Oh the follies of triathlon. Here is a good lesson for all of you and open water swims. The more I think about this wrinkle compared to all my fussings and fears of my swim ability, God really does have a sense of humor.
As I have written and lamented several times I am not a fast swimmer. So when we go to the lake I am just finishing my second lap and coming ashore as everyone else is packing up their gear and going home. Well why not they have been sitting around for twenty minutes.
Thursday was like every other lake swim day, except I was actually keeping up with Hardcore and the inlet buoys were further out into the bay. Oh yeah and everyone else was on track to lapping me.
Hardcore pulled up short with just one lap leaving me to my lonesome for the last lap. As I came out of the canyon and back into the bay, everyone else was already on shore. So I swim out to the inlet buoys and back to shore, looking at my watch and thinking, "I really could be the absolute last guy out of the water at Florida based on this time and distance. "
As I pulled ashore the gang was asking why I did another half lap. The Machine said he was going to walk along the cliffs to see if I was going to do a third lap. John commented that I was going to guilt him into the water for more swimming. I thought we always went to the inlet buoys three times. Oh no no no no no. You don't go to the inlet buoy for a third time you just come ashore.
So stupid me has been doing an additional probably 600 yards and comparing my times to everyone else who is doing less that distance. Well Guh!
I'm still slower than the rest of them but I am now comforted by the fact that I am faster than I thought by a considerable amount based on time.
The funny part is all the additional distance is in the part of the course that has given me the worst mental problems. Guess no longer.
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6 comments:
Great swim Commodore.
Open water ain't as bad as u and i thought. I love it now :). At least not as afraid of it as before.
that's a boost of confidence!
"'DOH!!"
--Homer Simpson
I look like I ought to be fast--little and wiry--but alas no. Upon exiting the water at my first event, I was comforted to see some swimmers--ANY SWIMMERS--with the same color swim cap as me still in the water.
they have the lanterne rouge in the TdF, maybe we should create the speedo rouge for IMFL... you and i could contest for it!
I love it when things like that happen. Think of the opposite if you weren't doing enough each time and just realized that. I need to do an open water swim some time soon. REALLY nervous about it.
I thought I was impossibly slow in the water too until I had my wife come and count my laps for me. Turns out i'm just real crappy at counting. I graduated to kind of slow that day.
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