How to be a vain triathlete.

I don't really have anything inspiring or deep to write about today. I've mainly been perseverating on superficial things, like how awful I look after I finish a workout/triathlon, whatever...one of the things about triathlon that I find distressing is that I tend to avoid anything that makes me feel icky or ugly. I've had a hard time resolving this with the new triathlete lifestyle.

I hate to sweat, and I hate worse to look sweaty. (My friend Holly once told me that I was vain because of my preocupation with mirrors, but I pour over every imperfection because I think I am, like many American women, convinced that I am a Marty feldman twin with thighs the size of redwoods and an ass that provides enough wind resistance to knock considerable time off my bike time. Well, maybe most American women don't frame it that way, but I do. Nearly every photograph showing me huffing and puffing and sweaty after and during a triathlon or workout pretty much validates my ideas, too.

So it is with so much horror that I noticed last year that I was getting brown patches on my face after last year; west Texas and New Mexico sun took its toll on my in the worst way. It wasn't a tan so much as I looked like a lot of freckles had run together. I think part of it is because of pills I had to take temporarily last year because of - ahem - lady troubles, and part of it was because of running around out in the sun without sunscreen (bad girl. no donut!) I've spent the winter buying makeup that resembles house paint to cover them, and they've started to fade, but not fast enough, damnit.

Another problem I have is melted makeup, mostly lipstick. I've solved that problem by switching to gloss in tubes, which I'm convinced is the best thing since sliced bread, because I can carry them the back pocket of my skinsuit, even through a swim. I got some on a mini-binge at WalGreens, along with other musts. Also was having problems with mascara melting into my eyes, so I'm switching to waterproof. (Don't even think of trying to convince me to skip mascara. Ain't gonna happen). Also I get all scaly after a 400 meter swim, so I bought some Jergens lotion. Then of course, hair sunscreen. I might have needed more stuff than that, but a couple years ago I actually had eyeliner, eyebrow color, and some lip color "tattooed" on, which simplifies things a bit.

Don't try to tell me it's what's on the inside that counts. I've got over 30 years of social and societal imprinting burned into me.

But about the brown patches. I bought some 60 spf waterproof sunblock to keep them from getting worse until I can figure out what to do about them. One of the other triathletes is a Mary Kay salesman, and I think she's going to show me some stuff that Mary Kay makes that might be able to help me with the patches, after the Ransom Canyon triathlon. Only in Texas.