Fourth of July ...

I have some catching up to do ... my weekend trip to Denver was great except for getting stuck on the runway for two hours waiting for a storm to pass so I didn't get home until 1. Then the next day things got crazy as my aunt, who has had cancer for several years, went into the hospital, then to hospice and passed away early Wednesday. So my routine has been off for awhile.

But now it's time to get in some open-water swimming and road cycling.

Last night, I went to SMP for their open-water swim practice. It was a very nice setup: they had an approximately 300 m course around three buoys. They had lifeguards on kayaks and floatie things out there. There was a decent crowd. Most people there were going to do the SM Triathlon, which is Saturday.

I was too chicken to actually do the course, so I did some laps back and forth just past the cordoned off swim area. It was too deep to stand unless you went into the swim area. So I swam around for 45 - 50 minutes, taking a few breaks. The swim area was good sized so it was maybe a couple pool lengths to swim along the outside of it.

I am hoping that tomorrow I will not be such a pussy and go out and do the regular course. The key, for me, in the open water swim is to stay relaxed. I had a nice conversation with a woman who was also doing the little baby laps. She had actually done the short course Topeka Tinman (300 m) swim but was trying to build up her swim endurance more. She told me that she actually did alot of that swim on her back! Now how you can make it through the water that way I have no idea. But ... that is a way to chill and float for awhile. Granted, you can't see where you are going but ...

I did mostly freestyle, practiced sighting, and threw in some breaststroke as well. I also practiced just getting on my back and just chilling for a bit. I think if I can get past doing one lap of that course, I'll be fine. I'm pretty sure I have the endurance to do two or three, as long as I take it slow.

I saw some interesting things. There is no reason to worry much about your swim form. With the sighting you have to do, it throws you off anyway. It would be nice to feel like I could breathe on both sides but I think I can breaststroke it for short periods and be OK. I saw a couple of older women doing this sort of head-completely-above-water-freestyle. I'm not sure how you could do that for 500 meters but they were chugging along.

So even doing the baby stuff gave me confidence. I had ALOT of anxiety as I headed out in the water but it went away once I realized I really could do it. And knowing that I could stay near the swim area helped alot. I like knowing I have a safety valve available, even if I never use it.

The water was a big pond of muck. You could not even see your hand in front of your face. There was all kinds of stuff on the bottom as well. Frankly, it made you want to stay afloat as much as possible. The grossness factor is not as big as I thought it would be however. I think I'm over that. Probably just as well you can't really see anything anyway.

So hopefully tomorrow I can do the big girl stuff. But even if I don't yet, it helped alot to just be out there in the deep water. I think it would help alot to actually have someone with me. It was safe with the guards out there and all, but I really wished I had one of my swim coaches with me.

Today, I took a hot, sticky, hilly ride down to 8th Street. 13 miles. The road bike feels funny after being on my hybrid last night. I am hoping the combination of heat, humidity and hungoverness was the cause of my sluggish pace. I have got to be able to ride faster.