” There is something in every human being that seeks testing. A yearning to discover just how far one can go, how much one is capable of achieving. From this desire was born the most demanding athletic endurance test ever……..- the Triathlon”~ Unknown
Mooseman is in 4 days. It seems like just yesterday I was being called crazy for signing up for a half IM distance triathlon back in, when, November? (I wrote about that here) It’s funny how much life changes in that period of time. I’m trying to change my body’s sleeping schedule to sleep during the night so I can be awake during the day, so my body will be able to be rested for the race Sunday (I’ll tell you how that goes). Insane, long, crazy, busy, 12-16hr work nights have drained my body of any possible energy I’ve been attempting to reserve for the race, hopefully now that I am on “vacation” I can regain the strength I lost. I think if I worked normal hours during the day, and slept more than 4 hours a day, perhaps my body would have tolerated training better.
One positive thing that has changed (well, there have been a few positive things that have happened since I signed up for the race, including my new found love of mountain biking when I can stay on the bike without falling) is my swimming. Even my coach told me, I look like a completely different person in the water than when she first saw me trying to stay afloat in the pool. In retrospect, I wish I did more swimming. But today I did two open water swims- one this morning around 0900 with my wetsuit (and I was able to zip myself up! If you’ve never been in a wetsuit, they are tighhhhhht and easier when someone else zips you up. But I lubed the zipper with body glide and voila! I was able to zip myself in (how smart of an idea was that?!?). There was some hesitation swimming at the Lake, since no one else was around, but suprisingly, the 50 minute swim around the perimeter of the lake went well and I never felt any anxiety like I felt the first time I was in the wetsuit. It’s so much nicer swimming outside because you don’t have a wall you bump into touch every 25 yards. The swim definitely boosted my confidence for the swim in the lake, especially the fact I did not drown nor get eaten by fish.
I went for a second swim in the afternoon. The water was chilly, but I actually didn’t need my wetsuit. Now, there was some hesitation that I was going to be swimming without the suit, because it someone helps you float, but the swim went just as well. The water was a bit “choppier” due to the wind, but again I managed not to drown and deal with swimming when you are slightly chilled. There were a couple other people doing things around the lake (there is a parking lot… I mentioned info on the lake in this post ) but I was not paying too much attention due to the fact I was focusing on not consuming water filled with fish poop and other microorganisms found in lake water). However, when I went back to where I left my towel, wetsuit, and car keys, I noticed that my flip flops were gone. Hmmm. I know my short term memory as of late has been pretty yucky (which I contribute to stress and lack of sleep) but I definitely wore flip flops to the picnic table. For goodness sake, I drove there so I had to be wearing something on my feet. I looked around the table. Nope. No flip flops. Maybe the wind blew them? I looked around the area, then walked back to the waters edge. Nope. Not there. then I walked back and searched in the marshy area (well, scanned it–would you walk in a gushy marshy area with no shoes?). Nope. Still not there. Wtf? Then I looked down at the ground and the tracks from my flip flops definitely left their mark going to the table, but no marks treading back. Which means, they were carried out (I should be a detective). Someone stole my foot attire! I must admit, I was somewhat annoyed, because I had to drive home barefoot, and the fact I liked those flip flops. Anyway, the swim went well, but I could not stop at the store on my way home as I had planned, as you are not really supposed to go into stores barefoot.
Goodbye, my beloved flip flops
Yes, lots has changed in these eight months. I may be flip-flop less now, but can swim in open water without drowning now (however I still freak out if I swim into seaweed or something icky), have done more hills on my bike than I would have had I not have signed up for this triathlon, and have a little bit of glistening hope that I can finish this race that I started out to do. Only now, I won’t be able to wear flip flops.
I’ve decided to end posts with a song, and this was in my head on my second swim.
A Rendezvous with Sneakers 