Triathlon Smells….

….like heaven.  

Okay, so maybe I’m weird.  But I love smelling like a pool after a swim.

Today, I had a tough, tough swim, which ended with three short time trials.  I felt great after the workout, which finished up with 3×50 at  0:53, 0:52, and 0:51.

Then I had a breakfast meeting.  Each time I’d take a sip of my coffee, I could smell the pool.   Admittedly, maybe I don’t have the right soap.  But also, maybe I don’t want the right soap.

I like smelling like the pool for the entire work day.  This small thing reminds me of the hard work I put in before other (sane)  people were even awake.  The smell lifts my spirits long after I start to forget the great effort I paid to the triathlon gods.  I just plain like it.

Also, I like arriving at the gym before dark, and getting wiffs of the towels being laundered (yes, the laundered towels are only at the fancy, work-week gym). But even at the YMCA, I like the wafts from the soap, the chlorine, the basketball courts.  It all makes me so happy.

Triathlon just smells delicious to me. My bike, Antonia, smells awesome.  I like the scent of chocolate protein powder.  And Bodyglide.  And Sports Beans (hello, endurance candy!).  I like stinky hair and feet and shoes, because it means I did the workout correctly.   Maybe I like all this craziness because I am new.  Maybe because I missed, for so long, the gym/workout/competition scents.  In weightlifting, the Expert says he loved the smell of chalk.  For me, the chalk smell gave me the creeps, but I did like the metallic aroma of the weights, the bar.  

Oh well.  Regardless, I just realized yet another reason I love triathlon.  And that’s sweet smelling goodness, irrespective of its potential weirdness.

Happy Tuesday, ya’ll!

And for laughs… here’s a picture from the race on Saturday.  I showed it to the Expert and he said, “ZOOOOOOOOOM!”  I am so red, maybe I was having a minor heart attack during the run.  I love how triathlon is also going to provide so many more humiliating photos in the future.