All the same

When your in boot camp, the instructors want you to have a common foe, them. In order to do that they do two things right away; they break you down physically through rigorous exercise and they make you look all alike, such as the buzz cut and the uniforms.

I hadn't done any body grooming since Ironman. I think we are all adult enough to realize that there is a preference to and not to shave body parts as a training mentality, regardless of the pro's and con's. I choose to do so for many reasons including vanity and rehabilitation. I also think we can be mature enough to understand that when it gets cold outside or we end relationships that involved a certain amount of immodesty, we humans cover our body with clothes and the vain need to shave legs or this or that take second place to comfort. It could also be laziness.

In an effort to bring focus back to my training I naired, trimmed and shaved all the usual areas I do during my triathlon season. The purpose is to remind myself that I do this as part of my preparation for Ironman. Diet, exercise and mental preparation all go into the mixture of my training. The grooming is more so the outward symbol that I am on the journey while looking at me physically may not attest to that. The tattoo on my leg is the status that I did something special but the grooming, shows that I still seek to maintain that level of fitness year round.

You don't need body grooming to be an Ironman. There is no height, weight, bodyfat, skin color, hair length requirements. I saw many people that looked in far worse shape than myself finish much faster than my time. And more power to them, I think that is great. But I want to look a certain way, I want to feel a certain way, I need to think a certain way and my therapists appreciate bare parts to rub and manipulate too. Mistress...she just likes looking at my legs.