Only 6 days
left in my summer vacation so I decide that I will splash down in the ocean for
4 of those days! Although I attended an open water swim clinic, I haven’t done
an open water workout yet. Tonight, I call my training partner at the last sec
to see if he can do a swim-no goL I decide to drive the 45 minutes
anyway to do an ocean swim. I go to Wallis Sands State Beach, site of my upcoming TRI.
Mistakes,
mistakes, and more mistakes
It’s just
before dinner time when I pull into the parking lot and I stumble upon a group
of about a dozen people putting on their wetsuits. The few fellas I speak to in the parking lot
are very friendly, but I don’t hang around long because I’m ocean bound!
Note to
self- when you have some type of phobia about swimming in the water, stick with
the group swimming! I choose to go solo and last about 20 minutes. A half-ass
workout for sure.
2nd
note to self- go pee before jumping in the water. I’m not willing to christen
my wetsuit during the 2nd time using out so I call off the workout.
The facilities on the beach are closed… Fini, just like that.
Maybe the
biggest mistake- I don’t pick up any seafood while at the coast even though it’s
dinner time. What was I thinking?
Before I go
home, I do drive the bike route for the first time so at least I become a
little familiar with things. However, I call it a night with some lingering
doubts about the swim. While working out in the pool, I felt like I was cutting
through the water and building my endurance a bit. In the open water, I’m not
focusing on my technique, some panic sets in, and I fatigue much quicker than
the pool. I’m not going to give up with this but it’s clear that I have “miles
to go before I sleep…”
Tomorrow- ocean swim, biking the race course, and maybe a short run on the course!
OWS is tough, I came from a swimming background and it took me a couple seasons to not freak out in the water, no magical pill that will do it, just have to keep going out and practice
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