My Strength Is My Strength

    I am upping the ante now. I am doubling up my workouts on most days, and increasing my long runs. Today I cycled a solid 70 minutes, then headed to The Cove for an open water swim. I have reached a point where I can cycle and swim for what seems an eternity. I hit my pace, what feels like the perpetual motion pace, and I feel I can go on forever. Tonight, in The Cove, I felt my previous face-in-murky-water phobia slip away until it was merely a blip in my peripheral vision. I did have to allow my vision to relax, not pay attention to the shadows and ripples, ignore the occasional shiver up my spine. So I swam, long, steady, strong strokes, body streamlined, toes en pointe. Slipping through the water, quietly, smoothly, in my Selkie Suit, feeling like a creature of the Cove. Strong, steady, tireless. It was a turning point, now I am eager to return to the deep, cool, green waters to swim unimpeded by walls and lanes.
    Swim, cycle, and run, I have learned that my strength is my strength. I will never be the fastest, the nimblest, the gazelle. But what I can be is strong, powerful, tenacious. More the bear than the cheetah. More wolf than gazelle. I understand strength and power. Years, decades, of weight lifting and strength training have taught me that I am strong, with a long, slow burning energy that carries me through all the live long day. This is where I am aiming, my focus, my truth. My strength is my strength. Now, add long and lean to strong and stubborn. True, there is 35% less of me than there was a few years back, but the muscle is still there. Now I am streamlined, aerodynamic, the lean and hungry wolf.
    I have a confidence within myself that grows daily. Each new adventure, venture, race, event, adds to the confidence. Yes, there are moments, days, when my confidence wavers, my demons whisper doubts and fears in my ear. But these moments are fewer than ever before, and easily beaten back as I slip into the water, sit in the saddle, or step out onto the trail. I will never be the fastest, but I also will never give up. My strength is my strength, inner and outer, mental, physical, spiritual. My Strength is My Strength.