I learned a few valuable lessons yesterday when I freaked out in the middle of my one mile lake swim (during a 1/3 Ironman Relay). Here are those lessons learned, in no particular order:
1. Never, I mean never, do something new on race day. I spent most of Saturday worrying about the predicted temps for Sunday morning. I was scheduled to get in the water at 7:30 a.m. with the air temp at 47. I don’t swim with a wet suit, yet I realized that I would likely be too cold to swim without one. A friend lent me hers the night before, I tried it one (my kids said “Mom, you look beast!”) and thought I was good to go. it was still cold in the morning, but the suit was keeping me warm. As I ran into the lake at 7:30, it only took me 1/4th of a mile to realize that I was never going to make it with the wet suit. I was having a difficult time breathing and was freaking out (never happens to me). I waived to a guy in a kayak and he came over. I told him I had to take off the wet suit. He smiled and said the temps in the water were fine and to go ahead (yea, right. He was in a boat with a winter jacket and hat!) It took me close to five minutes to gently get it off over the chip around my ankle (while I’m in the water, cuz you can’t get out) and off I went to finish my swim.
2. Sometimes, it is just too cold to swim (for me). Sadly, I was so cold by the time I got the suit off that just never got back on track. I did finish but almost 8 minutes off my regular time. My partner likely thought I had drowned, given how late I was!
2. Seat heaters in cars really do work but when you have lake weed on your butt from a swim, it bakes into the leather seat. I ran to my car, my jaw hurting from teeth chattering, after giving the chip to my partner. I turned on the car and sat there for an hour with the heat blasting trying to warm up before my 9 mile run. BTW – Lake weed can be scraped off leather – thankfully.
3. Never forget chapstick when in the sun. I look like I’ve got Katy Perry lips today (see, I’m not that old!).
4. Drink Chocolate Milk. All I could stomach after my swim was my chocolate milk. The milk (and my sheer determination to get the hell out of Dodge) resulted in my fastest 9 mile run ever.
5. There’s a story in (almost) everything I do these days!
So, that’s my freaking day yesterday. I’m just glad to be done and taking a day off!
Have a fun day!
theyearof50 