Reminds me of a sig. line I saw recently -
"You don't get big legs watching telly"

---

---

"Here's how you run a marathon. Step 1: You start running. Step 2: There is no step 2." - Barney (How I Met Your Mother)

One gal who races in the NY area and consistently finishes on the podium has been a Radio City Rockette for over 10 years. So I guess you can be a professional dancer and a great triathlete :)

---

Team Danbury Audi - Triplet Mommy!!!

If I weren't a triathlete, dance would be my second choice sport. I LOVE ballet.

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Paula Newby Fraser practiced ballet for years as a child and teen. I think her tri career was somewhat of a success!

This discussion intrigues me for a few reasons -- it sounds like a lot of us are former gymnasts and/or dancers and/or soccer players (I'm 3 for 3 there!). What's the common thing that draws us to triathlon? In my case I've always been a cyclist and swimmer, in addition to the soccer etc.

Also, while not a representative sample, it's interesting how many folks who have chimed in on this thread are around 5'3". I'm 5'3", have the thighs you'd expect from a cyclist-soccer player-skiier, and weigh between 115-122 lbs. depending on training, hormones, and so on. I wear a size 2 despite the muscular thighs and shoulders. I never think I'm short unless I'm around tall people who don't look around them and basically walk through me. How different is the experience of the, say, 5'8" ST'er?

Interesting; thanks for raising it!

I guess I should chime in since you guessed my height right on the nose!

I'm 5' 8", grew up playing soccer, softball, and running. Soccer and softball stopped when I injured my knee during a soccer game. I continued running and found triathlon in undergrad.

I usually tend to weigh in the low 120s. I am by no means muscular, but I do have an athletic body. I don't feel like I am significantly taller than a lot of people, even with my 4 inch heels on tonight ;-)

---

Come crawling faster

Drawn to triathlon because I like suffering I think...

Played soccer kindergarten through 6 grade. Danced for one year (first grade - tap - didn't like it). Gymnastics for a couple years, liked the bars but was never very good at it.

Swim lessons ever since I was a baby and that, I took to.

I am 5'6" but haven't weighed myself since early December :-) I'm trying not to care about that number, there are far more important numbers, like run pace ;-) that said I averaged 6:36s for 4 mi of my run this morning, which is awesome, yet cannot get rid of the voices as I was getting dressed this morning that swear I have too much puppy fat on my tummy and hips.

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I'm 5'9.5". About 140 lbs, give or take a few. I am at my heaviest snce I was a fat kid. Ideally, I'm around 135....it used to be easy to drop weight, but as I've gotten older, well... it's gotten harder :D.

I came to this sport b/c after my last knee surgery, I had to give up 7 dpw running (I grew up a runner...also played softball and basketball--which I LOATHED, basketball, I mean). Picked up a bike, learned to swim, and there you go. I am built like the bastard love child of a cyclist and a swimmer. :D Broad shoulders, no waist, solid legs. I'm not fat, but no one will ever mistake me for a long distance runner, despite running being my background. I suppose you could say I have the body of a triathlete. All around solid and muscular, neither waifish nor fireplug.

I used to be a size 10 or so...but now, clothing seems to have gotten bigger, and I am a size 8, most of the time.

---

---

mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
Handmade beverage charms, jewelry, and miscellanea
http://momocharms.wordpress.com

Everyone seems so short...


I'm 6', currently weighing in around 175lbs. I was never a dancer, I have two left feet. Same issue with gymnastics. I was never a soccer player, team sports were never my forte. In a former life, I played with swords Ah Lot and dabbled around in various martial arts forms (tae kwon do, aikido, kickboxing... whatever struck my fancy that semester). I came into this from cycling because it was a new challenge in my second life and am drawn to continue because when I'm out there, I'm measuring myself against myself, not all of you little whisps and speedy athletic ladies. I am drawn to it because I get more sense of power in endurance sporting than I did as the Amazon Fighting Machine, and by power I mean only power over my own body and self.

Just watch out if I drop another 10lbs and get to where I think I'll be at the ideal weight for my build. I might actually be *competitive* then.

---

There is no justice, there is only me. -- Death

"everyone seems so short"

Hey now, I'm waiting for my next growth spurt. I'm still young, it might happen!!!!

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

LOL

Hey, at least you didn't have dreams of being a jockey dashed before you even got out of grade school!

---

There is no justice, there is only me. -- Death

I agree - very interesting thread. I would guess I am on the opposite end of the spectrum from others in both age and body size. I am 51 years old, 5'11" and weigh about 145lb. I have had to learn to readjust calorie intake as I have gotten older and the metabolism just doesn't seem to work the same anymore. The other things that has become apparent is the important of rest days to prevent injuries and that I just have to deal with the fact that I am not going to have the same finish times I use to have. That is a difficult one for me because I was never fast to start with and it sometimes becomes discouraging to work this hard and not get the same result. That is not true for everyone as there are a lot of very fast older ladies out there and I admire them greatly! I am also a product of the pre-Title 9 era; I had very limited exposure to sports in high school. We had to beg our athletic director to let us play full court basketball and to let us spike the ball in volleyball. I am glad that has changed! Due to some ankle/lower leg orthopedic issues as a young child, I was encouraged to take swimming lessons. I continued to swim for many years (didn't have many opportunities to do this competively). I did take up running in my early 30's and then triathlons in my 40's. Not sure what new sport my 50's will bring!

Chiming in from the tall crowd:

I'm 5'9,5" and weigh 137 in the off season, and will get down to 133-134 in season for half's. 135 is a very clear benchmark as to when I have to start drastically altering my diet to get under that number. I do weigh myself pretty much every day and don't subscribe to the throwing away the scale philosophy. I want to be as fast as I can, and weight is a big part of that. I definitely do feel big on the start line - I feel like I just tower over everyone. For those other tall girls out there, I comfort myself with the fact that chrissie wellington is 5'9" and races at 132, so she is reasonably close to what i am!!

It is weird how clothes really aren't built for athletes. Its hard to find jeans that fit and my shoulders are pretty big as well. Unfortunately, as others have mentioned I seem to lose the weight from my chest first, and stomach/thighs last. Quite frustrating. I hope one day to have actual defined abs, but for now i just settle with flat.

---

"What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my ass for six hours a day. What are YOU on?" - Lance Armstrong

Me? Is that you? :p

---

---

mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
Handmade beverage charms, jewelry, and miscellanea
http://momocharms.wordpress.com

To quote my doctor this morning "You're tall and have large bone structure, if you're going to keep doing ultrarunning, you need glucosamine."


I only look "normal" among the men, and even then I'm tall. Around you women I look like a freaking giant. If you don't like feeling big on the starting line, look for me. I'll make you look like a dwarf. Seriously. In fact, here's an example. I'm the one that's a full head taller than any of the other girls.

---

There is no justice, there is only me. -- Death

Just for the record, and not to hijack...but if you think you've got "puppy fat" then I'm packing a damn Great Dane/St. Bernard/Great Pyrenees combined. You hold 6:36, I get happy when I hold 9:28.

I'm good with being a bigger chick, though there's always the wish to be smaller. I think if I were a string-bean, though, I would lose a lot of what makes me "me"....

Tell the voices to go to hell. You're an athlete, you do what you can do and you reap the rewards for it. You're doing a good job - your run pace says so. Just wanted to chime in on that one.

---

AW

So here's what I want to know: do guys think about their bodies like girls do? It is such a "big" thing for us - how we look - athletes or non athletes. Do guys think about height, 'puppy' fat (LOL, this is just how I manage to be ok with it, make it something cute and funny), how their legs look, etc?

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

One of the best questions I was ever asked was, "if you don't like your own body, whose would you trade for?"

I thought about that for a bit and realized I wouldn't trade with anyone.

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

They absolutely do. They just internalize it (and talk about it externally) much different than women do...

Oooh lookit, I caught one!


Like, how? I'm honestly curious. You hear us chat and whine about it all the time, hips and tummies and thighs and breasts. Spill.

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39co0zKbQAQ

---

<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
Proud member of the Smartasscrew, MONSTER CLUB
Get your FIX today?

You're way cuter than he is, Khai.

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

My hubby recently asked me if I thought his bald spot was getting worse and complained that it was so hard for him to lose his abdominal fat...what we'd call muffin top. They are absolutely concerned about what they look like.

And in regards to your puppy fat, I gotta be right there with AWARE in that I got more than a puppy hanging out with me. Maybe that's why I keep taking in strays...to keep me company.

Humor for many men is a sign of insecurity or concern.

For example, when I joke about my "buddha" with my buddies and wife...and it may seem like l don't give a shit. Like, "I'm a married guy with a gut, ha ha, that's the way it should be...pass me another Ho Ho and malted whole milk." But deep down I feel like a bloated cow that can't recapture the slim sexy beast I once was in college...and it bugs me.

Men are JUST as concerned/conscious about their bodies as women. I do think we're lazier about doing something about it. Another thing... men are less critical about other guys' bodies than women are about other womens'.

Go over to the tri forum around race season and you will be shocked at the "race weight" threads that go on over there. On this forum we encourage women to be realistic with their body types, encourage each other to be happy with who we are and discuss healthy ways to lose weight.

Over there, it is all about how to starve yourself into losing those last 3 lbs and getting down to 5% body fat. It really is unhealthy and scary.

---

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce