Progress?

I'm relieved to report that my second foray into open water swimming met with much better success. It was a beautiful evening at Shawnee Mission Park, the first night the swimming beach was open to us. In spite of all the rain we'd had up to that evening, the last couple of days prior had warmed the water up considerably. Regardless, I was still clad in my wetsuit. No way was I going to give up my security blanket yet.

The loop around the three buoys is about 250 yards, but it looked more like two miles. I tentatively swam the 50 yards to the first buoy and back to shallow water. I swam the length of the swimming area and back. Then repeated that sequence. After a few times, I took the plunge so to speak and made my first loop around the buoys.

Spotting (the process of getting your bearing and ensuring you are headed in the right direction) was harder than I expected. The buoys were not very big and the evening glare on the water rendered them almost invisible. Of course, being one of the most directionally challenged people on earth, I was going wide of the mark. But, I corrected and put my head down and advanced, stroke by stroke. Before I knew it, I had made it to the first one. Turning was a little tricky and seemed to take more energy than it should, but I awkwardly made the turn and headed to the next one. Suddenly, I had completed the lap. I did a happy dance in my mind and swam to shallow water once again. I finally did this two more times, and even felt a moment of pleasure in the water. Hey, maybe I can do this!

It was coincidental that I had gone to a doctor's appointment just prior to the swim and read an article about mantras. The author was getting ready to do a rowing event that she was nervous about, so she starting chanting to herself "Go chappy, chappy go." She found that it relaxed her and freed her mind of negative thoughts. Further research revealed that repeating a phrase such as that actually focuses one's thoughts, releasing fears and stimulating pleasure centers in the brain. So, I also tried incorporating that into my evenings, stating "I can do this" over and over. I wondered if it helped more when you could actually say the words aloud, but I had to settle for the mental version. The jury is still out on whether it helped or not.
I still don't feel super confident and can't imagine not having the wetsuit, but I'd accomplished more than I ever had before. The weather has turned beastly hot and now I fear that I will not be able to use my it at Topeka Tinman, my first tri of the season. Yikes. Luckily, it is a short swim. So, my plan is to swim again on Tuesday with the wetsuit, and depending on my progress, possibly go wetsuitless on Thursday. We shall see.

Last Saturday was an EMG group ride, where I did 42 miles--now my second longest ride ever. It's hard to comprehend that a mere 8 days ago, the weather was a little chilly and we were debating wearing a jacket or long pants on the ride. Yesterday, was Hospital Hill, where it was 80 degrees at 7:00 a.m. when the race started. It was a brutal, humid day. I thought several times, I wasn't going to make it, and it took every ounce of willpower I possessed to not turn at the 10K turnaround, but I persevered. The experience of 56 marathons saw me through this one, and I even finished in 2:01...my first Hospital Hill that wasn't under two hours. Considering the day, I was satisfied with it.

Had another hot workout today--35 miles around Longview Lake plus a 20-minute run. Ugh!

I still wonder at times why I'm doing this. I often wake up early in the mornings worrying about whether or not I'll be able to do the swim, dreading the thought of running a half marathon after riding 3+ hours. The training is starting to feel like drudgery. A 9-hour week of workouts is followed by a 10-hour week, Is it worth all the time and money? I suppose, in for a penny, in for a pound. While I have been known to quit things, this is one thing I don't feel like I can quit. Whether or not I continue after this year, seems doubtful right now.

But, that's something to worry about another day. I've got plenty of other things to worry about now.