Attitude Adjustment

Off we go, I am dead-set in the middle wearing the light blue swim cap & sleeveless wetsuit.

Me, on the right, finishing up the 1/3 mile swim with 2 fellow first timers. High fives all around. It did feel good (to be done). I have to ride a bike now??

So, the past 48 hours have been unexpectedly challenging. I can handle the back spasms, I can handle a tri-suit that is too effing small, I can handle choppy seas and big ass waves. Apparently what I can't handle are a few little bumps in the road toward my first TRI.

I was some ugly on Saturday.

8:45 a.m. - Excited/nervous for my first open water swim with a group. I'm guessing at least 75% of the 70 or so women there were first timers. We got a little pep talk from a few different people - "it's OK to take it slow, you can grab onto a kayak to rest, etc." it's all good.
Ready, Set, SWIM...so I take off with the masses, I don't rush and I move to the side so I'm less likely to get kicked in the head, I tell myself I'm going to keep calm, breathe, take it slow and steady. Well, I certainly succeeded at taking it slow! Steady, not so much. It was an ugly mix of back stroke, breast stroke & free style. I couldn't do more than 4-5 strokes before I lost my breath and was sputtering uncontrollably. Honestly, I felt as if I could have performed the same on the 1/3 mile ocean swim as I could have without training even one day in the pool.
So I am pissed, but at the same time feeling kind of proud that I got through it.

Which of the 2 (maybe 3) people reading this post can swim 1/3 mile? Of those, who can do it in the ocean? OK, see, I'm starting to get it - I have made progress and I need to remember that. I am doing it. I am learning and growing and teaching. It's been a great experience so far and I can't go and ruin it with the stamping of my stubborn feet and sulking like a baby.
Although that did feel good for the 24 hours I allowed myself to bask in the disgust.

I faked it well though, this is me after the swim and before the bike:
The bike...I'm stripped out of the tri suit, put my fancy bionic bike shoes on, grab some water and a Luna Bar, helmet, etc. etc. Off we go. The boss is all over me to pedal up. Turn 'em over. Shift up, shift down.

I must say, though, it was a great ride - so pretty and although there are a number of what I refer to as hills (the write-up I just read in the "Maine Woman" magazine described the course as "relatively flat") - relatively flat MY ASS - the route is beautiful and rewarding.

In reflecting on Saturday's training, I'm diagnosing the key problems as follows: (1) my tri-suit is too small. I know, I know, they are supposed to be tight. But are they supposed to take my breath away because my rib cage has not one millimeter to expand? The reason I could not regulate my breathing or do more than 4-5 strokes at a time was not anxiety, not due to the cold water, but because my range of motion was so restricted and I couldn't take a deep breath.

So, now, what to do? At some point this week I plan to try the swim with no tri-suit. I'm also going to try to "apply" the suit more carefully, get the crotch wayyyy up (I should have listened to Izzy) so I have a little more slack, for lack of a better word, in the upper half. I'm also going to try keeping the back unzipped a bit. I suppose I would rather not wear it at all on Sunday, because it is so restricting and makes me feel crazy while I'm swimming. But, if the water is so cold that I can't stand it, at least I know that I've done it with the bad ass S&M outfit on. I know I can get through the agony despite knowing in my heart that I am capable of swimming the course much more efficiently.

OK, on to (2) THE BOSS worked me just a tad too hard on the bike. I did not think and therefore did not conserve any energy for the run - my legs were jello puddin' pops. I tried to run home, and had a really, really hard time. I think that's what pissed me off the most.
I did set off on a good note:
I got my music going, I had to walk forever before I could even attempt a jog. My breathing was still crazy and my legs felt like elasto-man. I was PISSED.

To keep it all in perspective let's remember why I do this:

Two Perfect Pennies

One Sweet Bumpkin

The BOSS has been so supportive, so helpful and so wonderful. And I love it when he bikes in front of me because his buns are rock solid! Love you babe.

I am doing this for Iz - so she can see me doing active things, participating in multiple sports and working hard to raise money for a good cause. I know when I was a kid and my dad did a triathlon, I thought he was pretty cool. He was doing something not many people could or would do. I remember going to Bath to watch that TRI. I also remember going to watch him run a marathon. Pretty incredible stuff. Hopefully Iz can be proud of her mom at some point down the road, if she ever figures out that I'm not all that bad.