This Stuff Makes me Feel So GOOD!

I am not bragging here, but today was a bit special, in that I received 3 unsolicited compliments, 1 from a complete stranger. As I keep saying, I'm enjoying the training--I absolutely love it!

1. Older gentleman at the pool--last Friday he brought his granddaughter (I'm old enough to be her grandma) to the pool, and made a point to introduce her to me. Apparently, he had told her all about my exploits (he calls me "Marathon Woman"). I said hello to the young lady, and told her to swim strong and fast. Today, her grandfather (whose real name I still do not know), tells me she was so impressed by me. I didn't do anything! I was just there doing my thing. He told me she was so awed by the shape that I am in. I just smiled and bowed my head and said, "Thanks." And then I told him to tell her I could be her grandma! I have made a promise to bring some of my race swim caps for him to give to her.
2. Young guy (hottie) at the pool--he is a good swimmer (Shawn), but doesn't swim the long sets like I do. About a week ago, I noticed he had dropped a little weight (he was already a hottie, now he looks even better). Today as he got on deck, he made a comment to me about my nice tan, to which I replied in a smart-assed sort of way, "Yeah, ya know, I gotta work on my tan!" Later on when I was taking a brief rest, we chatted a bit, and I told him I had been out in the sun for a long while on Sunday biking over 100 miles and he asked what I was training for. I said, "Nothing, really. I just like riding my bike." He told me I'm in phenomenal shape and it really shows. One of these days I will tell him he's a hottie himself. I am sure he will blush. Heck, I wouldn't mind doing the wild thang with him!
3. So I'm running home and it's like 98 today. I'm going by some utility truck and the guy is doing something by the back end. He sees me and I can tell he's staring a little bit, and I see him give me a thumbs up, so I turn off the tunes and he says, "It's worth it. You look great!" He had to know that it was difficult to run in the heat, and wow, that was just the boost I needed to push on towards home. Now this man wasn't exactly in great shape, but still he could appreciate that the way I look is related to the exercise and that I was getting it done even in adverse conditions.
4. This was yesterday, but I'll still mention it--I was on my usual circle doing my bike intervals and a guy yells "excuse me?" just as I crested this short but steep hill. I'm a little out of breath, but it was so hot (100+) that I figured, well, I'm always riding here, I should be social and talk to this man, as he probably wonders what the heck I'm doing out here. So the man, Rich, asks if I'm training for anything, and we talked about that and he told me where I could go ride a figure 8 loop that had some hills, and I thanked him, but then we talked about riding with power and how it didn't really matter whether I rode hills so much or not, and we just had a nice conversation. He rides, too, but not as much as I do, and I told him about some rides, and said maybe I'd see him out there. Maybe I'll just see him next week when I'm doing intervals again!

I like thinking I'm an ambassador for not just triathlon, but for each of the sports I do. I like knowing that I usually look pretty happy while I'm doing them (even though I'm usually working hard), and I'm more than happy to wave at complete strangers, and when I'm not too pressed for time (meaning I'm not in a hurry to get back home and get to work which is all that will stop me from stopping), I am happy to chat, answer questions of the curious, offer advice if it's requested, and just show people how good this stuff makes me feel. I like thinking there are a bunch of people in cars who have seen me many, many times on the streets near where I live and wonder, "who is that woman who is always running or biking, and why does she always look so happy?" It's me!