The Spring Dash Baby!!

The contrast between this year's Spring Dash and last year's was quite obvious.

Last year:

• I had only been exercising consistently for 6 months
• I cried most of the walk, a combination of watching others pass me by (of all ages), knowing it was the first of MANY events I would complete - breaking down my sedentary past and marching ahead to my athletic future!
• I walked the entire time.
• I had blisters the size of quarters on each foot!
• I completed the race in 1hr 39minutes.
• I ranked 79 of 80 in my age group. 1224 overall.

This year:

• I have completed a Sprint triathlon
• I have exercised consistently for 18mos.
• I ran alongside or chased (she kept a few steps ahead of me to increase my pace a bit :)) my beloved friend Michele.
• It didn't even occur to me to cry - I was so excited to see what I could do!
• I ran ALMOST the entire time. I did run faster than my regular pace which made my chest start to hurt like what happened when I started training faster  so I had to walk for about 10 minutes. But, once I felt better, I ran the rest of the race, finishing as fast as I could at the final stretch.
• NO Blisters!!
• I completed the race in 1hr 18minutes.
• I ranked 51 of 71 in my age group and 802 overall.

I had a great time. Several dear friends were there to cheer me on and run/walk the race themselves. It wasn't "fun" exactly, but it was good hard work and I did my very best to push as hard as I could for the best result possible.

Some things I thought would change that haven't...
I still had to order a 2x t-shirt.

I have changed some of my thinking and I will share it for your amusement :
As a part of diligently controlling my thought life so I can fully embrace who I am right now and love where I am at (weight and shape specifically) I have started adding "Barbie" to the end of my attire for the day...
Spring Dash day I was "Running Barbie"
Swimming days I am "Swimming Barbie"
Weight Lifting days I am "Workout Barbie"

You get the picture. It always makes me chuckle and keeps my mind on the end result of my efforts (NO I am not striving to look EXACTLY like Barbie! Yes, I am familiar with the fact she is inaccurately proportioned;).
I want to love being me - Now. Just like I stated in my blog about body image .

I look forward to what the rest of this year holds - at least 1 Sprint triathlon, a team triathlon with my Love and a great friend, and maybe one more event, we will see...