So my road to being active, as you know, began with a triathlon. I did them for a few years but I always avoided the open water tris because I'm scared of water. My husband is an amazing swimmer and has given me some great tips so I decided to give it a go again, this time comfronting my fear of the open water. My training was a little sub-par but I had been swimming a little over a mile once a week for months with consistent running and biking where I could get it in. I didn't have a wet suit but I didn't want to rent one since someday I am going to complete a full Ironman and I will need a wet suit to train for that. My husband has a friend that could get us a screaming deal on a wet suit so we went through him to get it. It arrived the day before the race. Yes, that means that the first time I swam in the lake and the first time I swam in a wet suit were the day of the race, during the race. My parents wanted to be there for the race but ended up going to my niece's dance recital out of town. The last thing my mom told me before thet left was not to freak myself out, that I could do this. Just before the race started they had us jump in the water. I was fine. The race started and I was fine. I was even staying with the pack, up near the front. I'm not sure why, but a few minutes into the race, I had a panic attack. Thankfully, my mom's words stuck in my head and I was able to keep my head but every time I tried to put my head in the water to freestyle, I would freak out. I swam most of that race breaststroking and backstroking. I came in at nearly twice as long as I thought it would take me. My family was starting to worry. I distracted myself by singing to myself. Coming out of the water was the strangest experience. I felt so disconnected to my body. I wasn't sure that my legs were going to respond to the "walk" message they were getting from my head. Once I got on my bike it was smoothe sailing. I was able to fly and of course when it came time to run, my body can go on auto-pilot it's so used to that. I came accrossed the finish line happy to have accomplished my goal but disappointed with my performance. To add insult to injury, my timing chip malfunctioned sometime during the race so I do not have an official finish time for that race. I have since tried to do some swimming at the lake but with no real success. I know the only way to overcome my fear is to stare it in the face. I wanted to do the Ironman St. George 70.3 event ts yesr but it sold out before I could make up my mind. I've been looking into full Ironman tris that could double as a vacation but still haven't made up my mind.
In May of 2010, St. George hosted it's first Ironman event. I volunteered but it was the first time since I've been active that I've sat the sidelines at a major event. It was harder than I thought it would be and that was when I knew that I have at least one Ironman in me. In 2012, just previous to the St. George Ironman, Ironman announced that 2012 would be the last full distance event in St. George. I was so disappointed because 2013 was going to be my year. I would be done with school so I could put in the time required to complete a full distance. That's why I'm looking now. Maybe Cozumel!
What I'm hoping you can take from my experience is that we can't let fear stop us. Stare it right in the face and say,"I am stronger than that." You are more than your fears. They do not define you.
Thanks for checking in with me and stop back by again soon.
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