My Hood to Coast team has been sharing photos since we got home from the event. One of the photos I saw was this:

I loved it immediately for two reasons. First, I love these girls. They embody so much of what I want for my own life – kindness, determination, humor, courage, and ability. I could go on and on about them. I just love them. Second, I like how I look in this photo. I don’t often taken full body photos of myself because I’ve never been one to love my body. I especially have never loved my legs. They are thick and stocky and have been since I was a little kid. I even remember kids in middle school joking about how my thighs connected when I walked – something that wasn’t true about most of the string beans I grew up with. But when I saw this photo, it occurred to me that my legs don’t look all that different from my friends’ legs – and I think my friends are both gorgeous girls with amazing bodies. My legs aren’t as defined, but I actually kind of like how they look, and I’m encouraged that they will only look better and better as my training continues.

Y’all, that’s huge for me. To like how I look? That’s practically unheard of.

I started my TriDot training program in January with the goal of getting faster. Weight loss has been a nice by-product, but it was never the goal. I’m down fifteen pounds, which is just ten pounds above high school weight, and I think my weight will continue to drop. That’s all well and good, but what means the most to me is that I see the beginnings of a shift in my confidence level.

When my friend Rey was in town about two months ago, we went shopping because my pants were so big that I could pull them down even when they were zipped and buttoned. On that spree, we bought skirts, and I’ve actually worn those skirts. In Germany, again I bought skirts. To feel comfortable in my skin to the point of wearing skirts is a new place for me. And it’s a place I enjoy.

I love this picture. And I love that I love this picture. I can’t wait to see how it feels to find more definition in my legs. I’m approaching forty and liking how I look? How exciting.