Too Small to be a "Filly"

Until recently, I’ve always been a “big girl,” as the more polite people liked to say. During my triathlon and Roller Derby days, they meant it as a compliment:

“It’s great that a big girl like you trains for triathlon.”… or

“It’s so cool that you aren’t all hung up on being skinny. I think big girls on skates are hot.”

And I agree: big girls on skates do look H-O-T — but it didn’t feel good. I felt uncomfortable a lot of the time and really wanted to be leaner, stronger, healthier, and — if I’m being honest — hotter.

My friend Jenny and I did the Olympic distance Bear Lake Brawl Triathlon in, like, 1996 or ’97 — and both of us were over our optimal weight, which qualified us for the “Clydesdale” division. (That’s the politically-correct race registration way to ask if you’re “overweight but training and participating anyway.”) Neither of us wanted to list our poundage on our race registration, so we didn’t check the box for Clydesdale. During the awards ceremony, we learned that no women had checked the box, so if Jenny and I had, we would have won the first and second place awards in our division! We were bummed to be robbed of our trophies by ego.

A few minutes ago, I was registering for the 3M Half Marathon and was all ready to check the box for “Filly” and cough up my weight… but I’m too small. The minimum requirement is 150 pounds.

I’m too small.

I’m too small!

That’s wicked fun.