Humility be damned: Quest is over but the well-earned hubris continues on

And here I thought Svaroopa yoga or Reiki would top the list "novel and eye-opening experiences" during Quest.

And they're up there, to be sure. I can't say as I would have ever experienced most of what I have were it not for the Quest suggestion. I'd long considered sweat a necessary component to any wellness activity. If I wasn't out of breath and in some kind of physical pain, then I might as well be napping.

My mind has changed on that account - particularly after the saltshaker Reiki experience. Those periods of rest, stretching and body relaxing may even be more important than the grunting effort of military pushups.

But even though the Quest 10-week program game to a close on Monday, there was still plenty of novelty to experience.

Por ejemplo: this thing called "pedicure."

Never had the pleasure before. They're feet, after all, and didn't consume much thought over the years unless my socks were uncomfortably wet or there was a fishing hook stuck in my heel.

Likewise, my noggin hasn't seen the inside of a salon in darn near a decade. (Attribute that to some severe PTSD following a scarring salon experience in my early twenties.)

But the generous folks at Head Games opted to extend some services my way (the remaining three Questers, Jon, Jeff and Alex, all got the royal treatment as well, as part of the Quest for your Best program).

I hadn't expected it - but heck yea, I'll take 'em up on that offer.

We all worked our tails off (an inch and a half's worth) these last ten weeks. And I don't miss the two inches that disappeared from my thighs or the inch and a half from my waist. (I believe all lost inches have congregated at the counter of my favorite breakfast spot, sustaining themselves on hash browns and Mimosas...and periodically weeping.)

And if Head Games saw fit to reward the early-morning workouts, kettlebell swinging and hours of planks, well then, I'm not going to argue with them. My new biceps earned a new haircut.

So Tuesday I got the works - the nails and the toes and the hair. The stuff most girls consider regular maintenance.

And since I'll be missing out on the professional photo shoot this weekend, stylist Maureen volunteered to snap some photos of me post-chop.

I see now why women (and some dudes) appreciate this whole pampering thing. I admit, I walked out of there feeling pretty damn good. As in Let-My-Awesomeness-Shine good. As in Humility-Be-Damned good.

Of course, that's how it usually went after a session at The Landing.

And that's how it's been the last month, when the effects of my effort could be seen in the looseness of my jeans. When I had to poke a new hole, and then another, into a belt I bought not six months ago. When I burst from a dressing room looking for alternate sizes on the clothes racks because the mediums and larges I'd brought in with me were too big.

But still, nothing beats an unsolicited compliment like, say, the guy at the coffee shop handing over my change and saying, "Have you lost weight? You look great."

Yes. Yes I do.

I admit to some anxiety over being left to my own devices. I wonder if I'll reunite with the potatoes of my life's past. I worry that jiggle will return to my walk. But those thoughts are trumped by optimism - and the still unattained goal of beating my brother in a best-out-of-three arm wrestling competition.

Michelle Obama's going to want "Shannon Bryan arms."

Translation: I'm just getting started.

Keep your eyes peeled for the July 9 issue of Switch magazine. The Questers final "before" and "after" photos and story will be revealed then in print and here on Mainetoday.com