I will BE a Triathlete!

Several weeks ago, I signed up for a triathalon...you read that right...a TRIATHALON!

My swim assessment was scheduled for Sunday morning, so I busied myself with chores and didn't let my brain think about it until the very last minute.

I got there...signed in, changed, and waited in line with the other women. I had a brief discussion with a mentor, and then hopped in the pool to swim my lap. That's all I had to do. ONE lap. How hard could that be, right? Apparently quite hard when I let my brain get the best of me.

The thought of people watching and evaluating my fat butt in a pool kinda terrified me, but this wasn't for time, and the object wasn't to pass or fail. The only real purpose of this was so that I could get put in the appropriate training group.  The only thing I had to do was just, simply, swim.

Now why couldn't my brain process that in the pool?

Here's a pic of me, post assessment:
(Aren't I atrractive? Bug Eyes and all?)

After the assessment, a code was written on my hand, and I was sent to a table to record what training group I'd be placed with. Well...I'm a beginner. Duh. All this worry for nothing. I'll never know why I stress about the silliest things.

That's just how my brain works I suppose...

The assessment was over, and I was finally able to breathe. I was sitting in the car gathering my thoughts before I went about the rest of the day, and it was at this point that something amazing happened...I looked down and noticed what was written on my hand.

                                                                    

BE. Just one little word, and I felt all my anxious energy roll away.

A symbol of a beginner to this group of strangers, but a testament of my strength.

By the end of all this, I will BE a triathlete. 

This, made me smile.