Quote Originally Posted by Running Mommy
So what am I trying to say??? I dunno, maybe that because of my size I constantly have to PROVE to people that I'm an athlete, because from outside appearances I sure don't "appear" to be one... sigh....
What a story, RM. Some people are so judgmental. Having to literally show someone your finisher's medal is totally ridiculous.

I have gone to the doctor and had them say several times "You weigh WHAT? You don't look like you weigh that!"... and proceed to discuss my weight with others in the office. I think it's supposed to be a compliment, but it just makes me feel even more like I'm not "normal" or "correct" and like I'm "hiding" a secret that I'm really a fat person in disguise, something to admire so we could all be fat and not look totally fat, or something. If you compared my weight to one of those charts, I'd probably be screwed, too. It just makes me look at myself and ONLY see the fat parts, to prove them wrong -- I'm fat and I look fat. Hooray for body image problems inadvertently encouraged by the medical profession.

Last time I went to a doctor was for my shoulder. I coincidentally was wearing a 1/2 marathon finisher's shirt, and suddenly I was treated differently than I had been treated at other doctors' offices before. The doctor himself is in fact an Ironman finisher, and was a really nice guy. I really didn't know what to say, I really hadn't thought of myself as a serious anything, but here I was with a sports injury and my 1/2 marathon shirt planning my triathlon swim training (or watching it go down the drain anyway, pun halfheartedly intended!). When did this happen!?

One of the women at work was a volunteer at the 1/2 marathon. She thought it was so amazing. It really made me stop and think about what I had done, that it was so impressive to someone. I kept saying "it was only 1/2 a marathon" and "I was pretty slow." I think the same thing about the triathlon, but what it means to other people is pretty amazing.

It's funny that we contend with both the "it's just a baby triathlon" and the "OMG, a triathlon!?" people at the same time.