Ok so I have swum my last swim before my first ever OW event on Saturday, and now the panic is really setting in. I tested the goggles/contact lens combination this morning and that works :). I still need to get the logisitcs clear....return home from dance lessons with kids at 10.40, get them changed and get bigger kid ready for birthday party.
Get me changed and make sure I have everything. Drive 1.5 miles down the road and try to find somewhere to park that is closer to the lake than than my house and pick up the swim packet between 11 and 12. This includes the chip - what do I do with the chip? does it go round your wrist or ankle or somewhere else :afraid:?
Warm-up is at 12-12.20. Should I do a 750m lap or just paddle around?
Apparently the water at entry is deep - its an in-water start and the jetty you jump of is all slimy - ewww.
So what if I get a case of the "eww its a lake" and freak out because the water is all brown, or I can't cope without a black line? Do I just go and find a kayak to rescue me?
And then once I'm racing, what happens if I end up on my own with no-one close to follow and get way off course? Do the kayakers herd you closer in to the buoys, or can you actually get lost?
And how do you finish? Will there be pads in the water or will we need to climb out and run under a finish line on the jetty?
So I think I'm done panicking - feel free to respond or not!
Enjoy the first one and don't worry about the time.
Start to one side of the pack or the other -- not in the middle.
Warm up, or don't warm up. Doesn't seem to matter for the first one. You can always use the first 500m as a warm up.
No matter how much you tell yourself you'll start slowly, you won't. You'll sprint like crazy like the rest of us. Tell yourself to slow down once you're capable of conscious thought after about a 100m.
Have fun. Once you've finished, you won't be able to wait until the next one.
Breathe: inhale - exhale
Breathe: inhale - exhale
Breathe: inhale - exhale
Get some sleep and go for a swim in the big brown pool tomorrow.
(I find it helpful to go to the venue the day before and check everything out if I have never been there before. It helps me visualize how the morning will go)
Positive self talk includes:
1) I can't see the black line because the water is so cloudy.
2) The water is so cloudy because they haven't backwashed the filter since 1999.
3) The deck (jetty) is slippery because they never hose it off in the evening. Lazy lifeguards.
4) I can wear the chip anywhere I want to, just so long as I don't swallow it
5) I don't need no stinkin' warmup because I'm just that bad. Might as well and jump in and splash around like I used to do as a kid.
6) I am glad no one is around me so I can have some privacy as I pee in the water.
7) I'm not off course, I am going exactly where I'm headed. Anyway what's all the big rush about? It's beautiful out here.
8) Hey, I've got a towel around me. I must be finished. (works even when someone had to jump in to save your sorry butt.)
At some point during the swim when you sight, take a moment to look around and enjoy how great the view is from the water.
Don't do this too close to the start!!!
ENJOY YOURSELF!!
From what it sounds like, you have a very busy life. Remember, you are doing this OW swim for FUN! If you were a professional, you wouldn't have the joy of all of your "kid duties"; someone would be taking care of those for you, right?
I whole-heartedly agree with all the comments posted before mine, especially the suggestion to take a look around. I did this during the Governors Island Swim this past summer. There's nothing like looking at your surroundings (even if they are familiar) from a different perspective! I had the good fortune to gaze over at the Statue of Liberty for a little of the swim!
Oh, yes...ENJOY YOURSELF! YOU ARE DOING THIS FOR FUN!!
Get some sleep and go for a swim in the big brown pool tomorrow.
(I find it helpful to go to the venue the day before and check everything out if I have never been there before. It helps me visualize how the morning will go)
Positive self talk includes:
1) I can't see the black line because the water is so cloudy.
2) The water is so cloudy because they haven't backwashed the filter since 1999.
3) The deck (jetty) is slippery because they never hose it off in the evening. Lazy lifeguards.
4) I can wear the chip anywhere I want to, just so long as I don't swallow it
5) I don't need no stinkin' warmup because I'm just that bad. Might as well and jump in and splash around like I used to do as a kid.
6) I am glad no one is around me so I can have some privacy as I pee in the water.
7) I'm not off course, I am going exactly where I'm headed. Anyway what's all the big rush about? It's beautiful out here.
8) Hey, I've got a towel around me. I must be finished. (works even when someone had to jump in to save your sorry butt.)
Thanks all of you! Unfortunately there is no swimming in the big brown pool prior to race day, otherwise I would do. I think the swim-only race on Sat is really a warm-up for Sunday's triathlon, but as I'm not about to run or cycle any time soon, I'm just doing the swim. - FOR FUN!!!!!! Must remember that!!!!!
Current water temp is 82 - bath anyone? Its in a really small lake right by one of our HOA pools so its very familiar, I just don't tend to climb down the hill to the water's edge that often. And you're right -it'll be interesting to see everything from a different angle.
Tomorrow's weather forecast is thunderstorms though :badday:
As someone who needs to work on sighting skills, I've been known to go off course sometimes. Big thing is, relax. In the races I've been in, the support kayakers definitely are watching and are there pretty quickly when they see someone make a wrong turn. But meanwhile, I'll pause a moment, look around, and almost invariably, I'll get a sense of which way to go. Remind yourself of this--even if you're off course, you still know how to swim, and being off course is a temporary situation.
Hope your swim went well! Based on the date you posted this, I'm guessing you already did it.
Yep - all swum and I really enjoyed it! I didn't get lost and won the 1500m race:banana:. Think I was just desperate to get out of the murky water!
I was able to watch the 750 beforehand and checked the time they finished. Also they were kind of led by the red kayak. So at that point I knew that I would have likely been in the top 5 in the 750, so would likely be in the top few of the 1500, and to follow the red kayak!
I'm still waiting for the official time & results as it was manually timed. But :banana::banana: I'm no longer an OW virgin.
Yep - all swum and I really enjoyed it! I didn't get lost and won the 1500m race:banana:. Think I was just desperate to get out of the murky water!
I was able to watch the 750 beforehand and checked the time they finished. Also they were kind of led by the red kayak. So at that point I knew that I would have likely been in the top 5 in the 750, so would likely be in the top few of the 1500, and to follow the red kayak!
I'm still waiting for the official time & results as it was manually timed. But :banana::banana: I'm no longer an OW virgin.
Congratulations! Good and smart work all around! A short course in a "big pool" is just the thing for a first experience. I hope you find you like it, and move on to a big blue pool (still no lane lines!).
If you get a chance, Fueco's blog account of his Lake Tenaya swim, with pictures, makes fascinating reading.
:)
