if by accident during the course of play, I get jostled. I know that my worth as a person is not affected if I am less "feminine," if my makeup runs, if I get dirty. It was a given to my parents that I would do and play sports.

"My mom, on the other hand, at 50 years old, decided she wanted to learn to roller blade because it looked fun. her concerns? she would look fat and silly. she would fall and be embarrassed. she wouldn't learn very quickly and she would drag everyone else down. being an "athlete" was not something she ever thought she could do, bc it was not ladylike. She never learned to fall down, she never learned that being dirty doesn;t make the boys run away (maybe it did back then!) And she certainly didn;t know what it would be like to be physical and sweaty around strangers."

======= That's the end of the quote from the other board.=======

Ok, I fit this profile (maybe not so much fearing I'm not ladylike as knowing I'm a klutz and getting picked last for teams, etc.) I have trouble psychologically even finding the starting line (maybe even the race!) while the others are nervous and worried--but nonetheless chomping at the bit.:o

Are there others out there that feel this way? I'd love to start an ongoing thread here at 3F to encourage each other. The tri board is great for rah, rah stuff and specific info (and they're VERY supportive and friendly) and I'll still be checking in with them, but I need an emotional base to come home to. I'd love it to be here.

If there are a few of us, we could commiserate and cheer and encourage. And eventually find the starting line!!!:lol:

I'm a middle aged, overweight nonathlete getting fit--calling all others in whatever stage of fitness you are, whatever age, and whatever sport you're trying to get the courage to join--anything: tris, biking, swimming, walking, running, softball, kayaking, ANYTHING.

If you're out there, I'd dearly love to make contact with you!:wave:

I'm a middle aged, overweight nonathlete getting fit
 

I think you just summed me up in 8 words! :lol:

I've always wanted to be an athlete, but what kind, I just don't know! :shrug: I've always wanted to be involved in some kind of sport, but life always seems to get in the way for me and I don't have the time. Besides my workouts, the most physically active thing I do is ride dirt bikes, and that is actually pretty tough work. I've tried to train for a marathon, but my hips are a little too screwed up to run that far. I try to do more low impact types of cardio, although my 2x per week workout consists of going to the high school track and walking the first curve, jogging the first straight, walking the second curve, doing 20 lunges on the 2nd straight and halfway in to the 1st straight again doing 15 calf raises. I do this for 8 laps, or 2 miles, and that kicks my ***. I would love to do more swimming, but I'm a bit shy about my size so I stay away from the pool. I'll go back once I've lost some pounds. I'm short and packed with a lot of muscle, so a marathoner I'll never be. That's ok, there's other sports out there for me.

I commend you for following your heart and trying something new! That sprint marathon sounds like something I'd like to try. How much longer until the miles for the marathon get really long? That ALWAYS scared me off! LOL

So, I'd love to be a buddy for you. I'm good at the cheering thing... :cb: :cb: :encore: :encore: :cheer: :cheer: See! LOL And I'll be glad to help you find the startline, I'll just have to find one for myself too! :D

Kathy

WooHooooo, another wannabe! Kathy, this is great.

Dirt biking--that's a sport, isn't it? Is it mountain biking, on trails? I'm impressed! They have some sprint tris where the bike portion is on trails. I know what you mean about the swimsuit thing. Luckily, the other women in the water jogging class I go to sometimes are my size.

Your workout is pretty vigorous. Especially all those lunges! I'm hit and miss about strength training--trying to get better about it.

The sprint triathlon has been my goal for three summers now. No sense rushing into anything! It's very doable, in the sense that you can walk or run or combination for the 3 miles. And I've worked up to one-half mile swim in the pool. It's not the distance it sounds. And 12 miles on a bike really isn't that far. Just putting them together--then all those people around doing the same thing! And the competition. It's doable, but I haven't done it!:rolleyes:

I'd love to have a thread here (maybe in the Exercise forum?). Anyone working up to a race or whatever could join in. Sort of competition with training wheels! I'm aiming for the tri next summer, so I'm in for the long haul. And working out that long will help with the weight.

I'm so glad to read your post!

Good morning Clarissa! :coffee:

I hope you had a good weekend! I think I did. :lol: I didn't do anything on Saturday because It's so stinken hot here. Although, I did go to the track and do my torture workout. Sunday my husband and I took out the dirt bikes. They're motorcycles, I don't think I could do the pedal kind of dirt biking without dying first! :lol: We did that for a few hours then later that evening we took out the street bikes. I'm a motorcycle fanatic, by the way. :bike: Today I plan on doing 50 minutes on the bike.

A half mile in the pool sounds like a lot! I know how exhausting swimming can be. I can only imaging doing it with some adrenalin going thru your system. So were you able to go out and train this weekend? Or better yet, maybe I should ask, How many times a week do you have to run/swim/bike?

I think we can either start a thread in the "chicks up for a challenge", or maybe have this thread moved there by asking a mod. Either way, I'm up for it!

Have a great day!
Kathy :wave: