This weekend was my last training weekend before my race! Next weekend is for celebrating Betsy, so this weekend was for challenging my body.
Saturday was a Team Fight open water swim practice. It was newbie designed, and even though I’m much more comfortable in the water now, I’m still a newbie. We went out to Gunpowder State Park and the coach set out a plan for the swim. Essentially, we swam an estimated 1100 yards, which is close to the swim distance for the race.
Even though the water wasn’t bad, the hardest part for me (as it is with every swim, even in the pool) was getting into the water. It’s so cold and I don’t want to get in. But I forced myself to get in and bob a few times. I have got to remember that on race day. It must happen. It helps that I will be starting with people I know, and one person in particular (who is probably reading this) will drag me into the water and shove me under if I don’t do it myself.
The thing is, once I’m in, I’m fine. So I just have to get in.
I set out to swim and just found a groove. 10 strokes, then sight. I’m not stellar at swimming and sighting. I can’t just lift my head and continue my normal stroke – instead I do a sort of brief breast stroke. But whatever, it works for me and it feels natural, so for now I’ll stick with it. I will worry about it later.
I felt really good on the swim. Little bit of jostling, but I just found my groove and swam. I wasn’t panicking about the distance or about the water or anything. It was an awesome feeling and I hope I can get there on race day as well.
After I got out, one of the people who watched us commented that my stroke looked really good, because I was just out there swimming and not looking like I was fighting the water. While my stroke could use improvement, that was an awesome compliment. I’m working with the water and not against it.
Yesterday, I went out for my last bike ride on the course. I challenged myself to keep up with the B group, and sort of managed for a while. Then the group broke into two and I just couldn’t keep up with the fast riders. Something to work on. But I dropped back and had a great ride. On race day, I just have to make sure I’m pushing myself but not pushing too hard. This race is about me, not about beating anyone else.
Less than 2 weeks to go!
I’m always impressed when I hear about people tacking a tri! As a former swimmer, I see this as my calling someday, but I’m not quite there. Does the training consume more time than training for a running race? I’ve always sort of assumed it might…
Christine @ We Run Disney recently posted…Weekly Roundup: August 4th
Christine,
That’s a good question. And the answer is, I’m not sure. It’s hard to compare a triathlon and a running race. My race will take me somewhere between 3 and 3.5 hours (I think) based on the various distances. So I can equate that to a half marathon in terms of my running speed. Were I properly training for a half, I’d say the training hours would be pretty equivalent. That said, I so rarely properly train for road races because it’s easy to skip workouts. Even now, my running is my least trained segment of the tri, because I know I can get myself through that part, even if I have to walk chunks of it.
Sounds like you’re ready! Love the attitude – you’re right – the race is about YOU. As long as you’re happy with how you performed, how anybody else did doesn’t matter. Wish I lived closer so I could cheer y’all on race day! You’re gonna do great!
Jenny recently posted…Thoughtful Thursday
“This race is about me, not about beating anyone else.”
this is the BEST attitude ever.