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.
I have a wonderful husband who loves that I swim and supports it and my endeavors 100%. So, I LOVE to cook for him. :D
I have a wonderful husband who loves that I swim and supports it and my endeavors 95%. And I LOVE it when he cooks for me. :D
My husband is pretty supportive of my swimming
A pet peeve of mine though, and one which I don't hear infrequently, is that men/teenage boys don't like female swimmer bodies. We have broad shoulders, we look like we're on steroids, we're buff, we can beat people up. I would have thought this neanderthalian view would have undergone a transformation in more recents times, with so many former athletes as moms. But, alas, I have heard this out of the mouth of teenage boys.
I think most of us can be content with not attracting the teenage boy group.
:rofl:
Yes, we're content. :rofl:
I was more worried about my soon-to-be-teenage daughter.... And I'm also tired of hearing teenage boys call teenage girls on the swim team "mooses." Blech.
For real!? Mooses!? Wow! I've never heard that! Times have changed. Or perhaps it's geographical?
Here in the south, all I remember is that all the age group boys (swimmers or otherwise) were DYING to get into the age group girls swimmers' pants - and that so and so was "hot," "awesome," "amazing," "the future mother of my children," etc. It was a hormonal hook-up fest.
Good times. Actually, quite a few age group swimmers (and one coach/ swimmer relationship even!) ended up happily marrying eachother. . .
Is this a large group mentality in your area or just a couple of annoying boys?
Perhaps it's something that a big swat upside the head can't cure. . .
:joker:
Seriously though - I see your concerns. I have a feeling that if your daughters are anything like you are Fortress, said pimply, greasy, prepubescent boys will be put in their place with a witty remark!
:D
He sounds whipped...just my :2cents:
I thought you said men were frightened by strong women... :rofl: How exactly are you using the above adjective? In that funny Richjb British-humor way or in an affectionate :smooch: way?
I'm pretty strong, but it's safe to say Mr. Fortress can still take me. He likes pumping iron and he has diamond calves even though he can't do breaststroke at all ...
On this topic, I'd like to say that some non-swimmer friends/acquaintances can seem somewhat oddly unsupportive. They say "that's great," but they don't really want to talk about swimming. Most don't know what "masters swimming" is. They definitely don't see planning vacations around swim meets. They can't believe how long any swim meet (USS or masters) lasts. And they wonder why I'm always running around in gym clothes and running shoes. I guess it's just a difference in interests. As long as they don't make me talk about auction planning at great length ... (Sorry if I'm offending any avid auction planners. I do volunteer at my kids' schools, clad in gym clothes usually. :D )
Well if it get's him to cook your dinner for you....kudos!
Did you just say cook "my" dinner for "me?" :rofl: I think there is a slight misunderstanding here, jellyfish KING dude living in the PALACE. :thhbbb: Did you not see that picture of my family I posted on New Years?! There is a lot more than just one person sitting at the table here in my house ...:rofl: Mr. Fortress usually gives me an assist or handles it on the weekends. I'll take whatever I can get. I used to love to cook, but the hectic, go-go, make dinner in 30 minutes for a gaggle of hungry squakers takes all the fun out of it ... Wait until your kids grow up!! Do you have to cook when your wife is belly-dancing?
I am a good cook. I am thinking of retraining to be a chef. Then I am going to open a restaurant in the "Northern part of Virginia" exlcusively catering to "elite" swimmers.../quote]
Please come!! Do you really think teenage boys like to cook? Not. College kids think that you are supposed to live on pizza and booze and hormones. Are there any "elite" swimmers in the "northern part of virginia?" I think they all live in NC and NY and are participating in the annual postal hour swim ... I know one "elite" breaststroker. If you come, I'll arrange a special private lesson! Now how can you resist that? Mr. Fortress will cook. Or I will grill. I'm good with the grill... It doesn't require great technique.:rofl:
BTW my teenage sons can cook Ramen noodles and pancakes. :banana:
Is this bragging, Tom? Do you not just microwave or boil ramen noodles? And don't they have nasty stuff in them? TFs, maybe? Even my rude one cooks pancakes. Actually, everyone except my 6 year old cooks pancakes so they can carbo load with easily digestible food ... What about you though? I didn't hear you bragging about your cooking skills ... Were you finally clobbered by that storm that hit the midwest? You better get more wordy or you'll never get your custom avatar ...
I, for one, would like to see a SI swimsuit edition with swimmers in it. Just might change the minds of a few teenage boys. The womens beach volley ball matches are always better attended than the mens. (certainly a fair portion of the audience wouldn't know a dig from a spike)
Yes, thank you, precisely!!! I seem to recall an SI edition with pictures of "female spouses" of real "athletes," like Roger Clemens' wife. But then you receive the SI anorexic swimsuit edition in the mail. It would be nice to have a swimmers' swim suit issue, since we're the ones that use the darn things anyway. I bet some of us, especially the younger ones, look pretty hot! (I have a volleyball player friend my age and she sure looks great.) I guess we've already seen some of the USS elite, like Coughlin and Beard modeling. In the meantime, I'm just trying to indoctrinate my teenage boy ... but I'm not sure it's working ....
