Hi, it’s Laura,
One of the parts of being allowed to compete in the NYC Triathlon is that you must have completed an open water swim. This means not in a pool. NYC Tri gives you 18 months to complete this before race day on July 8.
Yesterday I drove down to Long Branch, NJ to swim in the ocean. Doesn’t that sound lovely? Considering the temperatures were in the high 90's and actually hit 104 on the car thermometer.
I assure you it is not as romantic as it sounds. I picked up my mother at her house so she could keep me company and help me find where to go to find my brother's beach. I may have mentioned once or twice my brother is a lifeguard and he agreed to help me with my open water swim.
When I get nervous I either chat incessantly or can't speak at all. I have no idea what determines what kind of nervous response but yesterday's nerves were all talk.
“Mom, did I tell you about my bike ride?” “Mom, did I tell you about my run?” “Do you know where my brother is located?” “Mom, what's for lunch?” “What are you making for dinner tonight?” “What did you do last night?” And on and on…. I jabbered on until we arrived at the beach. Unlike a weekend we were able to quickly secure parking (Yay!) and pretty close by. Thankfully because it was hot hot hot.
So here it is 95.6 degrees and I about to put on a full wet suit.
I was standing on the beach just talking, talking and talking, I really wish I would shut up. I asked my brother how we are going to do this because I am looking around and I don't see a boat. Without a rowboat, how are we going to get out past the waves? He laughed, “swim of course”?! Swim out there and then swim? Crazy! How are you going to watch me if you are not in a boat? “Swim next to you of course.” Ay dios mio.
I get on the wet suit, kind of. I am having difficulty pulling up the zipper in the back and I start to panic. “What if it doesn't fit?” OMG! I already got it wet so I can't return it. Tug, tug, tug. I can't get it and I can't ask for help. I won't be able to ask for help on race day. I will get disqualified if I get help. What am I going to do? (USTA rules state that an athlete cannot have any assistance during the race except for designated race official.)* I finally realize I have to ask for help. I ask for help and my brother and he uncatches the neoprene from the zipper and up it goes. phew.
Ok here we go. Into the water we go. Up against the waves and out to sea. I get under the first few waves and I'm ok. We get past where the waves break and I can't breathe. My chest is so tight. I start to panic again. My brother shouts over to me to pull the zipper down on the wet suit. I do. It helps a little.
In retrospect what really happened is that I was so worked up about this swim, my nerves were high, I was facing the unknown and then I swam too hard too fast. I was out of breath. We waited for a little while until I calmed down and caught my breath and we started out again. (BTW I am super impressed with my brother. He is a really strong swimmer and is very calm in the water. He has about the same amount of patience as I do but he was awesome with me yesterday.)
We swam a little ways and I had to stop. My nerves were not completely gone and ocean is really hard to swim in, so we stop to rest again. The one great thing about the ocean is the amount of salt. Salt water makes you buoyant so resting is little easier than in the pool. On the other hand, salt water in your mouth is not very pleasant.
During this rest I realize I am just floating, I see the shore line and it’s really far away (more panic). We continue to rest so I can process all of this. Other than the fact than you can drown, I am guessing floating in the ocean is a little bit like zero gravity. You are just floating and not able to put your feet down anywhere and not really able to put your arms down either. Unlike swimming in the pool, you can't see anything. The water is green and clear but there is no visible bottom. In the middle of the ocean, it felt a little surreal, which I am sure was part of my nerves. Ok, I have processed, I’m better now. I can see the “finish line".
My brother and I take off again and I remember to stop kicking. Yes you kick in swimming but not as much as you would think because it makes you so tired and uses way too much energy. On this last leg, I am calmer. I am using the muscles I am supposed to use and brain has quieted down. So aside from the occasional swell that kind of throws me off and my brother yelling at me to keep my head down, I am doing better. We hit the finish line and head into shore. I did it!
On shore, my brother looks at me and says “want to run back?” “NO!” And as only a brother can nudge, we run the 1/2 miles back to his beach.
Once we finished, he went back to work and I went back to my mother's.
The car ride home was very quiet. I spent the rest of the day absolutely spent. I knew my nerves got the best of me. There was not a whole lot I can do about that except for do it again. Next week I am going back to swim in the ocean again. Practice makes perfect and I don't want any surprises on race day.
Enjoy your weekend!
Play hard!
Laura
*Unauthorized Assistance. No participant shall accept from any person (other than a race official) physical assistance in any form, including food, drink, equipment, support, pacing, a replacement bicycle or bicycle parts, unless an express exception has been granted and approved, in writing, by USA Triathlon. The receipt of information regarding the progress, split times, or location of other competitors on the race course shall not be considered the acceptance of unauthorized assistance. Any violation of this Section shall result in a variable time penalty.
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