Month: August 2015

cycling · fitness · Guest Post

Of Course You Can. . .PWA Friends for Life Bike Rally and Expanding Community

Susan Tarshis3 Comments

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When I was asked to write this post, I had about ten thousand things to say about women and trans folk at the Friends for Life Bike Rally in support of PWA Toronto. So many of them are positive, glowing even. It’s an extraordinary experience for everyone who touches it. But there were also things I wished were different, or if not different, then more expansive. I want to write something here to convince you that YOU, the people who are underrepresented in this beautiful collective, women and transfolk especially, have a place there. I want to write it in a way that does not diminish, or critique or get all up in its face about what it is. I want to write something that will bring more, so it can be more. It is already so much.

While many readers that follow the blog know this already, for those who don’t, the Rally is the biggest yearly fundraising mechanism for PWA (People With AIDS) Foundation, Toronto. The origins of the organization are best summed up with this entry on their web site:

History

Since 1987, the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation has been helping men, women and children live with HIV/AIDS. We are a community-based non-profit registered charitable organization. After the discovery of the HIV virus in 1983, AIDS Service Organizations formed to address the major trends of the disease: to help prevent the spread of HIV and to care for those dying from AIDS-related illnesses. In 1986, in response to this emerging trend and frustrated by the public’s focus on AIDS prevention and lack of services for people already infected, four gay men living with HIV/AIDS began meeting to discuss ways for people living with HIV to stay healthy and live with dignity. They formed a coalition with a mandate to provide practical, direct-support services to people living with HIV/AIDS using a peer-to-peer model. This coalition organized the structure of the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation and, on May 11, 1987, the Ontario Charitable Letters of Patent were granted. At the first Annual General Meeting in 1988, membership elected a nine member Board. With the ongoing improvements in treatment options since the mid-1990s , the number of AIDS related deaths have drastically decreased and the needs of people living with HIV became increasingly complex, necessitating expansion of services to our clients across Toronto and the GTA.

Having spent the week with these folks, I can attest that they practice what they preach. It is a hands on organization with a huge number of devoted staff and volunteers. 8 of the 9 board members rode this year. I think that speaks to the ethos more than anything else.

Why I Did It

I was intrigued, as many of you might be, by the tremendous amount of fun that I saw Sam having through my Facebook page. It was a strange juxtaposition of tremendous adversity (there were really bad storms and rain that year in addition to 100 km per day) along with the formation of a collective that not only had a purpose but had this magic thing. I wanted to be a part of that thing even though I had never been on a road bike in my life. Now, I was predisposed to be outdoorsy. I love canoe camping and I saw this as similar. Instead of carrying a canoe over portages, I would have to ride a bike long distances. Both those things suck while you are doing it and feel great after. So how bad could it be?

I was also inclined to the cause. As a Queer identified woman, I am connected enough with gay male community to know the toll the disease took in the 80’s. I am also aware of the many members of that community who are currently living with HIV and living well. This is only possible with good treatment and supports. PWA is dedicated to making sure that happens for as many people living with HIV as possible.

As more than Queer, as feminist, as politically aware, I know that HIV affects more than the gay male community. The Public Health Agency of Canada’s website says this:

Gay men and other men who have sex with men is the group most affected by the epidemic, accounting for 48 per cent of the estimated 65,000 individuals living with HIV infection in Canada at the end of 2008Footnote2. People who use injection drugs comprised a further 17 per cent of the estimated total, and women represented an estimated 22 per cent of individuals living with HIV in CanadaFootnote2. Aboriginal persons account for a disproportionately high percentage of individuals living with HIV infection in Canada, as do people from countries where HIV is endemic.

HIV thrives where there is powerlessness, poverty and discrimination. The organization is tasked to reach into all these communities and it needs resources to do that. So as a person with access to resources, if I have to do something as nuts as riding 660 km in a week to get $2800 for them, I’ll do it. My goal next year, by the way, is $4000. The group of just over 300 riders and crew raised just over One Million. So I was below the average. . .and I’m competitive. . .enough said.

Why I LOVED It

I did it because I wanted the physical challenge and was inclined to the cause. I LOVED it because extraordinary people sucked me in to a week long intentional community that was irresistible. At first, the overwhelming number of people-mostly-not-like-me was a bit daunting. Don’t ask me how I forgot that this was going to be 80% gay men who’ve known each other for years (and look outstanding in spandex). But I’m a big girl now so I hung on, hung out and was myself, watching for opportunities to connect. They happened pretty fast. It helped that I had a few friends, and one in particular who let me stick like glue. But even if I hadn’t had that, the overall group ethos of support and inclusion is pretty intense. I’m certain it’s the kind of place I could have gone to my team lead, or any team lead and said, “Hey, I’m freaking out because I don’t know many people” and they would grab my hand and say, “Come meet my friends!” That totally did not happen at my summer camp when I was 13 years old.

The environment is cultivated to be so safe that on Thursday, we had “Pos Day”, where riders and crew who were HIV positive were invited to get a Pos jersey and be out about their status all day to everyone. The idea was to encourage love and support instead of common fears of rejection and exclusion. It also breaks down ideas of “who is Pos and who is not”. It was a beautiful day. I mean, who does that? The Bike Rally does.

But Can You Do It?

Short answer for all of you. . .yes. There are some basic things you need. The biggest one is time. If you are thinking of doing it, sign up and start riding now. There is nothing like time in the saddle to make you faster and stronger. Official training rides start in the spring and many people only did those. I’d recommend doing more but you can do it with that basic commitment. People do this on high end triathlon bikes, racing bikes, mid range road bikes (me), basic road bikes, hybrids and steel clunkers. Your choice of bike is based on your circumstances and what you want to achieve. I personally couldn’t fathom being on the road for more than 5 hours a day so I had speed requirements. However, the folks who did it on hybrid bikes and came in later seemed to be having just as good a time as me. It’s all what you are used to and the ride accommodates everyone, The oldest rider was 76. Every body, every body composition did that ride. There were injured riders who wanted to complete so they took it easy. No one gets left behind. This is the ultimate “no drop” ride.

If you are concerned about “gear”, ask around and see what you can rustle up that is used or loaned. Cyclists seem to like nothing more than to addict one more person to the sport and if they can rope them into the Rally, it’s mega extra points.

I said all of you didn’t I? Don’t want to bike? Crew! There were 100 crew supporting 200 cyclists. There is a job for everyone. . .road support, wellness, equipment handling (known as rubbermaid rustling), food. The operation is huge. You can find a place.

Why Should You Do It?

This is the Three Thousand Three Hundred and Thirty Three Dollar Question isn’t it? Why am I jumping up and down saying, “Do the Rally! Do the Rally”!?

Aside from my inner teen who wants all my friends and the cool people to come with me and have fun, I do have a further agenda. My best guestimate is there are about 20% non cis-male identified folks on this ride. That makes sense, given the demographic of the reach of the disease and the community out of which PWA was founded. This ride has been and continues to be about gay men and their allies standing up for each other, making some noise and raising a lot of money. It should continue to be about that. . .and more. There are a few nights for the stories to be told. There were stories of devastation and loss. There were stories of hope. I think all the stories were from and about MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) folks. I really wanted to hear stories of others, even if they weren’t personal stories. I wanted it to be more because the disease endangers more than who is primarily represented in the ride. But, I don’t want that to happen because I complain about it. I want that to happen because, over time, the people who participate in the ride become themselves, more diverse and bring those stories with.

If it’s just a dream right now for the HIV positive immigrant woman to ride with us, I still want to carry her in my heart and maybe tell her story, or rope one of you in to tell her story. If the IV drug user can’t ride, which one of you can carry his picture in your pocket, knowing what you are doing will help collect the resources to keep him healthy? If so many of this land’s First Nations are suffering from this disease among all the other indignities, can any of you stand for them, if only for this? I just have this feeling you could, or could start.

So that’s my pitch. Come ride with us. Come participate in a week of magic and love and bicycling. Promise to do something so crazy, people will toss you $25 just to see if you can. As Sam said to me so many times. . .”Of course you can.” The power of that simple statement is extraordinary, because I did, and you can too.

PS-I registered again so sponsor me here if you want to.

cycling · fitness

Sometimes you’re the slowest and that is just fine

Sam B11 Comments

It’s July 21st and I’m back from a bike ride, a fast bike ride.

I’m tired and hungry, so tired and so hungry that on the ride home, after the real ride, I slowed down going by a friend’s house and wondered if she would feed me and drive me home.

Just 3 km. I made it.

Even Strava agreed it was a “tough” ride.

What made it tough? I was the slowest rider on a group ride with intervals and race simulations. This means I clung on the back for dear life, heart rate racing, and watched time and time again as they zoomed off ahead of me. Ouch.

The cycling coach I work with has two week night group rides, a fast ride and an intermediate ride. This is the fast ride.

(An aside: Bike speeds are like condom sizing. No slow, no small. Just intermediate and fast bike rides; medium, large, and extra large condoms.)

Our average speed was 30 km/hr. More telling was my average heart rate, 150 bpm with spikes in the 170s.

When you are with people riding faster than you, you get good at drafting. See Susan’s post on drafting me during the bike rally. You also get good at catching up quickly should a gap open up between you and them.

For their part, they kept smiling at me and offering words of encouragement.

Yes, I was the slowest. But I’m not always the slowest. And I’m getting faster.

Dear fast people, I’ll be back.

See this post on why cyclists are generally happy to ride, some of the time, with people who are slower. And this post offers advice for what to do when you’re the slowest.

Here’s a fun video of the Vikings fast bunch in Canberra, Australia.

fitness

Swimming the 1500m: Why No Olympic Event for the Women?

Tracy I8 Comments

Katie Ledecky. Photo credit: Clive Rose (Getty Images). From: http://www.businessinsider.com/katie-ledecky-is-the-most-dominant-swimmer-alive-2015-8
Katie Ledecky. Photo credit: Clive Rose (Getty Images). From: http://www.businessinsider.com/katie-ledecky-is-the-most-dominant-swimmer-alive-2015-8

On Monday at the World Championships, American swimmer Katy Ledecky beat her own 1500 m world record by .65 of a second, swimming 1500 metres in 15 minutes 27.71 seconds. She swam it in a heat not a final, and was herself shocked by the result. And an amazing result it is.

If it had been the Olympics and not the Worlds, Ledecky wouldn’t have been swimming that event. Though there is a men’s 1500 in the Olympics, the women’s Olympic “equivalent” is 800.

There is a long tradition in sports of women not being given the same competitive opportunities as men. And the Olympics have been no exception. There was no women’s marathon in the Olympics until 1984. Joan Benoit of the US won gold on home turf in LA that year. 1984 also saw the first women’s cycling events. Women’s hockey–1998. Women’s weightlifting–2000. Women’s boxing appeared for the first time in 2012.

We’re going to reject out of hand the arguments to the effect that women aren’t capable of these things. Clearly, given that the women swim 1500 in all sorts of other games, why shouldn’t they be able to do it in the Olympics?

I didn’t find much out there on this issue, but in this New York Times article from last August, Karen Crouse reported, “1500 metres seems out of reach for women in the Olympics.” Here’s what the article says:

Forty-six years after the 800 was added to the women’s Olympic program, swimming’s math is stuck in the 1960s: 800 meters + women = 1,500 + men.

The shame of shutting out the top female milers from the sport’s showcase meet has deepened since the London Olympics with the ascendant magic act of Katie Ledecky, who makes world records disappear.

Ledecky’s amazing talent is that she can lock into a pace and stay there. For a long time. For 800m, for 1500m.

Pianists could set their rhythm by her stroke, which is a metronomic 1.4 seconds per arm cycle.

Bruce Gemmell, who coaches Ledecky at Nation’s Capital Swim Club, said he could close his eyes and hear how well she was doing because of the cadence of her stroke.

“Once I get into a rhythm,” said Ledecky, who won the 800 at the London Games, “it’s pretty hard for me to stop holding that rhythm.”

Olympic champion Debbie Meyer, who won three gold medals in the 1968 Olympics said the 1500 metre was her real strength, but she never got to race it in the Olympics. When she inquired about why, she was told that a minimum number of countries had to race the event before they would include it. But more did the 800m than the 1500m.

Reflecting back on it, Meyer says:

“It really was all about the thinking then,” Meyer said, “which was, women were the weaker sex and because men were stronger people, they could last the distance.”

She added: “Definitely it gnaws at me a little bit more now than it did at the time I was competing. I wonder what the thinking is behind it now, why they don’t have it in.”

Anyway, it looks like it’s not going to happen any time soon, if ever:

Pushing the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle past members of FINA, the sport’s international governing body, and onto the Olympic program has become a Sisyphean battle. The path grew steeper with the addition in 2008 of open-water swimming events.

“We’ve been working on it for decades,” said Jon Urbanchek, who coached at Michigan for over two decades and served on many USA Swimming national team staffs. “It’s on the table, but it seems like FINA is trying to push it back.”

A 15-minute race is a tough sell in an era characterized by 140-character communications.

“The public interest is in shorter races, in the 50s of the strokes and mixed relays and that sort of thing,” Urbanchek said. “The 1,500 is kind of, for most people, boring unless you’re really into it.”

It’s not clear why the same event is “boring” when the women race it, not so much when the men do. And though the competitors wonder about it and might wish it to be different, they’re not arguing too vocally about it, it seems. Katie Ledecky says: “Whatever happens, I can’t control it. It’s not my thing to decide. I’ll just swim whatever’s in the Olympics.” She’s going to train for even shorter events, like the 200m, instead of worrying about a distance that’s not there for her.

That’s a pretty forgiving attitude towards what appears to be a decision steeped in old-fashioned assumptions about women’s capabilities.

athletes · gender policing · Guest Post · martial arts

Ronda Rousey is Not Your Feminist Hero (and that’s ok) (Guest Post)

Audrey14 Comments

Let’s be clear on a few things. Ronda Rousey is a fighter. And one of the best fighters at that. She just knocked out the very skilled and tough Bethe Correia in a 34 second slugfest. But she is not a feminist hero, and I don’t think we should expect her to be.

Recently, she got some love from various sites around the Internet for her response to truly obnoxious sports journalists who talk about how huge she is, say she looks masculine, etc, etc. (This is obviously not a new trend in sports journalism, and definitely not a new subject on this blog.) Now Rousey’s response is a positive influence for women and girls who struggle with these kinds of issues. But that’s it. And we, as her adoring public, should really stick to adoring her skills in the ring, and the fact that she is deservedly proud of her body and what it can do.

But she’s not the body image role model we need. Nor is she the feminist role model we need. She is just the talented and hard-working knockout and submission artist we need.  The quote that people are pulling from her UFC pre-fight video is this one:

I have this one term for the kind of woman my mother raised me to not be, and I call it a do nothing bitch. A DNB. The kind of chick that just tries to be pretty and be taken care of by someone else. That’s why I think it’s hilarious if my body looks masculine or something like that. Listen, just because my body was developed for a purpose other than fucking millionaires doesn’t mean it’s masculine. I think it’s femininely badass as fuck because there’s not a single muscle on my body that isn’t for a purpose, because I’m not a do nothing bitch. It’s not very eloquently said but it’s to the point and maybe that’s just what I am. I’m not that eloquent but I’m to the point.

Yes, she is femininely baddass as fuck, and yes, she should be proud as hell of every single muscle on her body. But also, fuck throwing other women under the bus. Fuck the category of “do nothing bitch,” because it doesn’t help any of us to put other women down. In her defense, the language she’s using is the language of the people she is addressing, who are pretty happy to say anything they like about any woman’s body. Too fat, too skinny, too manly, too ugly, too much of lots of things I can’t even think of at the moment. But still. Rousey’s response has some positives, but it’s also got some elements of exactly what keeps gendered oppression going, namely women turning against each other. Instead of telling these jerks to fuck off because MMA athletes aren’t those kinds of bitches, we should tell them to fuck off because what any woman looks like or does with her own body is none of their damn business. Because whether someone wants to be an athlete, fuck millionaires, be a millionaire, be pretty, wear dresses – or any or none of the above – is her own business. Let’s not allow our body-positivity to turn into negativity about other people.

And while Rousey’s been silent about her lately, one woman who’s suffered a lot of discrimination in her MMA career is Ashley Fallon Fox, who came out publicly as a trans woman in an interview with Outsports. She was almost immediately subjected to a transphobic rant from UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione, who later apologized. Mostly. (Though I thought Fallon Fox’s public acceptance of his apology was quite the display of understanding and class.) So I’m not really as concerned about Rousey putting down some unspecified DNBs as I am about her public statements about Fallon Fox, stating that she would have an unfair advantage and that having a trans woman as a UFC champion would be a socially difficult situation.

The whole issue of unfair advantage is one that many people seem happy to weigh in on, regardless of whether they have any actual medical expertise in the area. But if you’re looking for a place to start, there are some nice summaries of some of the empirical evidence that’s out there having to do with testosterone levels, bone density, muscle mass, etc. And as therapist and trans advocate Katy Koonce pointed out in a recent interview with Fallon Fox, if we’re going to be so concerned with unfair advantages, is it really so clear that a supposed bone structure difference is more of an advantage than having a mother who woke you up with an arm bar every morning?

Anyway.

The point here is that none of us should be putting Rousey on a feminist pedestal. But why should we need to? Thankfully, we are not short on badass women heroes as a society, nor are we short on feminist writing. There’s no need to try and read Rousey as delivering a perfect feminist message, and there seems to be no conflict between celebrating the positive things she brings while being critical of the ways in which her messages still fall short. That’s the thing about intersectionality. Just because someone has faced barriers because of their gender, that doesn’t mean they understand the struggles that others face due to other factors in their lives. Here’s a quote from Fallon Fox now.

I mean [Rousey’s] whole thing is like, “Look at what I did. I was persistent. This is how I got women into the UFC. I didn’t take no for an answer. I never stopped, and I rose to the top, and I convinced Dana because I was persistent.” But when I’m persistent? Yeah, when I’m persistent about transgender women they’re like, “You should just stop. Just go away don’t even try to attempt it.” Now Rousey is doing the gatekeeping.

This is a perfect illustration of the problem that arises when we forget that oppression and discrimination affect different people in different ways – and that those who are subject to discrimination along some lines may nevertheless perpetuate discrimination along other lines. I don’t know why we would expect Rousey to be better informed than Mitrione about what it means to be trans. Sometimes I suspect that people see his ignorance as more excusable or understandable than hers, which doesn’t seem right. Just because one of them has good things to say about the body shaming of athletic women doesn’t mean she would know anything about the other kinds of oppression that are out there in the world. So don’t be surprised that she doesn’t. Be disappointed that more people don’t understand the oppression that trans folks face, and the gender policing that goes on in athletics.

So don’t expect Rousey to be a feminist hero  – or Fallon Fox either, while we’re at it. Expect them to kick ass in the ring. Support Rousey when she says that muscular women are attractive. But definitely also support Fallon Fox when she says that trans women are women, and when she criticizes Rousey for not understanding that, and for standing in the way of trans women’s participation in athletics. But here’s the thing. You too can tell the body shamers and the transmisogynists to fuck off! You don’t have to be a knockout artist to be your own feminist hero. That’s something we can all work towards.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 01: Ronda Rousey of the United States (red) fights Bethe Correia of Brazi (blue) l in their bantamweight title fight during the UFC 190 Rousey v Correia at HSBC Arena on August 1, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 01: Ronda Rousey of the United States (red) fights Bethe Correia of Brazi (blue) l in their bantamweight title fight during the UFC 190 Rousey v Correia at HSBC Arena on August 1, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

charity · cycling

Riding the Friends for Life Bike Rally at a friendly pace

Sam B11 Comments

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I just recently completed the Friends for Life Bike Rally, a six day cycling adventure that’s the main fundraiser of the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation. The bike rally is many things. It’s a fundraiser, sure, but it’s also a community, an experiment in cooperative, communal living, a chance to make friends and share stories, and it’s also a very long bike ride. I don’t find 100 km that challenging but six days of it is challenging, especially when you’re camping at night and riding in all conditions.

Other people do a much better job than me at explaining what’s so beautiful about the bike rally. Ken Allen writes, “Once again I’ve arrived in Montreal by bicycle, left emotionally reeling from having spent a magical week living in a world where challenges are met with collaboration rather than competition, where kindness is commonplace, and where hugs are plentiful. It’s a rare and beautiful thing, to find a world outside of my imagination that so perfectly meets my needs while also acting as a mechanism for helping others. A week is too short a time to live in that world. ‪#‎f4lbr17‬” That was Ken’s Facebook status update but it was set to to public so I assume it’s okay to quote.

Stephanie Pearl McPhee, aka The Yarn Harlot, writes this about the rally, “There is an intimacy that happens on the Rally, and it happens right away. There is no way that this many people, all moving toward a common goal, all hurting for the same thing, all in the same place, eating together, riding together, putting up tents together – can avoid feeling a togetherness that’s remarkable. You become each others world very quickly, you’re the only people who really understand what’s happening, and friendship is the thing that makes it so – and friendship in all its forms. The sort that springs up when you brush your teeth with someone you just met, together at 6am, all squeezed into spandex and about to do something epic. Another sort thrives as you see old friends revealed in new ways or discover new depths and build on a friendship you thought was at its fullness.” See more of her words here but prepare to get weepy. I did.

(Want to come with? Registration for #F4LBR18 is open with an early bird discount until August 7th.)

One thing it isn’t is a race. There’s lovely company, beautiful scenery, and many days to get through/enjoy weather depending. Six days, six hundred and sixty kilometers.

 

Not only isn’t it a race, it’s also not a fast training ride.

When on the bike rally and on cycling holidays, I find myself happily switching into touring mode. I try to find a quick sustainable speed that I can enjoy and still appreciate the journey. That’s good because I was riding the bike rally with my friend and guest blogger Susan. She’s pretty fast for a brand new cyclist but this is her first year on the road bike so there’s a bit of a speed gap between us. Drafting helped us bridge the gap.

Susan told her story about learning to draft here. She’s great at drafting now.

 

(You can compare my speedy training rides with the bike rally thanks to Strava. Average speed on speedy training rides, 28 to 30 km/hr. Average bike rally speeds 22 to 24 km/hr. More telling though is average heart rate. It’s 140 to 150 on the training rides, 120 to 130 on the bike rally. And that is exactly as it should be. Even cycling coach Chris Helwig’s instructions were to ride easy, staying mostly in Zone 2, except on hills.)

Indeed my one exception to the policy of moderation was hills. I think I’ve caught the bug. I see hills now and want to race up them. Luckily the landscape between Toronto and Montreal is mostly downhill, and the prevailing winds are behind us. I have work to do though on being the person drafted versus being the person hanging on the back for dear life. I’m so often in the latter role that my skills at the former are rusty. I’m good at maintaining a steady speed but not so good at remembering to ease up from that steady speed on hills.

Also, in the taking it easy category, I did excellently at putting into practice the principal that it’s not my job to correct wrong people everywhere. As they say, I don’t have to attend every argument to which I’m invited.

I didn’t feel the need to announce my reasons for being slower than others. I heard one young man tell everyone around that the only reason he was just getting into lunch now is because he was sweeping. (The sweeps ride in last so the volunteers working “road safety” know that we’re all in.) Don’t do that dude. There’s no need. It’s not a race. And think about how it made the people who were riding that pace feel.

I didn’t correct the young woman who didn’t believe in drafting because it doesn’t work. The riders in bike races ride so close for fun, I’m sure. You save your words of cycling advice for riders on the Tour de France. They’ll be happy to hear that drafting is unnecessary.

I also didn’t correct the man who told me he’d done his research and clipless pedals don’t make a difference. I just smiled and said I liked mine. No argument.

At 50 I’m finally growing up! (Though I still feel fifteen an awful lot of the time.)

 

cycling · fitness

How far will I go? Checking in on distance goals

Sam B1 Comment

I said here that I’d aim to ride 5000 km in 2014.

How am I doing? It’s time to check in and see if I’ll reach my goals.

Strava tells me that so far I’ve ridden 2959 kms. It also says I average four rides a week and spend roughly nine and a half hours on my bike.

You can follow me on Strava if you want. Just search for my full name, “Samantha Brennan” and “London, Ontario.”

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My numbers were helped by the Friends for Life Bike Rally. That was 600 km. And by a bike holiday in Arizona in February and by bike training camp in March in South Carolina.

I’ve got a couple of big rides still in the future. And I’m hoping to log some kilometers on my cyclocross bike this fall. I think I’m okay.

There’s 22 weeks left in the year. If I assume that 10 of them are ridable and I keep up my 200 km a week, I’m fine. Realistically more than 10 of the weeks left in the year are good for riding, especially if I get out on the cx bike…

How about you? Do you have any distance goals for the year? What kind of progress are you making?

fitness · Weekends with Womack

On inspiration and irritation: some thoughts inspired by Sat with Nat

catherine w5 Comments

Reading Natalie’s post on Saturday about the negative side of “being an inspiration” gave me pause. I have to admit, I’m very impressionable when it comes to finding others inspiring, especially when they a) do things I’m scared to do or don’t feel competent to do; or b) do things I would like to do, and from a standpoint that in some way feels similar to mine (e.g. perception of similar age, fitness level, economic position, body type, etc.). The former makes me think, “wow, here’s another human doing this scary thing! Maybe I can do it too.” The latter makes me think, “oh—this person is like me (in some way or other), so maybe I can do that thing too”. I’m always on the lookout for inspiration-pumps, as I know that I work better in the world with external encouragements or influences.

One other important way that other people inspire me: they open up for my consideration activities that I might not have found interesting or worthwhile. Tracy, for instance, has inspired me to try running, which I’ve always thought I hated. Actually, I never really put in any real effort at it, but reading about her training processes and progress, I thought, “hey—maybe I could do this too and like it”. And Natalie’s posts about running and liking it also make me think, “Huh– here’s yet another human who seems to like running. Maybe this is a thing…”

But I get what Natalie’s saying—there’s a way in which “being an inspiration” can have the following subtext: X is an inspiration because X did this thing that no one would ever believe that X, or people like X, could do.

And that definitely seems condescending and irritating.

The Fit Fatties facebook group has loads of posts in which members relate stories about being in the middle of running (or jumping, yoga-ing, cycling, triathlon-ing, dancing, paddling, walking, throwing, or any number of physical activities), only to have someone (usually a stranger) interrupt their fun to blurt out accolades of how inspiring said Fit Fatty is. It’s usually followed by gushing encouragement or praise—“you go girl!” “Good for you—keep it up!” At which point the aforementioned Fit Fatty in question reports feeling angry, frustrated, sad, offended, and upset. This has certainly happened to me (on a bike, in a kayak, on skis, while tap dancing), and it’s very annoying at best and undermining at worst.

As someone who teaches and loves philosophy, I hope to inspire some of my students to read, write, think, calculate and question more in their own lives. I even get subversive pleasure (the best kind!) from being someone with a lot of knowledge of logic and mathematics while at the same time being female. And yes, this fact is surprising to some students. I know some of them are thinking, “how can she know how to do that and be a girl at the same time?” Just stand back and watch me prove that theorem, kiddos…

But the upshot is that it’s okay with me to stand as a role model, an inspiration, a success story to them if it helps them shift their notion of what an intellectual/philosopher/logician is so to include folks who look like me.

But in the physical arena, I don’t always feel as confident or sanguine about my identity as an athlete to be able to tolerate fitspo cheering, praise, encouragement, etc. Being an athlete is a part of my identity and has been my whole life from early in my childhood. However, for a lot of reasons, that identity feels more vulnerable than say, my identity as an intellectual. Talking about vulnerability in identity feels, well, uncomfortable. No duh.

However, I think it’s worth noting this potential distinction—which aspects of our identity we are more comfortable with under conditions of being cited as “an inspiration”, and which aspects provoke us. Let me be clear– I’m not saying that this lets everyone else off the hook with respect to condescending “you can do it!” kibitzing comments. It’s flat-out annoying, and people should learn to be more sensitive or put a sock in it.  Especially if they’re not sure what (if any) comments some occasion calls for– this is probably good advice in general, by the way.

It’s probably useful to know where we are tender and where we are tougher. And we have some choices – we can protect the tender parts, or we can try to toughen up those parts. We have the right to do either or both. In the meantime, I’m going to think more on this, as Natalie has inspired me… J

fitness

Swimming Gets a Bad Rap, But as Fit Feminists Let’s Swim Anyway!

Tracy I10 Comments

One of the saddest stories from my younger days is about swimming. I’ve always loved to swim. When I started grad school at MIT in 1988, I swam every single morning before class.

I got to know the pool guy who gave out the towels. I swam in the same lane or two every time, usually with one or two other people at the same pace. 40 lengths. Daily.

So far, not sad. In fact, the opposite. It kept me grounded and feeling good at a super-stressful time of life. I’d moved away from home. For the first time in my life I was in the U.S. I had a major case of imposter syndrome, both happy to have gotten into such a great grad program and plagued daily by doubt that I belonged there. And I’d just quit smoking after ten years and was finally getting fitter.

And those mornings at the pool just felt so incredibly good.

And then a friend and I started reading Shape Magazine. Not a good choice for impressionable young people in their early twenties with no knowledge of health and fitness, and very susceptible to the cultural pressures on women to be thin.

Every issue had little news digest thing at the beginning. That’s where they published short paragraphs, maybe 4-5 sentences, of the latest research. Well, one day the latest research said ‘swimmers have more body fat than people who do other forms of cardio.’

That was enough for me. Enter aerobics classes, running (which I hated) and soulless hours on the stair master. Exit my first love: swimming.

Fast forward over 25 years when I discovered triathlon and rediscovered swimming in a big way.

And now: reports again about swimming and how it puts you at risk of “packing on the pounds.” You can read about it here and here.

The reason cited is that prolonged periods in cold water can make you really hungry. So the thing is that it’s not swimming itself that makes you fat. It’s that it works up a heftier appetite and swimmers are “at risk” of eating more.

But it’s not all bad. Swimmers are strong and awesome. Check out this article about growing up in a swimmer’s body.

And then there are those who would recommend swimming to lose weight! See here.

Here’s where I stand on this today. I love swimming. It’s important to do things we love. I would never abandon anything as quickly as I abandoned swimming back then, especially on the basis of a news capsule, and especially because of something as specious as the argument that swimming makes you fat. Really? Gimme a break!!

Swimming is freeing. As a zero gravity activity, nothing makes me feel as agile and alive as moving through the water. Taking up swimming regardless of what the latest research about it says on the weight gain-weight loss issue is, in my view, a feminist act!

Let’s go swimming!

fitness · Guest Post · Sat with Nat

Me? Inspiring?

natalieh (she/her)19 Comments

I’ve been thinking about this for a bit. I realize when people tell me I’m inspiring the intention is to compliment me on my efforts and results when it comes to fitness. This kind of thing is mostly said by friends who know me fairly well. I’m always taken a bit aback. Me? Inspiring?

I’m not a terribly good role model for fitness. I’m sporadic at best with my workouts, efforts, motivation, and nutrition. Mediocre really. Is that inspiring? I don’t think so.

I try things before I’m totally ready or trained for them just to have the experience. I like to get out in front of my anxiety , before it stops me completely from doing anything. I blog about my workouts and experiences not to inspire but to simply add another voice to the kinds of lives that are active, to debunk the myth that being fat means being lazy.

I am active. People always ALWAYS assume I’m less active than I am. I mention running, someone offers that I could do a couch to 5 k program. Uh. Awkward. I do 5km as my short run. I don’t say that thought. To call friends, nice supportive FRIENDS, out on assumptions based on my appearance is just too weird. Then the inspiring talk starts and I know it is meant to compliment, to flatter, to validate but it feels…well…paternalistic and demeaning. No one tells my lean, athletic partner he’s inspiring yet he’s out doing a 400 km cycling brevet as I type. He’s a 40 year old white cys guy on a bike WHOOP-dee -doo. But put a fattie on a bike, now THAT’s inspiring. Why?

Saying my half ass efforts are inspiring implies you don’t think I’m terribly capable of better.

It’s also not true that if I can do something anyone can.

I have a specific body with limitations (like asthma) and benefits (like not being terribly prone to injury). I like doing the things I do. I tend to have a shit eating grin on my face when I race. I don’t tend to be in pain post race.

I don’t share my fitness journey to be some white, middle-class, ablest fitspo crap. I share to add a teeny wedge of diversity into articles about fitness. A fat perspective, a feminist one and of mediocre effort. So don’t laud me with praises and tell me I’m inspiring. Take that energy and do what you find fun, draw your inspiration from your own self worth. That’s all I’m doing, deciding I’m worth the effort to be fit and trying to support that in others.

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