Yesterday was the Pelican Fest Triathlon in Windsor. I have never done a triathlon in such cold, rainy weather. I don't know what the air temperature was but I know the lake temp was too damn cold!
And I thought I had gotten past the fear of open water swimming. Even standing on the beach waiting for my wave to start, I felt fairly calm and relaxed. But something weird happened when the siren went off for my wave.
I ran into the water with everyone else and started wading out to start swimming. I don't know why but I started panicking. My heart was racing and I had thoughts of "I can't do this". Everyone else was plunging in and swimming....I waded there for half a minute or so thinking I was going to have a heart attack! I'm embarrassed to even write this. I looked back at the beach and thought "I don't have to do this race. It's only Windsor...." I looked for the people in the kayaks for help. And then I just started swimming.
This happened at Boulder Peak last year too. It's an awful, icky feeling. Last year I was able to pull it together fairly quickly but yesterday it took longer to calm down, maybe because of the cold water. But ironically, after about 200 - 300 yards or so, I felt fine. I got into a rhythm and just focused on my form. I noticed that the water was really clean and I liked that a lot.
I did think a lot about the IM while I was swimming, thinking that I had a long way to go to be ready for 2.4 miles of swimming.
The bike was fast and easy. Kurt took my aero bars off the night before because they were too loose and needed some adjusting. I thought it wouldn't really matter, it was only 10 miles but unfortunately, it DID matter. I missed them terribly and I felt "naked" without them. I also think it slowed me down a bit.
The run was great. I felt the strongest on that part of it, although I could tell i didn't have as much energy as I usually do. But it was fine.
Luckily, it didn't start raining until after we were done. I'm just glad I did it, that I didn't bail on the swim. Chalk it up to gaining experience in open water and what can go wrong. Hopefully, it won't happen again.
2 comments:
It continues to amaze me, given your knowledge, talent and mental strength, at how you can really pysch yourself out. I wonder if you need to work on mentally blocking out all thoughts but "I can do this" during your workouts. That's honestly what I've done and I think that, more than improvement in fitness, is a reason for my improved times in races.
You're an impressive physical older woman. When are you going to believe it? :)
Hey Dan - Thanks for your comments and advice! Keep in mind that I only had problems with the swim and I am a relatively new swimmer, esp swimming in open water. I don't panic on rides or runs. I am fairly confident in my running and cycling ability but open-water swimming (in icey cold lake water) still presents a challenge to my brain! I know at least two other people who have similar problems...I don't think it's all that unusual. So, yes, I am happy with my physical capabilities but that confidence doesn't transfer to lake swimming!
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