An error admitted and regretted
When I uploaded the interview with Beth Gerdes last night I was super happy with the result and thought many folks would be very happy with the interview itself and the candor and eloquence of Beth Gerdes. But when I checked Twitter today I was facing an angry responce because during that chat [it was an email interview as the interviewee had requested] I had asked a very personal and in hindsight inappropriate question to this relatively new mom.
After talking about the baby and asking the how the world of the couple has changed since the birth, I then asked "Did you two at one point consider not having the baby, or was that a thought that never crossed your mind?"
Gerdes responded very eloquently and we actually went back on forth about other questions, including 50 women to Kona etc. So this specific question and answer traveled back and forth a couple times, and I admit it never struck me as odd or inappropriate, and Gerdes also never mentioned it in any email.
So when the anger boiled over on Twitter this morning I was taken by surprise and then made an even bigger error. I have always told others that when they get cornered or pushed in a forum or social media, that they ought to walk away, get some fresh air, and give themselves some time to relax before responding to whatever has gotten them mad. And I did not heed my own advice here. I immediately barked back and felt, righteous as I had meant no insult. And that began a death spiral of sorts, as more people piped in and I could not stop tweeting. But I should have simply walked away.
I even deleted the question from the interview, but I continued to engage in social media. For that I am terribly sorry and I indeed regret those actions.
I am also sorry I asked that question in the first place, I should have phrased it very differently. Something along the lines of "What kind of emotions did you two experience when you learned about the pregnancy?" That way she could have answered however she wanted to interpret that.
The topic of pregnancy and how it possibly impacts amateur or pro female triathletes is an important one, and in my view it relates to that whole topic of Equal 50 to Kona, but that needs to be done in a separate feature, and I should not have asked Beth Gerdes that question.
I reached out to her this morning to get her take and she responded with "I thought it was an odd question, but I answered. All good. Talk to you soon!"
Well, at least one person seems not to be mad with me. And my wife, who knows me better.
