J. Lo - joins the club

[KnottedYet]

I was not being mean or sarcastic. I honestly wondered what distance she is doing.

I couldn't have done any tri of any distance after giving birth, too busy crying and being puked on. (and you must admit, dealing with new motherhood is damm gruelling!)

[KSH]

I was not being mean or sarcastic. I honestly wondered what distance she is doing.

I couldn't have done any tri of any distance after giving birth, too busy crying and being puked on. (and you must admit, dealing with new motherhood is damm gruelling!)

Motherhood is gruellling... especially if you don't have a nanny, a cook, a maid, a driver, a pool guy, etc.

Let's face it. Jo-Lo is sleeping. She's resting. The nanny can watch the baby while she's training.

She's not like a real mother who is at home alone with the baby.

[Trek420]

Motherhood at any stage is pretty grueling. Good for her. Yes I'm sure she has access and help and bikes that "jest folks" don't. The cameras will be on her and I'm sure she plans to do well.

Hey J. Lo, you'll want to look great and TE has the best Tri gear.

[alpinerabbit]

I sorta put it up there as a newsflash that "somewhere in China a sack of rice fell over"

comeon, she probably started liposucting and personal training as soon as the pups were out.

[VeloVT]

It's not too different from Lance Armstrong running a marathon. Although I personally love to make fun of JLO (I'm not a big fan), my reaction is the same -- all sorts of people got really mad at Lance because it was somehow considered arrogant or entitled or dilletante-ish for him to think he could run in this "serious" event. And of course, we know that he didn't knock himself out training (longest distance was something like 15 miles) and he didn't achieve a knockout time. But how many people do we know who run in marathons and either a) don't have a Spartan training ethic or b) don't finish in the top 20? Probably many if not most of the folks we know who have run a marathon -- and yet we consider it an accomplishment for them, not an arrogant flight of whimsy. Lance should be entitled to the same -- as should JLO, I think.

[Grog]

Good for her, and good for all the people who might be inspired to do the same after seeing her.

I don't understand the not-so-nice comments... I don't care about J. Lo or celebrities in general, but I don't see the problem with one of them deciding to enter a race........

[lph]

ah, shoot - that's what this forum is good for, makes us rethink once in a while. You're right. I still think it might be a bit ambitious to do this so soon after giving birth (unless this is "just" a short tri), but more power to her for trying.

I just get a bit riled up about the whole female celebrity thing of looking beautiful and skinny and perfect at all times, even immediately after giving birth, when you've just created a small miracle. But getting into good physical shape is never a bad idea.

[kermit]

I am going to take a wait and see attitude. I hope she is willing to work hard with her personal trainer but lets see how committed she really is? The nanny will raise the kids and she will have the most awesome tri bike ever. If she just does it I will respect her more than talking about doing it. I'm such a bi***!

[Trek420]

even immediately after giving birth, when you've just created a small miracle. But getting into good physical shape is never a bad idea.

Didn't she just create TWO small miracles? A tri .... after twins? Or am I reading the wrong tabloids which is where I get all my news after all

J Lo if you're lurking, you go grrl.

[ehirsch83]

It's not too different from Lance Armstrong running a marathon. Although I personally love to make fun of JLO (I'm not a big fan), my reaction is the same -- all sorts of people got really mad at Lance because it was somehow considered arrogant or entitled or dilletante-ish for him to think he could run in this "serious" event. And of course, we know that he didn't knock himself out training (longest distance was something like 15 miles) and he didn't achieve a knockout time. But how many people do we know who run in marathons and either a) don't have a Spartan training ethic or b) don't finish in the top 20? Probably many if not most of the folks we know who have run a marathon -- and yet we consider it an accomplishment for them, not an arrogant flight of whimsy. Lance should be entitled to the same -- as should JLO, I think.

I'm not a huge fan of Lance, but I have to say that before he was a cyclist he did Tri's. So he used to have a pretty good running background, so I wouldn't exactly compare it to lance completing a marathon. Also remember, he has amazing endurance capabilities from all of his cycling(5+ hour days regularly) so his major issue was muscle use conversion, not aerobic capacity.

So for all those people out there who get mad at him, they need to realize his background.

[SadieKate]

Somehow, I think dancing professionally is a bit more demanding than lying on the couch eating bon-bons. That body may have a lot of curves, but I suspect it hides some muscle and her career shows that she has determination.

And, whoever applied the word "skinny" to her?

As a celebrity whatever she does will be criticized. Let her be.

[redrhodie]

I think it's cool. She's so beloved by a lot of young girls in the Bronx. I hope it inspires some of them to try the sport.

[VeloVT]

I'm not a huge fan of Lance, but I have to say that before he was a cyclist he did Tri's. So he used to have a pretty good running background, so I wouldn't exactly compare it to lance completing a marathon. Also remember, he has amazing endurance capabilities from all of his cycling(5+ hour days regularly) so his major issue was muscle use conversion, not aerobic capacity.

So for all those people out there who get mad at him, they need to realize his background.

Fair enough, but that wasn't really what I was getting at. People who are very serious about their sport sometimes tend to develop an elitist attitude about who should be permitted to compete. Added to this, celebrities tend to have their motives scrutinized more than you or I, which magnifies the elitism. If your fat neighbor decided to run a marathon, you probably wouldn't call him arrogant. If your non-famous, but elite athlete former Olympian cross country skier neighbor decided to run a marathon, you probably wouldn't call him arrogant or what have you either.

As far as Lance is concerned, I guess my point is that I don't think his cycling background (or his triathlon background) is relevant one way or another in whether it's "OK" or "annoying" for him to run in a marathon. Nor is JLO's um, famous booty.

And this has nothing to do with my point, but I seriously doubt his tri background many years ago had much of an impact on his performance -- more likely what gave him a leg up was just conditioning and training adaptations from years of cycling. 3 hours is a good time, but a time that's perfectly achievable for ordinary, non-elite people (my dad, who didn't play any sports in college, ran a 3 hour marathon when I was little). Albeit, most of these would have to train a little harder than Lance allegedly did for the same time. But he also suffered excruciating shin splints and required a cast of pacers from the running hall of fame in order to do it... (and apparently ate Gu something like every two miles ).

[Grog]

Actually, the more I think about this, the cooler I think it is.

There are so few female celebrities that try sports. There are a few well-known female athletes, but female artists who show that it's okay to get sweaty? None that I know of. (But I don't watch TV or read tabloids so don't expect me to know about those things.)

We're not talking about Paris Hilton here. (Although I would cheer for Paris just like I cheer for everyone else.) Artists who sing and dance have to be very fit 'cause it's a lot of hard work.