I Miss My Golden Brown

I was looking at the pics from my second tri back in September and I was struck by how brown my back and shoulders were.

Over these last few months, I hadn't realized just how much my natural paleness had been silently pushing out the soft amber that my training this past summer had helped me acquire.

I am such a pale person and getting a tan - even in modest amounts - has always made me feel better.

However, as I've aged and started to appreciate my mother and grandmother's terrific skin - and, therefore, what mine could be someday - I've decided that sunscreen on the face is a must.

To back up, I believe we are meant to be in the sun. The latest findings show the value of Vitamin D natural sunlight helps us obtain. Obviously, too much time in it can lead to skin cancer, but again, we're talking about extremes.

So, this summer, wanting to protect at least my face against premature aging but still wanting to reap the benefits of sun exposure, I just used sunscreen on my face. I got some nice tone to my shoulders and arms and that was enough to make me happy.

Maybe someday I'll wince when I start to see the wrinkling on said shoulders and arms, but today is not that day. Maybe even as soon as next year, when I really start to up my training for Half-Iron and Iron distances and will be out in the sun longer, I'll add the sunscreen elsewhere. But today is not that day.

Anyway, looking at my coloring in this picture has made me even more excited to be out on my new bike, sweating hard underneath a ninety-degree sun, my skin being recolored by nature. I can feel the sun's warmth now just thinking about it.

My, I sure do sound eccentric. Hmm. Oh, well.