blind & total immersion into chris greene lake

i've totally been meaning to talk about last wednesday's open water swim practice. unfortunately today's was cancelled due to storms. anyway, i'm *so* glad i went. i didn't know if i'd like it, but i loved it (!). maybe it was the novelty. while i'm SO not adventurous in a risk-taking, thrill-seeking, skydiving way, i AM open-minded in that i usually enjoy experiencing new things. maybe i shouldn't be so surprised, given how much i love the sport of swimming. also, swimmers tend to be a friendly bunch, and the tri club group was no exception. i felt like i was swimming w/ friends. it didn't hurt that some of the guys were good-looking! :-) and the lake was great. it was beautiful but more importantly, it was clean and warm (78 degrees, no wetsuit needed). though it was warm, i felt some cool pockets as my arms sliced through the water. the coach explained that these were the currents.

they say panic & fatigue are a swimmer's worst enemy in open water, and are common among the inexperienced, b/c the water is often dark and murky, and there are no walls to grab onto, or lane lines to follow. i didn't panic, but i was slightly apprehensive going in. but instead of giving myself time to think about it, i just closed my eyes, put my face in the water and started swimming, and it all felt pretty natural. it did sort of freak me out to open my eyes momentarily and see nothing but murky greenish-brown water through my green TYR goggles!

i had a quality coach. he swam beside me and i realized that much of conquering open water fear & fatigue involves staying focused and calm. i reminded myself that i'm a strong swimmer and just needed to do what i normally do in a pool. i typically swim more than 1 mile nonstop during a typical pool workout, so why would i suddenly wish there were walls to grab onto during a .25 or .50 mile swim? that's purely psychological.

unfortunately my biggest weakness involves sighting and swimming in a straight line. w/o my contact lenses (non-disposable) or glasses, i have awful vision, and that DID make me feel a bit insecure and disoriented in open water. it was funny how i kept veering way off course. now i understand why some novice triathletes end up having to breast stroke briefly during the swim portion. because i couldn't see my target buoy for the life of me, i ended up having to breast stroke and look straight ahead to redirect myself. ugh.

on saturday, it took me 16 minutes to swim a half mile in the pool, which isn't bad. but w/ my sighting problems, don't be surprised if it takes me twice as long during the real thing--like, 30 minutes (i hope not)! luckily, i've ordered some special 1-day disposable contact lenses for the big event! WOOHOO--18 days to go! (i'm excited, for sure. but i'm also scared and will explain why in another entry soon).

more later. it's bedtime and i've gotta be up early, which means an immediate "lights out", and no bedtime reading. i'm doing a quick re-read of Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix to prepare for the upcoming release of the newest potter book. or maybe i ought to be re-reading my copy of Total Immersion instead.