Wednesday, June 20, 2007
A Moment of Truth
It's not too late for me to enter the Lake Waramaug tri - there's race day sign ups. So I have to decide if I can do the half-mile swim after what has come to feel like the debacle of the Pawling tri. I've been swimming a few times since then, and every time, whether it be pond or pool, I've felt the same panicky feelings. So - do I just get back on the horse and RIDE, or do I wait til I've gotten more practice, more swim strength and technique, more ... something, that will let me swim with confidence? Maybe I should swim in the wetsuit for that added bit of flotation? (It's a shorty, so it's not that much.) Or will the tightness around my neck add to the freaky feeling? I haven't trained heavily for the last 2 weeks - I swam for 20 mins this morning and did a 1 hour bike just now... before that, I swam over the weekend, but haven't run in maybe a week. Partly to let my strangely sore big toe joint rest. And tonight I was going to go but I seem to have lost a shoe - now that could really put a crimp in my plans! Lucky I'm going to a mall tomorrow - I can get a backup pair. So - dilemma! I better decide soon - I need at least a little time to get organized! Advice anyone? Oh, I have a friend who's doing it, she says because of my inspiration - nice! She's a killer good swimmer - crosses the lake and back every day in summer. She can do the bike, but had a double-hip replacement last year so will just walk the run. It amazes me that someone can just up and do one, when it took me a whole year to train! (But then, she's a dancer and physical trainer - she lives in her body, so to speak, where I live in my brain, most of the time!)
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3 comments:
My initail reaction was ...GO FOR IT...but on reflection I worry that if the "panic" sets in it could set you back and destroy your confidence for future events. I wonder if you need to increase your own confidence first so that your attitude will be I CAN DO IT.
Rx
I think the question really is "Do you WANT to do it?" And only you know the answer to that.
If you want to - then GO FOR IT!!
If you really don't want to - then pass on this one.
Sorry, probably not as helpful as you hoped, unless the question of whether you want to or not is an easy one to answer!!
First, congrats on getting through Pawling. You should be proud that in spite of your panics, you formulated a plan and got through it. In all your analysing you seem to have forgotten that you completed the swim.
If you don't like swimming in open water, only do it on race day (I have some wierd thing about swimming in open water and can't do it by myself but on race day I just focus on form and breathing and everyone around me.)
Perhaps try to find a low key race with a shorter swim, enter the race but focus only on the swim and do the bike and run (if at all, for gravy). A race like one of the summer training series - Lake Terramugus (http://www.pigironsports.com/internal_Pages/terramuggus.html).
Also perhaps going to watch a tri (or vilunteer) and take the time to watch everybody else swim might help you learn a few things.
I think you can work up to doing it relaxed and without panic.
Keep at it. Good luck.
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