Words to live your life by - I think so. Words that you need to say to yourself over and over again when you are about to swim in the open water for the first time ever - absolutely!
Today I had my first swim in the bay. It was also my first time in my new 2XU trisuit. Actually, I'll be honest, its the first time I have donned the suit for anything other than parading around the house doing that Cameron Diaz butt-wiggle-dance or sitting on the couch watching the Kona 2007 re-runs that seem to be playing every Saturday & Sunday at 6am on my TV. Completely normal, I know. I digress.
So my swim was really challenging. I entered the water and it was so cold - about 15 degrees apparently. It took my breath away and it took me some time to figure out if I was having a panic attack or if it was just mighty cold. You see, I have never had a panic attack before but one lovely woman posted a blog with information about 6 people who had passed away in the US in the swim portion of the triathlon due to having a panic attack in the midst of it. Which, frankly, is enough to make you have a panic attack just thinking about it. After a few minutes I realised I was panic attack free and began to freestyle away from the shore. BUT. I couldn't put my head under - I was completely petrified for some reason, but instead of giving up I just kept swimming, thinking "So what if I have to complete the swim without putting my head under the water, as far as I know there are no rules against that!". I swam about 200m in total and then practiced putting my head under the water in the more shallow part of the beach. I started to feel more comfortable with it and I think that will just increase as I keep at it. All in all it was a very easy session physically, but a tough one for me mentally. I think tomorrow and every weekend in the forseeable will contain lots and lots of open water swimming.
How did your first open water swim session go? Have you got any tips for newbies?
And just remember..."you will be alright"
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