I’ve made an effort to go to as many Orangetheory events as possible. I’ve gone to happy hour events and yoga events which have always been fun. But I’ve never made it to one of the outdoor events. That hasn’t been deliberate. Most of the hikes and beach days have been either while I’m working or on a day that I can’t go. But I have been wanting to go to one eventually and I finally had the opportunity to do so this past weekend.
There was an Orangetheory beach day on Saturday (which is why I didn’t go to my usual Saturday workout). The beach day was for all the Los Angeles locations, so I knew that I would know some people but get to meet a lot of new people as well. And some of my friends from the Culver City location said they wanted to go so we made a plan to meet up there.
Even though it was a Saturday and the perfect beach day, the beach wasn’t too crowded.
It wasn’t the easiest thing to find parking, but I managed to find a lot that had one space left and it was a 10-minute walk from the lot to where the Orangetheory tent was. That wasn’t too bad of a walk and since it was so nice out I just enjoyed being outside and being lucky enough to live that close to the ocean.
I take a lot of precautions with the sun, but I realized when I got to the beach that I forgot my beach umbrella. I had a hat and lots of sunscreen, but I was worried about being out in the sun for too long. But most of the other people at the beach day wanted to be out in the sun so there was plenty of space for me to put my beach towel in the shade of the tent. I stayed there for almost the entire time I was at the beach to be as careful as possible.
My friends and I all got to the beach around the same time. And since we usually only see each other in workout clothes or when we are gross and sweaty, we had to take advantage of looking nicer and take a good photo together.
And yes, I am wearing a bikini. It’s not the first time I’ve worn one recently, but it was the longest time that I was in public in a bikini that wasn’t fully covering my stomach like the one I wore in Hawaii. This was a new bikini and I actually found this one on Amazon and it fits perfectly! I had ordered another one as well, and I might keep it but it wasn’t making me feel as great as this one did.
Wearing a bikini or any sort of swimsuit can be tough for anyone no matter what their body is like. I know there is a discussion about what a “bikini body” is supposed to be. And I know that I don’t look like the ideal that most people think of when they think of a bikini body, but as long as I am confident in what I wear I don’t care what others think.
And it has gotten me a long time to get this much self-confidence. And I completely attribute it to my workouts at Orangetheory. Not only did I wear a bikini in public, but I also shared the following photo on my social media with the caption below.
This is my bikini body. Not at my goal weight, still battling my eating disorder, scars and flares from my auto-immune disease on my skin. But despite those negatives, I am so proud of this body. I have been working so hard in my workouts. I can lift more and bike harder than I ever thought I could. I am stronger physically and mentally than before. And my body is only going to get better. Why wouldn’t I show it off in a bikini at OTF Beach Day?
And that is the truth about how I feel about myself. I wanted to feel proud of what I have done so far. I’m not perfect, but I only have this body and I deserve to celebrate myself. I only got positive comments from people online and at the beach day. Maybe they said something bad about me behind my back, but I don’t care. I was happy with what I was wearing and I wouldn’t want to wear something uncomfortable just to make others feel better about what I’m wearing.
I didn’t do much at beach day other than hanging out under the tent and talk with my friends and other Orangetheory people there. My friends did go down to the water to enjoy that for a bit, but I stayed where I was. I was just enjoying my afternoon in the sun and being grateful for the perfect day.
But even though I was so careful with protecting my skin, I guess the sun doesn’t love me at all. The only time I wasn’t under the tent was when I was walking to and from my car and for a few moments to take photos. And I reapplied my sunscreen several times to make sure I was doing it more often than required. I don’t know how this happened, but I guess there was some sun that reflected off of the sand (I was too far from the water for it to reflect from the ocean) and still managed to burn me while I was in the shade.
This burn is only on my chest and face and it’s not nearly as bad as many of the burns I have had in the past. I’ve been working on taking care of my skin and it’s already starting to fade and not sting as much.
The only negative of beach day was the sunburn. Enjoying the beach was awesome. Hanging out with my workout friends and coaches was so much fun. And wearing a bikini felt so normal and comfortable which is better than I ever could have imagined. This beach day was exactly what I needed in my life to bring so much happiness when I had been going through a rough time recently and I am so glad that I went.
