Day 291: Tight Squeeze

So, how did the lake swim go?

Well, Lake Huron was 3 degrees. I took the dive early, figuring if I didn't do it right away, as the weekend went on (with the cheese and drink consumption ever-rising), I would wimp out and blow it off. As it was, squeezing into the wetsuit and heading into near-freezing water was approximately the last thing I felt like doing. My friends did have to help a bit, but I like to think I was looking pretty space-age and impressive when the suit was on. It felt very restrictive at the throat. Turned out it wasn't that tight--as cold water poured down my back as soon as I attempted the crawl. I couldn't do it. Every time my face went into the water, I would gasp reflexively from the cold. My arm motions were more restricted, too. And because my feet were bare, they were also instantly numb and in pain.

I almost gave up after attempt one: gasping, icy water down back, etc. But my friend who is a strong swimmer suggested (from the beach where she was watching) that I keep at it and attempt a stroke that would keep my head out of the water, like the crawl that lifeguarders do. Dutifully I waded deeper and made a second attempt to swim. It felt painfully slow, like the water was hugely more powerful than me. I wasn't quite panicking, but nearly, especially as waves kicked up water into my mouth. I stayed shallow enough to be always able to touch, but I think I would have panicked utterly had it been over my head. The wetsuit did keep me slightly more buoyant, but it also restricted my movement and pulled at my throat.

I did not exit the water feeling more confident, but less. I walked out (on numb feet) thinking: Do I really know how to swim? Or have I been fooling myself in the pool all these months?

I may end up swimming the race without the wetsuit. The lake I'll be swimming in is nothing like a Great Lake, and it will have had an additional month to warm up. But if I'm going to stick with the wetsuit plan, I will need to swim lengths at the pool in it. I'm still not too keen to do that. It's damn hard to get into, too. How can I become one with the wetsuit? Do I need to? I'm going to ask my triathlon lane friend whether she wears a wetsuit and if so where she practices in it.

Probably what I need most of all is positive visualization and a self-calming technique to prevent panic in the water.

The rest of the weekend was mostly sloth and debauchery, but I did get a wonderful massage on my neck later that afternoon, and I did some amazing-feeling yoga stretches yesterday morning, and then went for a quick run after lunch. I over-dressed for the weather, and felt generally sluggish (I was attempting a 5-minute/km pace, over approximately 6km). Why am I so sluggish? I kept wondering, thinking: I haven't exactly been exerting myself this weekend. Suddenly it occurred to me: I don't usually go for a run after an enormous meal of smoked salmon chased down with a Caesar. Aha! But I forced myself to keep pace, and to speed up at the end. It's good for the soul to endure a little physical discomfort. And then I went and soaked my sweaty self in the hot tub (sorry, friends-in-tub).

This morning, home again, I did not get up to swim. I wasn't in bed last night till after midnight, with all the catching up that needed doing; the early rising to swim and run just wasn't going to happen.

So here's last week, to sum up: four runs (no long runs), two (and a half?) swims, one bike ride, and one yoga class, plus a little extra yoga on the side. Well, that's not bad. I only wish the half swim had been longer and more encouraging.

This week will be light, due to crazy soccer schedules and a birthday party, too; plus I like to take it easy for a day or two before a race, and the duathlon is this coming Monday. So here's the plan: one bike ride, two runs, one swim, two yoga classes. Oo. That's really light. I hope it's not too light. But I'm going to try not to stress about it, and just accept that life is happening, and I'll do the race with whatever's in the tank.

I got the bike tuned up today, and got some instructions on caring for it (especially after a rainy ride, which it looks like tomorrow's will be). I've also watched a video on how to change a tire, and a friend is going to give me a hands-on tutorial on Thursday, too.