No. Actually, I gotta swim. I gotta swim and swim and swim.
This morning, I took my friend T's advice and tried spitting into my goggles before affixing them to my face. Gross. I know. My friend N, who swims with me, said, "Did you just spit into your goggles?" I was trying to do it in a subtle way (plus she doesn't wear her glasses when she swims, so I thought she might not notice). "Uh, yes." But it worked. Or maybe I just fit them on better this time. No leaking, no fogging.
Some freaking out, though. It's not the swimming in the pool that freaks me out. It's the swimming in the lake. With the other people. Who are racing. And therefore in a hurry and probably kicking and splashing aggressively as they strive to complete the distance. And therefore maybe kicking me. And my goggles?! And my wetsuit. I've borrowed a wetsuit. My massage therapist is a triathlete and personal trainer (another Ironman Woman!), and she loaned me her wetsuit. Now I just have to figure out how to get in and out of the dang thing, and, um, swim in it. Apparently, it makes one more buoyant, but slightly restricts the arm movement. In order to practice swimming in it, I will have to get over my embarrassment hump. I've never seen anyone at the pool in a wetsuit. Will I look like a fool? A tool? Will I sink like a stone? The answers to the first two questions really don't matter, but that last question needs to be answered definitively before the triathlon takes place.
Some other tips from my massage therapist:
1. Swim wide. Avoid the crowd. Don't panic. (She didn't say what to do if I'm already panicking and I'm on dry land and the triathlon is still two months away).
2. Pull the cord on the wetsuit while running toward the bike transition area.
3. Don't eat in the transition area. It's a gong-show. Get your bike, get going, get your heart rate down, then drink and eat.
4. Practice running immediately after a bike ride. The blood goes to your legs during the bike ride, and therefore out of your feet. It's a weird sensation.
5. Wear bike shoes that clip in for anything more than 10k, or your feet will go numb.
6. Ask around at the local bike shops for used/cheap new tri-bikes.
7. Don't try anything new during the race.
Today's swim was lovely. The length is 25m on Thursday mornings, and there are a bunch of teens training in one section of the pool. I like the length. I was in a good rhythm. It was a good swim. (My nap afterward was most unsatisfactory, but hey. You can't have it all).
3 comments:
You might be too warm swimming with the wet suit in a pool. Also, check with your friend about putting the wet suit in the pool - she might not want chlorine on it.
I had panic attacks at almost every lake swim I did, except for Ironman! It was a miracle! I can give you the juicy details of the attacks and what I did in person! But yes, swimming amongst a throng of thrashing people in a cold lake is freaky, especially if you feel you are not a confident swimmer to begin with. I always stayed near the back of the pack and it was helpful.
See you tonight.
She told me to take it in the pool, but said Laurier would be a better pool because it's colder. She said just to rinse it well afterward.
I don't think you'd look any more foolish than the people who feel they need to use flippers in a 20m pool. I say go for it!
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