Self doubt

Ed King, my trainer from King's Gym, chatted with me for a few minutes Monday before we started training. I shared with him my impressions from the competition and admitted to wondering what the point is in throwing yourself into a contest that you will likely not win. He hears this often from first time competitors, he said. The objective is not necessarily to leave with a trophy, he advised. It's an experience from which a person can take away several rewards, one of which is the achievement of a goal - simply to train and to compete. But also, the process of getting up in front of a large group of people wearing very little can build confidence and that can spill over into other aspects of a person's life. In my case in particular, with my specific deficits (my words, not his), he said that this is an uncommon pursuit requiring me to overcome certain obstacles and therefore, is something for which I can be proud. So all this set my mind at ease. I think that just looking like I belong among this group of women who have trained hard and stuck with their program is to be in extremely good company and offers a measurable accomplishment...provided that I do, in fact, look like I belong. Tomorrow: posing practice at King's Gym with a trainer named Michelle.