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Saturday,
May 10, 2008 tri,
tri again It's
hard to believe that it was 3 weeks ago now that I was floating on
my back in the middle of the lake, desperately trying to catch my breath
and wondering how I was going to make it back to the shore. It
was my first "open-water" swim. I had rented a wetsuit
and it was the first time I had ever worn a wetsuit, too. Up until
this point, my triathlon training for the swim had only been done in
pools. It's a lot easier when you only have 20 strokes till you reach
the other side. You touch the other side, take a nice deep breath and 20
more strokes. Back and forth it goes. It's also a lot easier when you're
just doing drills, focusing on one specific aspect of the swim and
not having to swim continuously with nothing to hold onto. But
here I was, in the middle of the lake, in no way prepared for the
challenge that stretched before me. I was freaking out inside,
totally panicked, hyperventilating. I would try a few more strokes,
then roll on my back, catch my breath, and try again. I eventually
made it back to shore, stumbling as I tried to muster the strength
to walk upright, feeling so totally defeated. My
coach saw the frustration and fear in my face. She tried to help me
relax and just focus on small parts of the swim, like my breathing, so I
wouldn't panic. But for the rest of the time, I only swam 20
strokes out from shore and 20 strokes back. Even still, I had a
hard time catching my breath. I wondered how I would survive the
swim in my first triathlon 2 weeks away. I walked
away from the lake that day feeling so depressed and defeated. Fast
forward to today, 3 weeks later... I completed my 2nd sprint
triathlon! If you would have asked me a little more than a month ago if I
thought i would have even been able to do one, I would have looked
at you like you were crazy. My coaches kept encouraging me to sign up,
but I felt so insecure in my swimming abilities, that I kept
putting them off. I had signed up for triathlon training as a way
to stay in shape through cross-training. Running alone was too stressful
on my joints, and I also needed motivation to keep training. I
figured, if I had a group to do things with, it would make me more
likely to get it done. And
so here I am today, a little sore, but a lot more confident in what I
can do... and I've thought about where I started and how far I've
come (knowing that I still have a long way to go), and it's taught
me a really important lesson... never give up. The key was to keep
showing up, keep doing the swim. After the first disastrous-feeling
open-water swim, I showed up the next week and did it again. And
for the first 20 minutes I was hyperventilating and panicking
again. But I learned to relax, to not fight and kick so much, to
breathe-- and by the end of the swim, time had flown and I wasn't
ready to stop swimming! Honestly, that still just blows my mind. By the
next weekend, I was excited to get into the Sea of Cortez for my
first triathlon-- and I did pretty well. I was relaxed and
didn't hyperventilate or have to roll on my back to breathe! What an
adrenalin rush... I had faced my fear and won! (Even if I
didn't win the race-- and even if a granny beat me to the finish line!) So I
guess what I want to say is that whatever you're struggling with in
life at this given moment, just keep plugging away... Don't
give up. Don't
fight and kick so much. Go
with the flow... And
don't forget to breathe! Back
in the water tomorrow... Tracy "Whether
you think you can, or whether you think you can't, you're right."
-Henry Ford
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triumphant
