Heart of an athlete

[Karma007]

Emily, yes, I think you are right. There's too many of us here that were "last picked" as kids for it to be chance. Since just about everyone learns to ride a bike, it's not surprising that it is a sport people start later in life, even when we haven't had that much success in other athletic endeavors.

This was me- short, chubby, bad vision. Not exactly a coaches dream girl. It's why I love cycling. I can excel, at my own speed, on my own terms. I can be part of a group, and yet my performance is based only on me, and what I would like to achieve.

[WindingRoad]

Marni and Crankin I'm right there with you on the HDL. My ratio is basically all HDL the LDL is so low it doesn't even show up on the test.

Due to cycling I have been diagnosed with non-pathogenic bradycardia which is a slow overall HR. I found my resting HR to be 45. Apparently all those years of playing a wind instrument gave me the lung capacity of an adult male, lol. That part amuses me for some reason. My BP is consistently low and I feel good even during these stressful times. I agree we are all athletes and we don't even have special chefs, coaches or dietitians at our disposal.

[jessmarimba]

I've never really thought of myself as an athlete - I'm not good at anything I do sports-wise, but people who know me apparently think I'm athletic. I'm a slow runner, fearful cyclist, ok snowboarder, etc. I haven't had many comments from doctors (besides my good balance getting me out of the hospital last summer!) but I used to work with a woman who would shriek about my food every time she saw me eat something remotely fattening (she was forever dieting but extremely inactive). I guess she never made the connection that running 30 miles a week could buy me a piece of cake every now and then!

[Melalvai]

+1 here on lack of sports and always picked last when I was younger. At least, that's the image I had of myself, and it was true for many years.

But I played basketball in junior high anyway even though as an 8th grader I was put on the 7th grade team and a couple of 7th graders were put on the 8th grade team. And I was in track for a couple years and I ran the long distance events because as a girl you could medal in those just for showing up. And I went through Basic Training and was actually put in the 2nd fastest group for training, and they worked us harder than the fastest group so at the end of it I ran 2 miles in 14 min.

I was overcompensating for my perceived lack of athletic ability.

[Catrin]

+1 on total lack of sports as a kid, was totally uncoordinated and had bad feet/ankles so generally fell when I tried anything anyway. Not only was I the last to be picked but I didn't WANT to be picked because I knew it wouldn't turn out well. My mother wouldn't dream of allowing me to learn how to ride a bike because she was convinced I would kill myself - looking back - it was the one thing I probably could have done well since I didn't have to run or walk to do it.

That was then - I still can't run, but I can ride, and ride and ride My blood pressure is that of a much younger person, my resting HR is 58, my cholesterol is very, very good, and even after a winter of not riding, I have great calves

No wonder I've fallen in love with cycling in all forms! Oh yes, about 6 years ago I finally had foot surgery to correct the congenital problem with one of my feet that was the cause of all of those problems when I was a kid. The problem still exists with the other foot but to a far lesser degree and it certainly doesn't interfere with riding!

[smittykitty]

I guess I'm an athlete too! Who'd a thought! Never considered myself as one, but I asked my husband (our high school class jock, now high school coach) if I was an athlete and he said "Yes you're an athlete because you ride a bike and work out". Me, an athlete! Wow, really

Can't tell you how many hours I've spent watching my husband and our kids play or coach. That was as close anyone would have wanted me to team sports!

Biking was really my idea. My DH loves all things athletic so he said sure. Now we both have a passion for it and he is so great about riding at my pace. So fun to be participating in a sport together. For once I'm not in the bleachers cheering someone else on! Now I cheer myself on!