Happy Birthday GoGo!

Happy 3rd Birthday Margot!

Betsey's youngest sibling... our baby.

What a cutie pie!

Frozen Face

(Picture below-one recent early morning at T&L's for a swim/bike/run. Only part of the group regularily invloved in the craziness.)
Open water swim can mean a few different waters in which you submerse yourself for triathlon training. Just as long as it's not a pool.

Last year we started at local town beaches. Salt water. The water was cold, but I got away with a cheapie shorty short wetsuit and managed
fine. Then again, I wasn't really swimming last year but doggie paddling with some freestyle mixed in to feel like I looked like a swimmer. I was wearing a cap and goggles, I thought an arm-over-arm motion would help with the appearance of me in the water. A real swimmer.

We tried a few lake/fresh water swims, one that I almost drowned in, and we even went into classic Old Saybrook waters - where the Connecticut River meets Long Island Sound. My friend Gini has a dock that we would jump off of and brave the current just to get some "open water" swim time in.

All the waters I swam in last year were doable in terms of temperature.

Today, Amy was determined to get in the salt water, Long Island Sound, in preparation of The Providence Triathlon she and a few others are competeing in next weekend. The swim in Narragansset Bay is going to be chilly!! So what better idea than to hop in our town beach and swim.

FREEZING.

That water was not even 60 degrees, I am sure of it!! I was just there yesterday enjoying some much welcmed sunshine with my 6 little people and they were all in the water! With no wetsuits!! Today, some of us walked probably 1/8 of a mile or swam with our faces OUT of the water for some time. My hands, my arms (I wear a sleeveless wetsuit) and my feet were numb! Frozen. The water itself was clean.... no jellies. I didn't bump into any fishies or sharks. Bonus. But when we reached the half mile point, we stopped to chit chat about .... the cold water. Amy tried to tell us something but it was like her face was injected with novacain! It barely moved when she spoke!! My face felt like I had had a face lift.

It'll get better, but I'm not sure how much I look forward to the next beach swim.

Who does this stuff? Who gets up 4:30 am to be in the water, freezing cold water, at 5am and swim. Who??

Summertime Freedom

1 more day of school for the little people and we are so happy about it! With the start of summer brings less structure, more freedom, carefree ways - sort of. For Betsey life is never care free, nor is it less structured. But the freedom part -well, that's something she likes to hear.

Freedom..... from her pump.

Two summers ago, she wore the pump all summer. We spend many days and nights at the beach in the summer and it was kind of a nuisance - worrying about sand, water, the elements getting to it, the possibility of it malfunctioning from being left in a bag on the beach in the heat.... But we dealt with it. She took it off for a large part of the day because her blood sugars stayed relatively low during the day at the beach. All that swimming helped keep her numbers in check and she would test as often as I asked her to, sometimes every half hour while she was swimming if her numbers teetered on the low side. She'd eat if she needed to for extra carbs, or sit down for a break with the pump on for extra insulin if she ran high. Then, back into the water she'd go.

We thought it was working out well. Her numbers were great during the day for the most part, and I attributed that to the exercise all day long.

Then we slowly started running into problems during the night. She'd run high. Really high. All that time without a basal rate of insulin during the day - having the pump off - caught up with her.

Betsey's pump has basal rates that change every couple hours based on how much insulin she needs running through her during those times of day. The basals are crucial because they help sustain a normal blood glucose level in her body throughout the day; something our bodies do for us without us even aware. The pump works as a pancreas of sorts. When she eats, she receives a large dose, a bolus by figuring out how many carbohydrates are in the meal or snack and then the pump suggests a bolus amount based on Betsey's pump settings.

I was under the false assumption that while we spent days at the beach, she didn't need the basal rate if her sugars were in range... that she only needed to put the pump on to correct a high. I didn't realize all those hours of not wearing the pump, not having a basal flow of insulin, and just bolusing as needed for food, was not good. Those hours without a the pump would eventually catch up with her later in the night and in the wee hours of the morning and she'd end up running high... high enough to make her sick and develop ketones.

Ahhh.... So much for freedom from the pump.

So last summer we tried shots. We packed the pump away with all the supplies that go with it. We took out the needles, refilled Rx's for long and short lasting vials of insulin, broke out the sharps container and figured out how much insulin was needed throughout the day to sustain a normal level of glucose in her sweet self. It was a troubleshooting game; not nearly as easy as the pump or as accurate in terms of what to expect with her numbers and how to correct highs. There were more drawn out low's because once the insulin is in her, that's it. Where as with the pump, we can put a temporary rate on for less delivery or stop delivery all together in the event of a crash in blood sugar.

But Betsey was happy. She didn't mind being poked many times a day for shots. She welcomed it. There was no pump hooked onto her pants, no bouncing when she ran, nothing in the way when she used the bathroom, no tubing hanging out of her pocket, no needle in her bum.

Her site marks cleared up somewhat and mild bruising and some scarring was left behind on her tush.

So this summer she has decided to take the pump off and do shots again. Myself, I am not crazy about shots. I usually give them to her and she takes them with ease now. It's not like when she was first diagnosed and she cried, I cried... Now, she holds out her arm, I ask her to relax, she does, and then I inject her insulin. It's very quick. And no matter how "easy" it is for her, it's never easy for me. It's always the same thought I have every time I give her a shot. I'm sorry.

But it's freedom in Betsey's eyes. And if that makes diabetes a little bit more "enjoyable" for her a couple months, we'll do it.

Happy Father's Day Speedo!

I have lots of pictures of the children with their dad, and a lot of favorites on several computers and on film. So many. This is one I came across rcently from last summer. We were sitting on our front porch in the throws of summer and an enormous storm passed through with heavy rain and gusts of wind! Our porch is one of our favorite places to be all year round - it's busy on the road, people running, walking and biking by, and the cars - great place to sit and daydream and people gawk. We all headed out to the porch this night because it was so hot in the house - I'm not a huge fan of air conditioning - and the wind felt so good blowing through the porch. Thunder was rumbling in the distance and the lightening could be seen, but not close enough for us to have to take shelter inside. The rain pooled yellowish green on the porch floor from all the pollen. A typical summer night ending with a thunder boomer.

Tucker found comfort in his Daddy's lap - one of his favorite places to be. Everything is less frightening on his lap, less powerful, less intimidating. The storm was easier to absorb knowing he was safe. I love how Speedo is agknowledging Tuck's presence with the slight gesture of a simple head sniff. ♥

Diabetes and Numbers

Is there a connection, I wonder? And the next time we're at Yale, I have to remember to ask, if there is a correlation to diabetic kids and math - doing well with math. Betsey loves math. We received a notice in the mail recently asking for our acceptance for the school to put her in an advanced math class for 7th grade.

Well, of course!

When she got home from school and I showed her the note, she smiled big, kind of giggled, and I asked her if that was something she wanted to do - you can object the placement. She said Yes, but she was nervous about it.... Always wanting things a little bit harder, but nervous about how hard. There is always the chance she won't be able to keep up and they will then transfer her back down a notch, and she realizes this, but accepts the challenge. I think I know someone else like that.....

At dinner in our house, it is a family affair, and often we play games to draw things out of the children about their day at school or just for fun. One of Betsey's favorite games is the Math Game- go figure. She wins every time, and it's always a shouting match at the end because the littles aren't involved and "Betsey always wins" said in a sing-song-whiny voice. Someone, Speedo or I, shout out math problems, whether it's a long equation -- 5 + 4 x 8 - 2 divided by 10 + 7 -- said with a pause in between each segment, but no repeating, so they have to follow along and compute in their heads, or simply the multiplication table and the quickest answer wins. Betsey JUMPS out of her chair to answer and usually plays the game standing up, finger flailing and face red as a tomato, all fired up to win! It's always her suggestion to play, and mine to end the game because it gets so out of hand.

Sometimes I even play against her. Of course, I win, but I sweat while I play, afraid to have the little know-it-all get me. :)

Diabetes and numbers? Could it be helpful to kids like Bets, where numbers are always going through their heads; adding, multiplying, figuring out equations all day long about blood sugars, boluses, pump adjustments? Maybe....

Happy Birthday Speedo!

This is one of the reasons why I love you so much...

...you actually wear the t-shirts I have made!
♥

Happy 42nd!!

The 70.3 Accomplishment - 2 Points of View

It seems only fitting to share 2 points of view to the event Amy and I finished yesterday. I asked Aim to share what she thought about yesterday.

Here is what says, in her words:

Meghan and I finished holding hands! It is almost impossible to stay together (especially with 800 others) in a triathlon but we were together the whole time. I crashed on the bike (my first-ouch!) and Meghan's knee gave out on the first mile of the run. But we stayed together and did it.

It was not the race I visualized in my head but the cool thing is that Meghan and I both knew God was with us and even though the race was imperfect and difficult in so many ways He still brought us through. It made me think how He gets us through life. He didn't promise it would be easy or free from pain or go the way we want/plan it but He still brings us to the finish line and what an experience we have along the way! I wouldn't change a thing about this race.

Meghan signed up for this triathlon because she wanted to do a 70.3 race. But she also signed up in support of me. I am having surgery to remove my thyroid on Wednesday. I may not be able to do Providence. So I signed up for this crazy race just in case. And my best friend signed up with me. And she was there with me when I crashed. And I was there with her when she couldn't run. We did this race together. Not for time, as we had originally thought, but for each other. We pulled each other through when we weren't sure we could go on. And we finished.

So our time was not what we expected nor is it a true gage of our abilities. But it is a true gage of our friendship. Friendship. Life. Pulling each other through. How could it have been any better? 7:07? Not the best time. Finishing together? Now that is the best finish.

And my reflection:

The day began at 4am when my alarm went off and I knew I could only hit snooze once, because I had to be at Amy's at 4:20, heaven forbid I was late. And we were picking Janel up at 4:30. Janel is a friend from the gym and a very good athlete; a more seasoned triathlete than Amy and I, and this was her first 70.3 also. I got to Amy's and she was sitting on the front stoop, bags packed... waiting. I was right on time, by the way. (How long was she sitting there for?!)

As we pulled out of the driveway, I noticed a police car pulling into Amy's road, and then waiting at the stop sign. It was our friend Ryan, whom we've trained with and will be competing in his first ever triathlon this summer along side his wife! He had come to wish us final good lucks and see us on our way. Very sweet!

We picked up Janel and the 3 of us kind of laughed our way into Middlebury, CT trying to ease the worry and anxiety and nerves that are inevitable before a race. When we got there we were surprised at the amount of people already there, and Amy threw in a "I told you so" to justify us getting up and out so early.

All of our bikes were in the same area in the transition so we kept an eye out for each other as we set up our stuff for the 3 parts of the race. We made many trips to the bathroom, Amy & I-Janel didn't have that problem, but the opposite. :) Who needs an enema when you've got nerves before a race?! We got our body markings done; your race number on your arm and thigh and on the back of your calf they put your age. It was fun to look at everyone's calf to see how old they were. The older people had me in awe.

6:30 came around and we had to slip into our wetsuits to head to the water for the start of the swim waves. As soon as I was in that thing, I swear, I had to go to the bathroom---again! Terrible. No time for a bathroom run, so I sucked it up and prayed everything would stay put.

The opening service was very nice. It was lovely to have a moment of silence and a prayer. And of course, Amy and I prayed together before the race. Amy is very good at that... saying the right things, fluidly, calmly, quickly, and covers all the bases, right down to bathroom issues. We have prayed together before, hands held, heads bowed before other races and it feels good. A final blessing before we go. Somehow I feel like there is a piece of goodness with me as I go when we do this.

THE SWIM 00:38:12
Then the waves were called... the pros first, a few other age groups and then they called the 30-39ers into the chute to prepare for the siren to go. Talk about the feeling of no-turning-back. Oh my gosh. It was kind of like that feeling you get when you're about to have a baby.... the moment when your body tells you it's time to push. You decide, You know what? I'm all done. I don't want to have a baby today. I take back what I said about 'I don't want to be pregnant forever,' because, today I do. I am NOT pushing a baby out. No thanks.' And obviously you can't turn back. The baby is coming!

So our swim start was inevitable. We got the 15 second warning.... And then the siren went. We were off. The swim was great! I felt great, I loved the water, it was clean, refreshing (if at only 62 degrees) and I got my groove about 1/4 of the way out, when only to be trampled on by the 2 waves of young spring roosters and chickens behind us. These people came swimming over us like they were being chased by sharks! And the men were really physical! I didn't get dunked or shoved, but I did feel lots of bodies touching me and around me and I had to breast stroke it for a brief moment to avoid all the wake and the fear of inhaling water as I breathed.

Luckily they moved on quickly and I could settle into a nice, easy smooth rhythm. It was very enjoyable. I thought good thoughts, thought about my form, being relaxed, and when I hit that 2nd red buoy, man I was in the home stretch and I felt awesome! 2 times I saw Amy right next to me and her piggies right before me. Who would have thought we'd being swimming so close in a sea of hundreds of people? I was so psyched to be able to get through the last stretch of swim and hop on my bike!!


T1 5:17
Getting out of the water felt so good, one leg of the race done. The quickest part, but also, for me, the most challenging in terms of getting your groove with the anticipation of the start. We had to run through half the amusement park to get to transition. And there was Amy just about 5ft ahead of me running to her bike. I called to her, so happy to see her. We had brief small talk while we whipped off our wet suits and then decided together, to pee in our shorts, right there before we hopped on the bike. That 's right up there with one of the grossest things I have done, but I gotta tell you, I didn't care! There were people along side the gates right there as we peed, and we didn't even care. Totally clueless to their gaping mouths! :)

THE RIDE 3:28:12 (avg speed 16.1 mph)
Amy & I headed out together for the ride. Amy is a lot stronger than me on the bike. She is a power house!! I wanted her to go if she felt the need, not to pace with me, the slow poke. We hung together for about 3 miles out while we chatted about the swim, the peeing, the exhilaration to be doing a 70.3 and be on the 2nd leg of the race! My odometer read only 17mph and I was passing a few people, and I thought to myself, I have got to chill out. This course is said to be a toughie, and there's a reason they are all going easy now. It was a flat beginning, slight downhill, great for getting a feel of your legs on the bike after the swim, and enjoyable. I think I smiled for about 8 miles. What was cool was looking at other people's bikes, their attire, their helmets - who wears those pointy ones?! Why? I mean, I know Why, but.... really? People with those always gave me an extra big smile.

The ride was the most difficult ride I have ever done in my life. It was mostly up hill, and when you thought you were getting a break, there was another hill. And they weren't the "rolling" hills. These were serious. I remember 2 nice downhills in the enitre ride, but only to be followed by more climbing. The descents were gradual for the most part, and the climbs were long, some super steep and all of them killer. One of the hills, I tried to keep an eye on my computer, was about 3 miles long. I have trained with a great group, and the rides we have done are hard, some days I would come home and nap. But nothing could have prepared me for this. Wow.

I had Amy in my sights for all of the ride, but I was always trailing her. I could see the first aid station around the 20 mile mark ahead, and as I blinked I noticed a bike down, right in the middle of the road. I was planning on stopping anyway, I had to use the bathroom again, and I was not going to pee on my bike. My first thought was, I hope that's not Amy.... and sure enough!

Some guy rode along side her as she was reaching out for a fresh water bottle and crashed into her, sending her off her bike, on the pavement. I saw her long brown braid slam the pavement.... I stopped by bike, pulled way off the the side, just avoided another crash (they warned us about those stops at the pre-race meeting the day before) and I scootched into the porta-potty.

When I came out, Amy was still down, the medics helping her. She was rattled. They got her up, over to the side. She was banged up. Her shoulder had road burn, her elbow and under-forearm were mangled. She was determined to get back on the bike. She refused wrappings on it, and we started back out together. We had to readjust her front brakes, there was a little shifting in that part of the bike from the crash. I was very concerned about her state of mind, she was so rattled. She cried, almost hyperventilated. She was hurting. We talked it out.... We were together again. It took a few minutes to get back into the groove. Her arm and back and hip hurt, but the adrenaline pushed her right along. That, and her sheer determination.

We went about our own rides, I kept her in my sights, and I paced with another guy, sort of playing a cat-n-mouse game. He blew past me on the slight descents - I was fine with that because and I crushed his a$$ on the hills. I ended up passing him completely and never saw him again. Take that 38 year old hairy guy.

My nutrition on the ride was well planned out. I felt good the whole ride. I had food and gu's every 40 minutes to stay on top of it. I had water and gatorade and finished 3 bottles in the 56 miles. I think I paced well on the bike because I knew the 13 miles ahead of me in sneaks was sure to test my level of endurance. The 50 mile mark was so exciting to hit and the road crew were very encouraging. It was a quick, small downhill decent back into the park for T2.


T2 05:42
There was Amy, just ahead of me, running her bike to her corral. She finished the bike just before me and we met up again in the transition area. Seriously, out of this many people, so many variables on the course, who would have thought we'd be meeting for the 2nd time? It was meant to be. We were meant to do this together. We put our running shoes on, gu'd up again, hydrated, and were on our way.


THE RUN 2:49:36
(embarrassed to say 12:51 min mile that's why this is so small!)
We decided we'd run together. I felt great starting out. We started slow, agreed to pace slow, go mellow, save our legs for the last half, the last few miles and finish strong. We had the same goals, the same train of thought. 13.1 miles of running-I love running!

I had had problems with my knee in the past, worked out the kinks and had felt great in recent months during training. I was stretching appropriately, running well and further than I had ever before. I could pull off 13.1 miles - the tough part was doing it after that hard of a bike ride.

Just before mile one, I felt it. That familiar twinge under my knee cap and I thought, Nooooo.... not now, not this early.

I felt physically well to run, my body was fueled up and feeling strong. My knee had other plans. I confided in Amy, we talked to God, we reminded ourselves we were strong, fit women, mothers of 11 children - who else on this course had 11 children and were completing a 70.3?! We birthed all those babies-- I could do this!

You can only push your body in pain so much. I could push through the twinge in my knee for only so long. And then it was like a buckle of pain. I had to stop. I had to walk. I used Amy's body to stable me as I stretched. I stretched it out; my glutes, my hammies, my calf... stretch stretch stretch. Back to running... slowly. I felt OK, but the twinge in my knee was forever reminding me it was not happy about the pounding. Those hills on the bike must have fired it up.

The run was terrible. I was/am very disappointed about it. I know I finished the race, I know I accomplished something, but I am so angry that I couldn't finish as strong as I wanted to, as I know I could have.

The run was more of a walk for us. I encouraged Amy to go on, she was running well, stopping only when I did, and we walked almost all the hills. And there were ALOT of hills. (Who thought out this course?!) Amy was strong and steady. I was keeping up with her. I was only running because she was, and I was devastated to have to stop so much, the pain in my knee overwhelming. Towards mile 9, I felt it in my right knee too. Brutal. I was startign to fatigue mentally. I was hydrated, I had enough gu running through me that I never want to have a Gu again, thank you, and I was so frustrated that it was a knee issue holding me back. 2 times I was walking, Amy said she had to keep moving for fear of not finishing, her muscles getting tight, and she turned back to me, encouraging me to go on. I was limping. I was sore, my knees not cooperating.

By mile 12, I was in a lot of pain. I could barely run. I started to cry. I was having mixed emotions. I was sad about the way the run went, my favorite activity, I was excited about it being mile 12, I was mad I couldn't finish it out doing sub 9 like I had envisioned, and I was elated and in disbelief we were at mile 12, with only 1.1 miles to go, and we would have conquered our first Half Ironman - together. I sobbed like a baby. Amy had pulled me through the run, as if there was a rope of endurance tied from her body to mine.

The last few tenths of the run were uphill. We walked a chunk of it, then held hands and started running. The finish chute was in clear view. The people along side the road were cheering us on. The road officials were clapping. There were 70.3ers who had finished cheering us on, yelling You're almost there....Gooo! We turned left into the last stretch, ran past the 13 mile marker sign, the .1 mile finish. Tears were streaming down my face. We held hands all the way through the chute and finished, hand in hand. We fell into each other and hugged and cried. We were FINISHERS at the REV3 70.3 Half Ironman!! Together.

I could not and would not have finished that run without Amy. I was in pain. I was frustrated. I was discouraged. I was so, so mad. It wasn't because my body was tired. It wasn't because I hadn't eaten well or didn't have adequate hydration. It was a body failure with my knees.

I know our time could have been around the 2 hour mark for the run. I know we could have run, comfortably, 9 minute miles. I know it.

You can't change it. I am happy to have finished and done well. I won't hold on to that feeling of disappointment about the run, because the event in and of itself was a major accomplishment. I can't beat myself up about it. A year ago our friend Chris did a HI and I remember thinking, Oh my gosh, I could never do that! Never. And this year, I did it. WE did it.

Before we headed to pack up our loot and head home, Amy and I went to the medical tent. She had her wounds cleaned and bandaged, and I sat and got both knees wrapped with ice packs. They looked like knee pads for volleyball.


(2 spent Half Ironmoms!)

The day was really like a dream. It was overwhelming. As I sit and type this out, I smile thinking about the entire event. It was so awesome. Here we were, the 2 of us, in a field of tremendous athletes; professional triathletes and serious athletes, camera crews, prize purses - serious event. We are 2 moms who love working out. It's an outlet. It's a "hobby." OK, it's not sewing or chess, but it's a hobby none the less. We got these really cool long sleeve t's that say "FINSHERS" on the back and we got stunning medals placed over us after we finished!

I could barely walk yesterday afternoon. My friend Gini called and offered me a dip in her hot tub which felt amazingly good on my muscles. I could barely get in the hot tub!

Speedo cooked me a delicious recovery dinner; grilled salmon with capers, tossed greens, buttered noodles and roasted red potatoes. Delish. And what a lovely surpirse to have a gorgeous Edible Fruit Arrangement from our "Training Crew" delivered! (Thank you Todd and co. we love you guys!!)

Today, I am still in jammies. Hobbling around. My left knee is killing me when I go up and down the stairs. If I did terrible damage to it, I'm ok with it, because I did a Half Ironman yesterday and finished! Wooohooo!!

(more pictures as I get them!)

7:07

That was my time today, AND Amy's. We finished holding hands. The triathlon was amazing.

This is what I did when I waddled out of the car when I got home. You can see GoGo in the corner of the picture in her bathing suit with the hose, the little stinker. She got me, too!

More tomorrow. ZzzZZzzzzz...

Rev3 -TOMORROW!

Wow, I can't believe it's here!

This morning Amy & I went up (way early) to Quassy Amusement Park, the location of the HI, to pick up our packets, drop off our bikes, all that stuff....and we were like 3 hours early, no joke. Amy has this thing with being late, so she's always way early. And there's no talking her down about it, because then she throws in the whole, "OK, but I might get stressed out. Like really stressed out. I just don't feel good about that. Yea, no, that's not a good time....." So I usually agree to whatever time she says; it puts her at ease. When we went to Florida for the weekend a while ago, we sat around in the airport, both waiting to go, and waiting to come home for hours. Buuuut, better to be safe than sorry, right Aim?

So this morning we had hours to goof off. Literally goof off.

I have never seen so many port-a-potties in my life! There was a double row of these suckers! I have never had the privilege of using a fresh porta-potty - meaning, one no one has tainted yet. Lemme tell ya, you get a lot more splash when they're clean. Not fun.

This place was filled with people that are serious athletes. Serious. I should have had a pair of mom-jeans on. Talk about feeling intimidated! I did a lot of staring. If Speedo were there he would have been on me about that. Meghan, close your mouth. Meghan, stop staring. Hello Meghan?! The bikes these people were riding were unbelievable.

We shimmied into our wetsuits and hopped in the water for a practice swim. The water was delightful... about as cool as the reservoir, and I can honestly say, I am so glad we've done some open water before this. There were a few folks who hadn't and weren't even going to go in today. we swam a little more than half the course, not wanting to exert to much effort. Not like the pros who were riding the bike course for a warm up. The swim was great! About half way out to our turn around point, Amy was yelling for me-- a rainbow had appeared above the lake and was just.... there. It was so cool, kind of another sign - everything was going to be ok. And my number has an "8" in it-- always a good thing.

We got our packets, dropped our bikes in the transition area, which happen to be right next to each other, go figure, and we went to the mandatory meeting.

It was a good day. I am not nearly as nervous as I was this morning. The swim, the anticipation of the swim really gets me. But the practice one this morning made it feel good. We're ready!

You can track us online at http://www.rev3tri.com/ We're both wearing gps thingies called trakkers that will give you locations of our whereabouts for the race. They may not be 100% accurate, but you'll get the general idea.

And we're off....

Taper week

The big 70.3 "race" - and I shouldn't call it that, because, let's face it, I am not racing, but rather just attempting to finish....running - is on Sunday, and this whole week has been a very mellow week of exercise. It's almost more painful to do the little bits the plan requires than to not do anything at all. Just when the endorphins kick in, you have to back off, ease up, and shortly after, the work out/ muscle warming is over. You realize just how hard you go, or like to go, when you are forced to take it easy.

Open water swimming began 2 days before I signed up. What a disaster. The wetsuit situation is a cause for an anxiety attack with the pressure it creates on your chest. When you get in that cold water, it takes your breath away to put your face in to swim! I popped over to a lake with a few friends and got in, shaking like a leaf on a tree, and did a few strokes, in over my head - literally -and had to swim back to shore. I decided to swim in between some buoys marking the "swim area" and couldn't even do that for long. The idea was to get in, get wet with the wetsuit on, get used to the feeling of it all. But I kind of thought I'd be able to swim right away because my swimming in the pool has gotten so much better. (Thanks James!)

I was more than discouraged after that. I was frustrated, sad, feeling overwhelmed and pretty much depressed about the first swim. How did I do it last year?!

The next day I ventured over to our friend Ted and Lauren's in the backyard. They have access to a swimming hole. Ted kayaked along side us and that was so reassuring, so thoughtful and it made a world of difference in terms of the panic I feel when realizing I'm somewhere, in the middle of a body of water, with no where to go if there's a problem. We stopped at the end for the first leg, the 1/4 mile mark, and there is a point where two rocks meet and there is a shelf of rocks to sit on. So Lauren and Amy climbed up to sit, to soak it all in, I got there and did the same.

And then Amy screamed!

It was a leech on her hand -- not attached, but sort of letting her know it was there!!! Are you kidding me?! She jumped back in the water to head back. That was not what I wanted to hear was in the water, because I was making a very strong effort not to open my eyes under water with each stroke, but to close them, forcing myself out of a habit that had become second nature. On the way back all I wanted to do was open m eyes to make sure I wasn't swimming into another creature! Turtles, leeches and snakes, oh my!!!

(The turtles probably don't look as lovely and serene as this one, but I like to have this visual!)

We swam an "out and back" pretty much from one side of the water to another, a quick half a mile. I felt a rhythm on the way back, arm over arm, breath........ arm over arm, breathe... Forcing critters and pond grass that occasionally swept across my hands out of mind.... focusing on breathing properly and trying to relax. The more relaxed your body, the faster you glide through the water.

I have to admit, it wasn't bad. The worst part was the muck you have to step on to get out IN the water, and the shallower parts in the middle (which I'm glad are there because it gives me comfort in case I panic and need to stand, knowing I can) where your hand meets some grasses flowing about. Ugh.

I went again this week with a bigger group of us, and we swam just shy of a mile. Almost the distance for Sunday's event, which is 1.2 miles. It's better and easier each time.

Arm over arm, breathe.....

I need to work on relaxing my body. I find I'm a little slower in the open water, and I know it's because I am rigid and not fluid.

Turtles, leeches & snakes, oh MY!!!

I took today off completely, but I am aching to do something. I'm loading up on carbs this week in preparation of Sunday-storing up some goodies for my body to rely on for the distance it needs to carry me. By the time the week is over, I will have consumed more bagels, fig newtons (thanks Chris!) rice, chicken & pasta than I care to think of.

I guess that's the point- on race day, to feel like you have to more, your body is begging you to burn it all off.

As much as I like to eat, I think I prefer to eat a little "cleaner" with my binges in here and there. You know, oreos by the sleeve, cake by the sheet, reeses cups by the bag. This carb loading is for the birds. Sugar loading sounds more like it!!

3 days and counting. Packet pick up is Saturday. My bike had a race check and is good to go. I've mentally packed my bag. Got my hair and eyebrows done--you know, the essentials! I'm almost ready!

Rev3 - It's Official!

I am officially signed up & I can't believe I hit 'submit' on that form and paid to do this triathlon!
6 days and counting....