This was in today's "Dear Abby" column in the paper:
DEAR ABBY: I am a 55-year-old female who competes in triathlons for fun, fitness and health. I consulted my doctor because I was having foot pain. When I told him I was a runner and was preparing for a marathon race, his response was, "At your age, you could hardly call it a race."
I was shocked. I repeated the insulting comment to my husband, who has never supported me in this nor attended my races. He replied, "Well, you don't actually consider yourself an athlete, do you?"
I am so offended that I want to dismiss both my doctor and my husband. I just finished a race with 5,000 women. Every one of them was fabulous and serious, no matter how old or what they looked like. It was the spirit of the sport that mattered. At what age does one stop being an athlete? -- OLDER ATHLETE, EUGENE, ORE.
This raised some interesting questions in my mind about support, encouragement, or the lack thereof. I don't want to discuss the "athlete-yes-or-no" question. Instead, I'd like to know how people out there deal with non-supportive spouses, friends, co-workers, doctors, etc.
My own experience includes being teased by my co-workers for "getting beat by a 70-year-old woman." (This was after a big meet where they viewed my results on the Internet.) This came from men who are at least 50 pounds overweight and can barely walk from their cars to their desks.
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Former Member
I broke my shoulder on December 1. It wasn't a bad break and didn't require surgery. I'm sure the doctor had my date of birth in mind when he told me that I would probably be able to become completely functional - that I would be able to comb my hair with my right hand.
It didn't register on me until I got home - what he said. I don't consider being able to comb my hair as being functional. The next time I told him that I was a swimmer, and he wasn't very encouraging.
When I started physiotherapy he said I could swim, and I do breaststroke - did a thousand yards yesterday and included a couple of laps of freestyle. The breaststroke is easy, though I still don't do a good steamline off the wall as my bad arm isn't completely straight - but it's improving every time. The freestyle was hard, but I am hopeful that it will get easier.
Today the therapist asked if I could comb my hair with my right hand. GRRRR! I find the low goals they set for me very discouraging.
I broke my shoulder on December 1. It wasn't a bad break and didn't require surgery. I'm sure the doctor had my date of birth in mind when he told me that I would probably be able to become completely functional - that I would be able to comb my hair with my right hand.
It didn't register on me until I got home - what he said. I don't consider being able to comb my hair as being functional. The next time I told him that I was a swimmer, and he wasn't very encouraging.
When I started physiotherapy he said I could swim, and I do breaststroke - did a thousand yards yesterday and included a couple of laps of freestyle. The breaststroke is easy, though I still don't do a good steamline off the wall as my bad arm isn't completely straight - but it's improving every time. The freestyle was hard, but I am hopeful that it will get easier.
Today the therapist asked if I could comb my hair with my right hand. GRRRR! I find the low goals they set for me very discouraging.
