Moms In Motion : Connecting Moms Through Fitness

Karen
When I was growing up, I never participated in any athletic activities because I had a lot of insecurities about my physical abilities. I felt I was never fast enough, aggressive enough or coordinated enough to be involved in any sports.
It wasn't until I was in my 20's that I finally started to exercise for the first time. I started taking exercise classes at the YMCA, and we ran a couple of laps around the track at the end of each class. After the birth of my two children, I became a little more motivated to lose those post-baby pounds. I moved my running out to the streets and started to push myself a little farther.
A few years later I participated in my first race and discovered that I liked to run! We attended a family picnic with my husband's company , where a 5K race was held. My husband encouraged me to enter, and I ended up the top female finisher! This race was definitely the turning point in my attitude towards physical fitness. This was something I could do! I haven't won a race since, but this race gave me the confidence to run farther, try harder and push myself more.
This main reason I joined Moms In Motion was to get a sense of accomplishment after meeting a challenge. The swimming portion of the race has been very daunting to me. I barely made it one lap of the UCSB pool on our first workout. Now I am swimming over 500 yards in the ocean and I can't believe I can do it! I attribute a lot of this improvement to the support of this awesome and inspiring group of women. I also thank my super supportive husband (he paddles while I swim) and my two great kids (they have come to many a race to cheer me on), they keep me going every step of the way.
Laura - Well, I debated about writing, but I decided to do it. I think writing can be very cathartic. Here we go.....( I was thinking about this when I was swimming today!) Athletics, sports, exercise have not been a natural part of my life. Unknowingly, family members, educators, and strangers have shaped my perception of my abilities to participate in athletics.
3rd grade - Field Day. The school is dismissed to participate in MANY activities on our athletic fields like, softball toss, 50yrd dash, rope climbing(!), timed jumping rope, chin ups, etc..... Each student who placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd received a ribbon. At the end of the Field Day, we returned to class to share/present our ribbons. I didn't have ANY ribbons. I tried, but I didn't place any higher than 4th in any event I tried. It was a huge school, and they let the events go on for a long time. Humiliating. I was the only one in my class who did get ONE ribbon.
6th grade - I'm criticized for "throwing like a girl". Never threw a ball again. 10th grade - Swim Coach teaches the lifesaving class. Can't graduate without passing lifesaving. EVERYONE takes lifesaving. Coach likes to warm us up with sprints. Says to me after the warm up "You'd swim faster if you weren't so fat." Never swam again. Really. Graduated from college - Sitting with a girlfriend who's pregnant. We've finished the 4 mile walk. We're with a group of 3 women, wearing jog bras, tank tops, bike style shorts. Old man stops and says to ME "When is the baby due?" I'm not pregnant. I wasn't even fat. Really.
So trying to be resilient from all these great experiences related to exercise has been a struggle. But, my friend, who is naturally heavy set, decided to participate in the sprint triathlon 3 years ago. She has 2 kids, an almost full time, part time job, husband, house, church responsibilities, in-laws, etc....and she was so inspirational. She put the kids in the jogger and walked, and swam with at the beach, and rode her mountain bike around the neighborhood. She did it. We cheered her on during the tri. My husband put her kids in the burley bike trailer and followed her along the run. I was at the run turn around, her husband was at the finish. She just didn't want to be last. She wasn't. We all cried. SO, I thought OK, I can do this. Tri training is very solitary. What a surprise. It's a HUGE imposition on the family that hasn't had to put up with imposition. It a HUGE adjustment for the husband. That's a whole other topic. Threatening, jealousy, intimidation, anxiety........
Adjusting work scheduled, school schedules, meal schedules, social schedules, weekend schedules, etc.....all require diplomacy and tact and PATIENCE. The hardest thing to do is to let the training go for a day even though I know sometimes I have to save my marriage.....it's hard to let it go. My husband is really supportive now. He's even done a couple of events, but in the beginning.....ugh!
So why MOMs IN MOTION.....The support of women is so therapeutic for women. I want to be surrounded by women who believe in themselves and their cohorts. I don't want to be faced with barriers due to my gender.
Example: We went to Long Beach to rent a boat for a cruise to Catalina. My husband was test sailing the boat so the charter company could see that we knew what we were doing. They wanted to charge us $10.00 for me to ride on the boat during the test sail. They said "You're only good crew if you know how to go below and get the beer". "WHAT! I've been racing sailboats for 15 years. I can reef a main in a gale, I can fall off the boat in San Francisco Bay during a race, climb back on, and tack the jib. You stupid #$%^&^%" I said.
Women generally don't make stupid sexist remarks like that. I've done 2 Danskin Women's Triathlons. It's so powerful to see ALL women trying to achieve their goals. I particularly like the transition area that is ringed by family members and you hear a LOT of "Go Mommy!". I LOVE THAT! During the run women are talking about their families, their periods, their age, their exhilaration's for being in the race, women love to talk. There are competitive people, too. Not everyone is a first timer. But, the support for the first timer is very grounding, and it makes you remember your beginning, and therefore you have to give back and help and support the effort of ALL women who choose the triathlon goal.
So, Moms In Motion gives me a chance to be grounded, and to give back. I like encouraging the women in my fartlek to run a little harder, 'cause they'll encourage me. I like being a little more accomplished than some, 'cause I've never been this way in my entire life. I like having a format to get real information that is useful training information. I realized after last Saturday that my prep for the ocean swim in nausea. Now that I know it is "normal", I feel a LOT better.
I also do this for my daughter. I hope to heaven that she NEVER has to put up with the sexism and stupidity that I did. She needs to see all the Mommies training, laughing, smiling, sweating and know that it's good, important, "normal". We are trying to make her athletics a natural part of all of our lives.
There was an editorial in Triathlete magazine, several months ago, saying a special category should be added. Parents of Young Children. I thought this was great. We have extraordinary demands on our time and we deserve our own racing category paying homage to the extra hard work it takes to get to the start line. I think MOMS in MOTION is this special category.