Rocked It!

Hi. It's Laura.
Happy Friday!
Yesterday I did my ocean swim once again. I will say it was the complete opposite from the last time.
Last week as I drove down to Jersey I was nervous. I was the chatty kind of nervous and was even a little shaky. Getting my wet suit on was difficult and once in the water I had difficulty breathing.
I needed to rest a lot throughout the last swim and, although I did the required swim by the USAT, I certainly was not going to be great on the swim leg during the tri.
Yesterday, I arrived at the beach and had not even thought about the swim until I actually got out of the car (and maybe when I was packing my wetsuit and goggles). I had a lovely relaxed conversation with my brother and his coworker discussing fruit and juicing.
I got half my wet suit on and waited in the shade (the shadow of the lifeguard stand) until it was time to go. I stood around and thought about everything except the swim. I was very surprised about how relaxed I really was.
Bored with standing around, I started to bug my brother, let's go, let’s go. I even pushed the envelope a little and started out into the water on my own (I know, shocker). He followed. Out past the breaking waves we go and started the swim. About half way to our destination, I hear him start in. “Keep your head down, keep your head down.” At the turning point again he says “Keep your head down”, “You’re wasting energy”.
We swam to the same bunch of rocks that we swam last week. The difference this week was, instead of running back, we swam back. And what did my brother have to say on the way back? “Breathe when you lift your head out of the water not when you stick it back in.” (Gee thanks!) Other than that, radio silence. I guess I was doing things right. I found my pace and stuck to it.
Once on shore, I practiced taking down the wet suit. Although it doesn't sound like a difficult task, it can be when you are shaky from a work out. It is a lot like taking off skinny jeans if that helps [Editor’s note: Not really]. Done! And it felt so good. After the swim yesterday my emotions tipped in the other direction and I feel ready for July 8th.
Beginning next Friday and through the race weekend, I will not be posting blogs. Instead, I will be posting tweets about where I am and giving status updates. You can follow me on Twitter as @inspiredbylaura.
Twitter is free. You need to set it up on your home computer and download the app for your smartphone. If you have any concerns, you don't need to follow anyone else and you don't need to post anything but if you’re curious as to what is going on join twitter and follow me. If you need help, let me know and I can help you with that as well.
Next Friday begins the events for the triathlon including the Expo at the Hilton in midtown which is open to the public if you want to attend.
Enjoy the weekend!
Play hard!
Laura