This post on the Fat Nutritionist blog* really resonated with me this week. Not in the least because I got a dirty look waiting for the elevator to go to the parking garage at the gym. Given the quality of the look and the mumbling under the person's breath, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that if I were thin, I probably wouldn't have gotten that look. And I refuse to defend my choice to take the elevator instead of the stairs. I have good reasons, but they're really no one's business but mine.
But really, I'm mostly lucky. People at the gym I go to don't usually give me dirty looks or act condescendingly towards me, as though it were the first time I've ever attempted to work out. I've heard stories from other fat people where such things have happened. I've gotten my own looks at other facilities. So, I am lucky in that I don't face significant harassment at any of the three branches of my gym that I frequent, occasional dirty looks at the elevator notwithstanding. It's generally a very welcoming place, and the employees I've interacted with have been nothing but kind and respectful.
At the same time, though, I am aware that putting on my swim suit and hitting the pool for practice is something of a revolutionary act. I'm a size 22 and I have no qualms about wearing a swimsuit. Part of that is because I love to swim, I love my water time and I'm coming to believe that it just might be a necessity for my mental health and sanity. So, those things outweigh any body consciousness I might feel. Part of it is that after being on swim team in high school, I don't have a whole lot of body consciousness in a swimsuit anyway. Once you've spent 15 hours a week or so in a suit as a teenager, you kind of don't care too much anymore.
The thing is, however, it shouldn't be a revolutionary act for me to go swimming. It shouldn't be a revolutionary act for anyone to put on a swimsuit. Or to get on the treadmill, or walk outside, or go to Zumba, or do yoga, or do whatever type of movement makes you happy. Everyone should have the ability to do any of those things without fear of ridicule or harassment. And the fact that this is not true is wrong. It is just plain wrong.
*The Fat Nutritionist is one of my favorite Heath at Every Size blogs. It was where I was introduced to the concept and the concept of Intuitive Eating. I recommend it for anyone.
Showing posts with label HAES. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HAES. Show all posts
Friday, October 12, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Hello!
Welcome to Kim Tri-s. Yeah, it's a pun. Yes, yes, puns are overdone. But they crack me up, so, *shrugs*
This blog is where I am going to talk about training for an indoor triathlon that I'm planning to do in April 2013. Hence the pun in the blog name. The indoor triathlon is a little different from a traditional triathlon; the events are based on time, not distance. In the case of the Lifetime Fitness Indoor Tri, which is the one I'm planning to do, participants swim for 10 minutes in the lap pool, bike on the spinning bikes for 30 minutes and run/walk on the treadmills for 20 minutes. Standings are determined by how many laps you swim, and how far the bike computer and treadmill says you go in the time allotted.
I decided to do the indoor tri instead of a traditional sprint triathlon (which is what most beginners do and what most people think of when someone says, "I'm doing a triathlon") for a couple of reasons. Reason 1 is that I don't have any depth perception without my glasses and at the moment, I don't have contacts. An open water swim might be a little more dangerous for me than the average person, since I can't judge the distance between me and other swimmers or me and obstacles or me and a marker buoy. And even though that doesn't sound like such a big deal, it's a little scary. Imagine having everything you see be like the looking at the side mirror of your car that says "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear". That's what my vision is like without my glasses (with my glasses, I see almost normally. Well enough to drive and handle almost any day to day thing I come across). I won't have my glasses in the pool, of course, but it's a much more controlled environment. I did swim team in high school, and I've kept up my swimming as much as possible in the years since (depending on pool access), so I know the dimensions of a swimming lane. I know where the lane ropes are, I know where the walls are. There won't be anyone else in the lane with me, so I won't be smacking into other people. Much more comfortable for me!
The other reason is the biking. I can ride a bike, of course, but I'm really bad at figuring out the gearing and very nervous about riding in traffic. And I'm afraid of falling in a crowd. These are all things that I could overcome with practice, but it's going to be winter time sooner rather than later, and riding a bike outdoors in Ohio from about November to April can be a pretty challenging proposition. If it can be done at all. So, biking inside is a much easier thing to accomplish over the winter.
So, that's why the indoor tri. But why am I doing a tri at all? Is this because of the Olympics? Well, yes and no. I've had "Do a tri" on my Someday List for a very long time. Since college, I think, when I learned about the Danskin Women's Triathlon in a magazine. But I always thought, well, I'm too big to do it, so when I lose weight, then I'll do it. And then, you know, funny thing, I never did get skinny. And even funnier thing, I looked at my efforts to lose weight and realized that they were doing bad things to my brain and my self image. And then I did a little reading and found more information about self-acceptance and size acceptance and Health at Every Size and said, yeah, you know, this doesn't work for me, I am clearly in the 95% of people who regain the weight they lose and more besides (because I've done it several times now) and fighting with my body is not good for me, either physically or mentally. So, I decided to just have done with it and make peace with the body I have (it's a good body. It's just a different body). And I wasn't sure this body was going to be capable of doing some of the things I wanted to do, so I set some things aside. But then I watched the Olympics and I thought, well, heck. Some of these people are competing at very high levels without perfect bodies. This guy doesn't even have legs! I'm pretty sure my body is never going to be an Olympic athlete's body (because seriously, I have very little actual athletic talent. I'm just stubborn as all hell), but it can probably be a triathlete's body. And my parents both did the Indoor Tri in 2011, so I know it's a doable thing. And therefore, I decided to do it.
This blog is where I am going to talk about training for an indoor triathlon that I'm planning to do in April 2013. Hence the pun in the blog name. The indoor triathlon is a little different from a traditional triathlon; the events are based on time, not distance. In the case of the Lifetime Fitness Indoor Tri, which is the one I'm planning to do, participants swim for 10 minutes in the lap pool, bike on the spinning bikes for 30 minutes and run/walk on the treadmills for 20 minutes. Standings are determined by how many laps you swim, and how far the bike computer and treadmill says you go in the time allotted.
I decided to do the indoor tri instead of a traditional sprint triathlon (which is what most beginners do and what most people think of when someone says, "I'm doing a triathlon") for a couple of reasons. Reason 1 is that I don't have any depth perception without my glasses and at the moment, I don't have contacts. An open water swim might be a little more dangerous for me than the average person, since I can't judge the distance between me and other swimmers or me and obstacles or me and a marker buoy. And even though that doesn't sound like such a big deal, it's a little scary. Imagine having everything you see be like the looking at the side mirror of your car that says "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear". That's what my vision is like without my glasses (with my glasses, I see almost normally. Well enough to drive and handle almost any day to day thing I come across). I won't have my glasses in the pool, of course, but it's a much more controlled environment. I did swim team in high school, and I've kept up my swimming as much as possible in the years since (depending on pool access), so I know the dimensions of a swimming lane. I know where the lane ropes are, I know where the walls are. There won't be anyone else in the lane with me, so I won't be smacking into other people. Much more comfortable for me!
The other reason is the biking. I can ride a bike, of course, but I'm really bad at figuring out the gearing and very nervous about riding in traffic. And I'm afraid of falling in a crowd. These are all things that I could overcome with practice, but it's going to be winter time sooner rather than later, and riding a bike outdoors in Ohio from about November to April can be a pretty challenging proposition. If it can be done at all. So, biking inside is a much easier thing to accomplish over the winter.
So, that's why the indoor tri. But why am I doing a tri at all? Is this because of the Olympics? Well, yes and no. I've had "Do a tri" on my Someday List for a very long time. Since college, I think, when I learned about the Danskin Women's Triathlon in a magazine. But I always thought, well, I'm too big to do it, so when I lose weight, then I'll do it. And then, you know, funny thing, I never did get skinny. And even funnier thing, I looked at my efforts to lose weight and realized that they were doing bad things to my brain and my self image. And then I did a little reading and found more information about self-acceptance and size acceptance and Health at Every Size and said, yeah, you know, this doesn't work for me, I am clearly in the 95% of people who regain the weight they lose and more besides (because I've done it several times now) and fighting with my body is not good for me, either physically or mentally. So, I decided to just have done with it and make peace with the body I have (it's a good body. It's just a different body). And I wasn't sure this body was going to be capable of doing some of the things I wanted to do, so I set some things aside. But then I watched the Olympics and I thought, well, heck. Some of these people are competing at very high levels without perfect bodies. This guy doesn't even have legs! I'm pretty sure my body is never going to be an Olympic athlete's body (because seriously, I have very little actual athletic talent. I'm just stubborn as all hell), but it can probably be a triathlete's body. And my parents both did the Indoor Tri in 2011, so I know it's a doable thing. And therefore, I decided to do it.
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