Quote Originally Posted by Veronica
Besides standing up straight makes your tummy look smaller. I'm speaking from experience here.

V.
Ahhh! Thanks for the tip!

And thanks for the encouragement, all. I'll reflect it right back at you. What I love about that picture of me is the look on my face. That was about mile 16 of the marathon, and I was flanked by two dear friends who came out to cheer for me. I was happy and proud, and hadn't yet hit "the wall"!

I was thinking today about the questions concerning endurance sports and genetics. Probably something there, although no one else in my family is a runner. My mom and aunt both became cyclists in their 50s/60s. My brother's always been sort of a jock--baseball, hiking, mtb on vacations. My sister...no. Walks, does Pilates. My dad was an athlete, coached high school baseball, died when he was 35 of a brain tumor.

For me, endurance sports "fit" because I know that I have the capacity to endure difficult things. Hard childhood, abusive ex-partner. Even my job is something of an endurance sport--I'm in the middle of a 24 hr shift right now, and delivered 3 babies in 3 hours. So I have the body-knowledge that I can keep at it. I am not fast, but I can keep going. As the marathon wore on, and I wanted to quit, I'd say to myself, "It's a marathon. You might as well keep running."

I know my body image comes from childhood and teen years--I was fat, smart, unpopular, etc. I diligently studied Seventeen and Glamour magazines. I rode my bike, loved to ride my bike, but didn't really know people did that for fun, long distances, or trails.

Ah, well, here we are, and I bet we'd all have a great time riding hard, cooking and eating together. I envy those of you on the coasts who get together! I'll bet there's a lot of laughter.

Best to all,

Lise