Well, I took to the water last night. The open water, that is.
Seems the stars were aligned. I had packed my bag the night before with good intentions of waking up early and hitting the gym. I packed it with both running/biking clothes and the essentials for a swim. Well, per usual lately, I failed to rise, so threw the bag in the car on my way to work with every good intention of hitting the gym.
Around noon I recieved a call telling me that I was removed from the waitlist for the Seattle Parks & Rec Open Water Swim Clinic, and did I want to take the spot. I thought about it for a while. Fear is a powerful thing. That, and the weather was kinda icky. 66 degrees, windy, overcast. Still, I bit the bullet, and took the spot.
It's not fear that I would drown. I know I can swim. It's more just a fear of the unknown. Fear of how I'll react to frigid waters. Fear of getting kicked in face or pulled under by people who didn't know enough to practice their open water swim before the race.
I arrived late. The instructor was already talking about things I had been reading about for some time - no monsters in the water, siting, pacing, practicing swimming in a straight line. When it came time to get in the water, I was cracking jokes left and right - my way of dealing with tension. No one was laughing.
So then it was into the waters. The brrrr cold Lake Washington waters. Madison Park Beach. A nice spot. We did 4 passes of the same route. The first time through was wretched. My body refused to let me exhale with my face in the water, which ultimately led to some really draining breathing, and at one point, a mouthful of water that left me treading water while coughing. That first pass was more sidestroke & breaststroke than crawl. But the second time, significantly better. And the third, better than that!
I left feeling accomplished, but knowing I was going to have to hit this water a lot more before race day. I'm already making plans. And I'm not afraid anymore.
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Congrats! Remember when we did a little open water swim at your house years ago? Haha! See! It was only a matter of time. Practicing in open water is the best thing you can do. You will still have idiots who don't know how to swim or who don't even know if they can swim the whole distance before the race, but once you get past the first 250 yds or so, everything starts to thin out and you can breathe a bit. Also, you are competing with only women right? That's a lot better. Sorry to the men out there, but they overestimate just how far ego can take them. In the race I did last weekend...about 7 guys were pulled out of the water, about 5 of whom were hanging on the turn around buoy and kicking everyone as they turned for the swim in. Good for you Jules! You will be great!
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