Your blog was such an inspiration! I look to see if you have put it back, to no avail.

Pleeeeezzzzzzzzz, come back!

Thanks for the support. However, the myfatspouse posting is NOT what made my take my blog down. I didn’t even see it until today. It’s just one of many blogs and message boards that love to rip me apart and I know how to ignore them.

I also know what they are all about and how much fun they have pontificating over everyone else’s bodies and lives. I’ve been dissected on there before and it’s not a new thing.

For those MFSers that are lurking, I want you to know something. It’s a very creepy feeling to read what other people say about you, despite them not knowing a damn thing other than what they see in a photograph or the few sentences they scan. If you’d like, I’d be happy to let you know how it feels. All you need to do is send a photograph and write a few sentences about your life that don’t really go together. I’ll be happy to make up my own story to fit it and send throughout the blogosphere and media.

My reasons for taking my blog private TEMPORARILY were cumulative and most were outlined in the guest post on Kate Harding’s blog.

I will say this. As much as I regretted taking the site private because I know how many people I helped, I have greatly enjoyed the free time I’ve had — and the freedom to write about my life and not worry about the infamous douchehounds of the intarweb dissecting and analyzing every tiny detail they can think of.

Oh and PS to those on MFS who are ‘concerned’ about my joints: I don’t have joint problems. I don’t have knee problems. My minor problems come from muscular alignment issues and are currently being treated with proper training (as has been the case for several years.) Those are common issues that ANY athlete deals with regardless of size. I can show you a few elite ironman triathletes who have the same problems.

I don’t need your (quite possibly well-intentioned) advice on what professionals to work with. I am a smart woman who knows more about my body than you do. And like I’ve said before (of which you likely didn’t have the attention span to read) my body is MY business and there are many things related to what I do that I do not discuss on the internet. Thanks, and have a nice day.

That’s it. You nailed it. It’s all about *control*.

There are thin, thin, thin people who would finish in the slowest groups of a thriathlon, too. And they very well could have more joint problems than Sarah. I’ve read her blog, and I don’t recall her saying she has joint problems.

And why can’t the super-competitive people among us accept that some of us run, hike, lift, whatever to DO IT. Not to win. Not to be the fastest.

Guys like brother crash have tried to run my life forever. I have low blood pressure, low cholesterol and NO FREAKIN JOINT ISSUES. But I’m fat. AND I slam out three miles every other day — yeah, it takes me 45 minutes to do it. But my knees never hurt — and maybe Sarah’s don’t either.

If you’re fat and sedentary, you’re a sinner courting death.

If you’re fat and fit, you’re courting disability.

We can’t win.

Fat Girl On A Bike: This next little part is addressed directly to you and nobody else. And I do hope you’ll check back in.

I’d like to offer you a sincere unconditional apology. A “no kidding” apology. And no… I am not being sarcastic. I hurt your feelings and regardless of the fact that we’ll never meet, I am capable of understanding how much it must have hurt you to read what I wrote. I realize that my words can really hurt people and I’ll be more careful in the future how I phrase things.

The last thing I’d want to do is chase away people who might come here looking for how to lose weight or get in shape. Believe it or not we also have articles on fitness, health, diet, training, etc.

After seeing the effect it’s had on you personally, I realize that I should probably employ a bit more judgement in word choice at times.

Just because I think I’m right in my assertions and won’t retract them, doesn’t mean that I can’t comprehend that you were hurt by what I think.

Incidentally, I do hope you’ll keep working out. You’ve already got 90% of the work done. You’re obviously committed to exercise. I encourage you to go speak with your orthopedist, a personal trainer, and then a sports nutritionist to figure out what the best moves are for you with regards to keeping up your personal fitness/conditioning and eating to gain that competitive edge.

If you want to be a serious athlete then I don’t think many people could argue with getting professional advice. If you’ve already talked to all of them and they cleared you in hot… then knock yourself out. But I don’t think a quality doctor would advocate pounding your joints for 6.2 miles in a full out race, not to mention the training standards that would force you to run for considerably more miles on a weekly basis.

At the end of the day, I hope that you have the inner strength to rise above the hurt and consider the best action for you to take regarding your health.

Blow this off if you want… I’m not apologizing for hurting your feelings because I have to… but because I think it’s the right thing to do in this particular situation. I hope you’ll accept it for what it is.

Good luck!

Brother Crash