Were you athletic as a kid?

[Meaux]

I was never really active at all. I did the obligatory ballet/tap when I was 5, and played outside. My parents had only one car when I was growing up, and my dad worked crazy retail hours, so transportation to sports was really not an option. I did have a lovely pastel pink and blue huffy that I rode until my legs were too long to ride it. I did fencing for a couple years when I was in high school, but I was mostly into academics and orchestra. It wasn't until a several years ago when DH (then SO), let me borrow his little sister's mountain bike (she's very tall for her age), and we started biking all over the place. Then my dad passed away and I started my first 9-5 job, so it was hard finding the time to ride. One day, I went to lunch and passed up a pawn shop and saw a beautiful blue Specialized Hard Rock Comp sitting outside. I got it for $90 and got the road bike a month later, and have been riding ever since. It's been hard to budget the time for riding with my busy schedule, and I have NO endurance since I really didn't do sports when I was growing up, but I'm getting better and hope to be AWESOME on the bike someday. Riding on my bike is one of the few times I can just not think about anything and just ride. That's important to me because my mind is ALWAYS going. And I'm getting exercise while sitting down. You can't beat that!!!

[colby]

This is a hard one to answer. When I was very young, elementary school, I played on softball teams (we were the Kool Katz!!), was in girl scouts (camping, hiking, etc), played basketball with my dad, learned to ski, that kind of thing. I wouldn't say I was athletic, but we're talking 10 years old. During elementary school, I started swim team. Swim team was at a private pool independent of school, and was a very different social structure -- it was also during the summer, when school was out.

When I got to middle school, swim team was easy to keep. Girls from different schools, different walks of life, albeit slightly privileged (you have to pay to be a member). I tried out for the basketball team and despite what I thought was talent, I was shut out, and here is where I learned about sports and cliques. Tried again in high school once, and gave up. Looking back, I should have tried out for softball, soccer, something... but the girls intimidated me. I also was an honors student in band, and you choose between physical activity and studying... studying won. That's how I ended up falling out of swim team, just too many pressures, and as girls got into high school it got more and more competitive, too. I was never the fastest, but I did swim anchor in many relays. I did stuff on my own... rollerblading, riding my bike, less so the older I got.

In college, I wish I would have done rugby, hockey, crew... so many "non-traditional" sports I could have done. The stigma just stuck with me, and I was afraid to try until it was too late. I walked everywhere though, so I was pretty "fit" in general. I really focused a lot on studying, and I burned myself out on it, too... then I got a "real job" and moved on. In the business of making software, there are not a lot of athletes...

I think I still carry some of that old baggage with me, but I've learned a lot better about setting goals for myself. I really enjoy swimming again (except my messed up shoulder), I love riding my bike, and I love the feeling after a run (maybe not so much the running, until I get into a groove, especially in LSD runs).

[MomOnBike]

I was kinda-sorta athletic. I had horses, and successfully competed in local gymkahanas. After we rode, we'd go swim in a friend's pool. My old girl's Schwinn was pretty much my transportation (once I figured out how to ride the thing).

I did notenjoy the baseball/basketball/football thing that gym classes consisted of. Yuck! There was nothing in them for the likes of me. Still isn't.

My college gym classes were marksmanship and archery. I was asked to join the marksmanship team (an opportunity declined) and everyone was relieved when archery was over and I hadn't killed anyone. I did a lot of backcountry backpacking until I moved from Colorado, too.

So put me down in the active but not chosen for any teams category.

[LBTC]

Childhood memories are pretty few and far between in my brain. I wasn't happy as the youngest of six in a strict catholic family. I loved my bike, but was forbidden to ride it outside of my yard. I was a complete spaz around every type of ball - they always ended up hitting my smack in the eye and knocking me down. I could run pretty fast, but couldn't kick a ball (or hit it with a bat or whatever) to save my life.

Learned to swim at a young age, but only from family. Feel confident that I could swim a long time and a pretty long way, but I am not fast and have no form.

I could balance well, always liked it when we had gymnastics in PE and I could play on the balance beem. Discovered this at far too advanced an age to start in gymnastics club, even if my parents would have allowed me to, which they wouldn't.

The family started downhill skiing when I was 7. I loved going fast, had crazy form, looked like a spaz, but liked the thrill. Hated the family trip to a fancy hill that year, as, again, I was forbidden to use the chair lift or even the t-bar and had to stay on the bunny hill with tow rope on my own, which quickly got boring.

We had gymnastics rings in our basement. I used to love playing around with those.

As I think about it, my athletic history, like so many of the things I do in my life, is staccato. Short bursts of thing that I did, never mastered anything, never really had physical goals.

In high school when PE rugby sessions started, they made the girls do something else, and, even though I asked, they wouldn't let me play. I really wanted to learn to tackle people!! Of course, I never would have been able to catch or throw the ball, so I guess it makes sense.

When it came to the bike, I got on a mountain bike first. I really instantly loved being out in the woods and found that everything to learn was kind of overwhelming, but if any neural transmitters were really activated when I was a kid, it was the ones that let me learn complicated things. So I liked all the complex rules to learn for bike handling. It did not come naturally at all, but I just would talk to myself about all the things I'd read, been told, learned from experience, to get myself around that tough bit, up that hill, through that root section. It took me years to be reasonably good. I finally got fast enough to be between the fast and the medium fast guys on a regular basis. That was soooo sweet! I really felt I'd earned it. And I would be so surprised that, after I learned how to fuel right, and what to drink, etc, that I could be well into a 3 hour ride or more, and still have some left! That was such a wonderful discovery!

I found road riding scarier, so it seemed harder. I think I had some pretty high expectations of myself by the time I started on it. If I was doing high end mountain biking by then, shouldn't I be a really good road rider right away? Well, not exactly. It took ages to figure out how to grab a water bottle while moving. I still have trouble with knowing the right gear to be in, fear of those tiny little wheels and tires tipping over, fear of cars, etc etc.

Funny, I took quite quickly to kickboxing. I was just suggesting to DH that I might have formed a few neural thingies when I was squirming to get away from all those older siblings.

Yes, I have issues about my childhood too.

Of course, when I turned 30 I decided that I would get younger from then. It has mostly worked.

Now that I'm 39, I've been recently diagnosed with Crohn's disease. The fatigue that came from the disease last year kept me off my bike and not doing anything except gentle yoga and walking to work, from July through to January....now I'm working on regaining fitness and trying to determine what my strenuous exercise tolerance is, and what recovery time I'll need. Yet another complicated thing to work out, so I think I'll get there! If it isn't complicated it's not worth the effort.

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[bmccasland]

Gee, after reading all the posts, memories come flooding back. I could add ballet lessons to my list - after seeing the Nutcracker at the Paris Opera House when I was 5, but had to wait until we returned Stateside (2nd grade) for lessons.

And those clamp on roller-skates - check, had those too.

Swimming lessons - we lived in Louisiana, so had to learn to swim. But no swim team.

Continued with PE through high school - but was one of the last to be picked for things.

While in Michigan I learned to ski - downhill and cross country, and ice skate.

Moved to Arizona - ditch the skiing and iceskating - I lived in the desert, so took up hiking and backpacking instead.

Should I mention here that I was a military "brat? "

I was doing so well, staying active as a kid. Yeah, I played with dolls too, and embroidered. Then became a couch potato as an adult. Lived in Phoenix where the air is bad about 1/2 the year, but would drive up the mountains to cross country ski a few times each winter. Left Phoenix, and XH, moved to the mountains, FINALLY got a job as a biologist and got PAID to hike.

Moved to New Orleans, where we have lovely bike paths on top of the levees, and was drafted onto the office bike team. Have riden the MS Tour three years running, with one year off for Katrina .

[suzieqtwa]

I did nothing till I was 48... then I joined a gym ,and for the first time took an arobics class. We had to run, I couldnt make it 1/4 mile. I was ashamed ,and didnt know why I couldnt do it. After about 3 months of running 2 miles a day I quickly upped it to 5,6,7 miles 1 year later ran the Marathon...injured myself ,and bought a bike. Maybe thats why Im having trouble with balance ,and clipless. Im very un coordinated ,but its fun trying.

[KnottedYet]

I was always the very active scrawny tomboy. Running rampant through the woods, riding my bike everywhere, climbing trees, building forts, skateboarding for days on end (and in the 1970's we rode LITTLE boards), running everywhere. I did a few of the obligatory team sports, but I really s*cked at them. Set a city record (by 30 seconds) for the 3/4 mile run, though. (that was the longest distance girls were allowed to race back then)

I don't know that my loner-athleticism had a huge influence on my adult love of biking, other than that I've always loved riding trikes, bikes, scooters, and skateboards. Racing has never been my thing, but endurance has always been! To this day I have no desire to race, but I'd love to do some long distance rides that push me to my limit.

[Trek420]

Outdoorsy as a kid I climbed trees, built forts, fished for crawdads in the creek, biked o course .... but I sucked at sports.

If there's a ball involved I can be bad at it.

In Jr. High - High School when we choose sides for any team I was always last picked.

So I learned to hate sports.

We took swim lessons each summer, I love to swim. I got as far as Jr. and Sr. lifesaving. If they'd had prescription goggles could have done that in summer .... my eyesight's so bad on the final test I had trouble finding the "body" As I recall the other parts of the test I did ok, swimming laps with a rescue, swimming laps with a weight held over your head...it was fun.

I didn't discover there were other sports till about college and there is a whole 'nother world!!

Who knew?

I could rock climb, hike, bike of course and I discovered I liked martial arts.

I took a Tai Chi class till that teacher moved, found a Karate teacher till she moved, found another Karate dojo in a similar style and then ... I saw Aikido demonstrated by my teacher and I was hooked.

That was about '80.

And of course the whole time I rode.

I feel lucky to have found two "lifetime sports" that I enjoy and that reward knowlege and experience.

Sure, it's different at 50, I don't sprint as well on a bike, I don't do breakfalls at all on the mat. I think I more than make up for that in other ways.

Barring injury or illness I hope to be able to do both for a long time.

[Michelemarrano]

I'm 45 and have worn glasses for extreme nearsightedness since 1970. I've got the athletic prowess, grace and coordination of an ox. I've never excelled at running and ball sports but since childhood have loved the outdoors. As a teen I had a five-gaited American Saddlebred mare for a pet and got in excellent shape taking care of a barn of 18 horses. By college I was riding my horse on the weekends on trail (yes, my foo-foo show mare was an outstanding trail horse--a sight to behold in English show tack) and an old peugeot 10-speed to get around Ohio State University.

As I've gotten older and outlived my mare, I've replaced my mare with a hybrid and road bike. I cannot afford to have horses at this juncture and I really love cycling. I love to ride on rail trails and I found cycling to be an excellent mid-life aerobic sport for a nerd like me.

[Deborajen]

When I was a kid, my big love was figure skating. We lived just a short drive from the only ice rink in our part of the country and my parents sprung for private lessons for awhile - little pink dress - the works. I had the grace of a donkey, though, so that didn't go too far. Also had clip-on roller skates.

Otherwise, I've always been very mediocre at athletics. I did letter in track in Junior High (high jump and long jump), played softball in the summer in my early teens (usually outfield, but I also got to play first base a few times), played some recreational racquetball in college, etc. In phys ed, I was usually picked in the first half but never first.

Cycling is pretty much the same although it's kind of hard to measure. I ride more for the exercise and the enjoyment and maybe some distance challenge. It's fun to do and I think one of the reasons I like it is because you can enjoy it without having to be competitive.

But I'd say I'm picking up on cycling at a moderate rate - very similar to my mediocre athletic abilities as a kid.

Deb

[kelownagirl]

Hated PE as a kid, not coordinated, last to be picked for teams, often seen doing cartwheels in the outfield during softball games. Grew up, hated to exercise, didn't like sweating, luckily was skinny due to a high metabolism. Turned 40, forced to exercise, started to do workout to fight age-related weight gain, didn't mimd it so much, started riding bike to do cardio when gym membership ran out, became obsessed, dh said I was athletic, I am still not sure, but I do love biking.... a work still in progress I guess.

[light_sabe_r]

like Michelemarrano I am also a nerd. Always have been always will be. Dad just commented the other day that I was the kid who'd come home from school and just draw. He would never have expected me to do a triathlon.

And yet I am now.

I was NEVER good at anything... 'cept drawing and being a nerd.

I did have a natural talent for Rollerblading... But in 2000 when I was seventeen my rollerskating rink became a Hyundai car dealership. i steal blade when I can but the locations are sparse.

Had a bike, but couldn't ride it anywhere beyond my front yard because "I'm a girl" yet my brothers could ride off to magical mysitcal places I wanted to go like the creek, the jumps (accross the road!!! DAMN!) the corner store and as I found out the other week they had one day stumbled upon a cannibis farm.

In 1995 two bad things happened. My grandmother slipped into demntia and my daily chore was now her wellbeing as both my parents worked. As you can tell I couldn't have friends over anymore since her dementia would either IRK them or she'd get riled up by strangers in the house. I was twleve.

later that year I got diagnosed with a bone infection in my right ankle. The doc's were incredulous as to how the freaking heck this particular bug GOT into my system. I didn't play sport either so how'd it get there?? I was hospitalised in isolation a few times, and had major surgery for necrosis in my Ankle (I'm amazed that FLLOYD did so well because that was PAIN... You'd wake up and be in pain, and it would get worse throughout the day. Flloyd landis must've been in a similar way with his dead hip)

Anyhue as a result I was forbidden by one of the top osteosurgeons in the state from doing high impact sports aka... pretty much everything done in PE except swimming which I was good at. So yeah. It took almost three years to be cured of the infection, At that stage I was in year 11 and study came first...

I'm now almost 23, still a nerd, but I'm also living too close to work to drive, BF bit me with the cycling bug. and the rest is history.

I'm not just an athlete, I'm a triathlete now!

[DarkEros07]

athleet no. hop on my bike and go for hours? yes. walk to town and back 6 times a day and walk all around town and go swimming in the river? yes. i loved it all. still do. i may be 20 but that doesnt mean anything. my childhood went by so fast. so yea i guess you could say i was a very active child. scary part is i was always and still am overweight. kinda funny cuz i never stoped moving. i was go go go all summer spring and fall. winter killed me tho as i hit 11 or 12 i hated to be outside have you seen northern michigan in the winter? COLD! lol. anyways. yeap. thats a lil bout me.

-Kristen-

[Duck on Wheels]

I was a klutz, and afraid of getting a ball in my face (first because I couldn't see it, later because my glasses would break). I could ride a horse .... sorta. And a bike .... sorta. I was good at swimming, but never in the competition sense. Like Trek420, I enjoyed learning life saving and swim instruction. Never a racer, but I could do all the strokes beautifully except butterfly. Senior year in HS I finally got an A in PE --I taught the non-swimmers til they all passed their beginners' swim test so they could graduate, even had a football star in "my" class. More recently I've been hiking (tour orienteering in the Summer, berry and mushroom picking in the Fall). Biking as something more than transport is very new to me, as of last year. Now going-on-60 I don't expect ever to be fast, but I do have some endurance in me and it feels good to stay in shape.

[tygab]

this is an interesting question... in my family I was not considered athletic - even now I don't know if they think of me that way. I am small and thin, and I have to struggle for every muscle I have. So this has been a long road for me to 'prove' I can be. Now here's the rub.

I have *always* loved sports. I listened to the St Louis Cards games while I did my schoolwork, and watched the Illini in basketball, football, and occaisionally other sports. I played soccer both as a kid and again on HS (but on the boy's team, we didn't HAVE a girls team). In HS I almost never got to play but I still had fun. I also ran track one season. I was decent at that but didn't enjoy it. I also played Little League as a kid (stuck in the outfield and always last to bat). I should also mention that I took ballet for many years as a kid (and enjoyed it), and I rode horses for many years as a kid (and loved) that. And I fancied myself a bike racer on my Schwinn 10-speed, but back then bike racing was hardly even a sport, and certainly not one for girls/women.

My sisters were both pretty good competitive swimmers & had the right build for that. They swam from grade school to high school (one even swam in college). My brother was a good competitive track and cross country runner going to state several times (lean like me, but tall too). My parent's weekends often revolved around swim and running events. I never won anything in sports. But to be fair my parents remained supportive of my events, and they carted me lots of sport related places too.

In college, I did Tae Kwon Do, and managed to stay on the women's ice hockey club for a season (yeah I was mostly a bench warmer).

Post college, I took up skiing, hiking, kayaking, and now bicycling.
None of those were sports that anyone else in my family did/do with any regularity. But they were all sports I loved and still do!

As an adult, my sibs have gone on to run lots of marathons, and my parents have gone to some of their marathons as well. When I started riding last year, prepping for the long distance event, I finally felt like I had a foot in the door to talk with them about stuff... and now hopefully will continue with tris and so on. And I still love pro baseball and football, and now pro cycling.

So, I think I am pretty athletic, with all the sports I have tried. I've had fun in almost all of them, even without being great at most of them. Several sports I've stumbled upon in later life I thought I could have become pretty good at, had I been exposed to them earlier in life. Now, I guess, I find sports that require persistence more so than skill to be right up my ally.