VACATION MEANS RUNNING. AND DON'T FORGET TO BE KIND TO YOURSELF!

Hubby Tom, daughter Caitlin and I just got back from a relaxing vacation in Disney World. Okay, that's a lie. Disney is never "relaxing". But it was fun, and I'm so grateful that we have an opportunity to do things like this. I'm a very lucky person!

Celebrating Caitlin's Birthday in Disney World

The Marine Corp Marathon is getting closer and closer; October 26th in fact. Tom is running it and I'll be a mere spectator for this one.  Since Tom was committed to sticking with his training schedule, there were early morning wake up calls and slow paced runs while on vacation. It just is what it is. Humidity was a factor to contend with. 

We stayed at Saratoga Springs which is located next to Downtown Disney. Each run included two laps of Downtown Disney and music to motivate us along.  Marky Mark's "Good Vibration" as well as the Talking Heads "Once in a Lifetime" seemed to be on the playlist EVERY morning. Holy 1980's! And another bonus...water fountains along our course. That was a nice treat that I could get used to on a daily basis.

After our run sessions, I would escape to the "quiet" pool to get some laps in. Low and behold I stumbled upon a group of triathletes from Buffalo NY, also getting laps in.  We chatted about triathlons and the triathlete's lifestyle. These experienced triathletes shared sage advice as well as words of wisdom and encouragement with me. And as always, triathletes are the nicest people out there.

They told me about Mussleman Lake Geneva and recommended that I consider it in the future.  Its a Half Ironman distance race with a beautiful course.  As soon as I could, I checked it out and it does look really nice. Plus, you don't have to do a 5 night guaranteed hotel stay, like some hotels require at some Ironman races.

And finally, I went back to Lake Ockanickon (aka Greasy Lake) this past weekend to test my open water swimming skills...again.

I met a woman who told me that after 4 years of doing triathlons, she STILL has swim anxiety AND she's an Ironman multiple times. See, maybe I'm not so crazy after all! She advised me to count strokes because that has been the one thing that has helped her through panic attacks.

So I got in and started my first 1/4 mile loop with some mild anxiety along the way. This time it didn't last as long. I flipped onto my back, caught my breath and got right back into swimming as quickly as possible.  I tried not to hang out too long on my back. And that was a good move. After completing the first 1/4 mile loop, I tried again.

My second 1/4 mile loop went MUCH, MUCH better! Only two mild anxiety attacks which lasted a few seconds at most.  Then I decided to go again.

This time I swam two non-stop loops totaling a 1/2 mile. And, I had NO anxiety at all.  I  counted strokes relentlessly and if my brain wandered to another thought I immediately redirected it to counting again. This seemed to work really well for me.

So the next time you find yourself panicked in open water, give counting strokes a try. 1, 2, 3 sight. 1, 2, 3, sight.  1, 2, 3, sight. Or whatever sequence works for you.

And absolutely NO negative self talk! For too long I have been telling myself that I hate swimming and that I suck at it. Instead, I try to remind myself of how far I've come in such a short time. I remind myself that I enjoy swimming because I KNOW I've gotten good at it.  And you know what? I see a major difference in my swim practices since teaching myself positive self-talk.  I mean really. You would be angry if someone said those negative things to you, so why say them to yourself? You deserve way more respect than that.

Work on being kind and positive with your inner self. Know that you are capable of anything that you really want to achieve.  There are enough creepy people in this world who can and will bring you down at a moments notice.  Don't be one of those creepy people ...especially to yourself.