Thursday morning I completed a 17 mile bike ride then hurried to the pool afterwards. I did another 1,000 yard swim in the pool and felt relieved that I was able to maintain that distance for a second day in a row. Maybe it wasn't just a mere fluke.
Thursday evening I was scheduled for an open water swim in Long Branch. It was a chance for Jersey Girl Triathlon participants to come out for a practice swim in the area where the swim portion of the triathlon will be held.
Luckily I was prepared to sit in bumper to bumper traffic, because thats exactly how it went down. I arrived in Long Branch two hours after leaving my house. I couldn't find a parking spot near by, so I had to park about a half mile away and walk to the beach with my gear. I was running a tad late because of the traffic and the gals were already in the midst of their swim.
I rushed over to the group, yanked on my wetsuit and hurried into the water. Nothing like having absolutely NO time to overthink things. I was back to business as usually swimming with my head up. I rounded the first buoy exhausted. I took a deep breath and put my face in. Instantly I realized that I couldn't exhale. I panicked, lifted my head up and took several more strokes. I tried again and again, and each time the same thing happened. What in the world is happening to my brain now? If I can't exhale in the water, than I certainly can't inhale because my lungs are already full of air. I completed the shortened swim course and headed out of the water to meet up with the group on the beach.
My friend Jenny arrived late after working all day in Manhattan. Poor girl had a rough commute, but I was so happy to see her. She got her wetsuit on and hurried into the water. She completed the swim course quickly and was out in a flash. I told her what was happening to me. She decided we should swim the course together and told me not to give up on the breathing after one shot. She encouraged me to stick with the breathing/stroking sequence, but more importantly I needed to do it without lifting my head up. "It will come, I promise" she said. So into the water we went, with Jenny leading the way and me following. I did what she said; I put my face in the water, no exhale. I rotated to air, no inhale. I didn't panic, I just put my face back into the water and boom...there it was. A nice deep exhale. I was able to swim several sequences in a row, inhaling and exhaling rhythmically.
My discovery of the evening was that every time I swam with my head up, the initial shock of putting my face into the water caused me to hold my breath. As long as I didn't panic though, I would exhale on the second try. This is a great lesson in why you shouldn't swim with your head up. Plus, it completely exhausts you.
So Jenny and I finished our second lap with another swimmer. We all swam towards shore and got close enough to be able to feel the bottom of the ocean floor. We were so thrilled making our way out of the water that we didn't see, hear or notice the gigantic wave about to engulf us. At the last second I saw the wave about to hit, but there was nothing I could do. It washed over our heads completely, yet somehow (and believe me I don't know how) we were still standing. "Well that sucked" I said to Jenny. The girls on shore came towards us to make sure we were ok. And coach Brian? He had a little smirk on his face. He probably thought it was a good character building lesson for me. And in my heart of hearts I knew it was.
A 'Note to Self' and a note for you too; when you're exiting the water on a beach, don't get all happy and excited. Check your back for incoming waves and get as close as possible to shore BEFORE you stand up. And if there's a Dunkin Donuts on your way home, treat yourself to an Oreo Coolata. Because their pretty awesome.
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| Jenny and I survive the big wave and we're still smiling |
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