Hope

This is my last personal blog posting. I'm handing the keyboard over to Mark, but before I do, our coach quoted John Bingham to us at our pre-race dinner tonight. Something about the concept of hope and looking forward really resonated.

"The changes that matter most are the ones going on inside, where you can't see them. I'm not talking about the subtle increases in the strength of your heart or lungs or legs. I'm talking about the very real changes in the strength of your resolve and your spirit.

Each day that you invest in yourself, you are becoming more of what you want to be. By giving yourself permission to dream of new PR's or completing a 5K, you are making sure that there is hope in your life. Instead of looking backwards to the good old days, you are assuring yourself that the best is yet to come.

At the heart of the matter, the real changes are in how you think about yourself. By discovering your limitations and then overcoming them, you can learn to be your own hero. And that, for most of us, is the biggest change of all."

My very first triathlon, six years ago, was a Danskin women's only race. The slogan for these races is "The woman who finishes the race is not the same woman who started." I know that I'm not the same woman I was a year ago and I don't expect to be the same woman tomorrow night by midnight.

Lord, that's indulgent! Sorry! I'll shut up now. Next time you hear from me, I'll be an Ironman. Wheeeeee!!!