DON'T BURST MY BUBBLE

With all of these exciting challenges in front of me, I decided I couldn't make an educated decision without putting in some time and seeing how I handled tipping my toe back in the triathlon water. 


Yesterday with light snowflakes falling to ground, I went out for a run around our town. A light 5k to stretch the legs and see how the hip would feel. Believe it or not, it felt great! I didn't win any awards for speed, but I kept a nice steady pace and completed the 5k feeling strong. Success #1. 

So today I decided to undergo test #2: THE SWIM. I haven't swam since last June when I competed in the Tremont Triathlon so I was more than a little nervous. I slowly slithered into the pool (WHY does the water always feel so cold in the winter?), pushed off the wall and started to log some laps. The first 50 felt great. CLICK went the lap counter. Bilateral breathing went well. Before you know it, I finished my first 150 yards. CLICK CLICK. Not wanting to push my luck and alarm the lifeguard by floundering, I decided to take a break. 1 minute rest. In a matter of time, I finished 18 clicks, 6 sets of 150 yards, 900 yards! I was pretty proud of myself. I could feel my lats saying "HERE I AM!!!" and decided that was good enough for the day. Success #2.


As I pulled out of the pool, a man two lanes over said, "That was quick." My lame response was something mumbled under my breath about not being in the pool for a while, but I could already feel my bubble start to deflate. I rationalized that it was quick, but it was 900 yards done!


At home, I entered the house excited to tell my swim coach, AKA Sunshine, about my swimming success of 900 yards. 


"Yah mom, I do that in about the first 10 minute of practice." Hmmmm. We may have to talk to Sunshine about the mental aspect of training, of being supportive while still offering a challenge to the athlete. Maybe next time I need to drag her with me. 


BUT CRAP - I don't care. I did 900 yards. That was way more than I would have started with when training for a simple sprint triathlon still several months away. Regardless of what my final decision is I'm well on my way to a great off season. So take that and stick in your ear!