Race Belts, Body Glide and Transitions... Oh my!!

T-Minus 10 days and counting.

I have seriously begun to lose sleep. I wake at 3 in the morning pondering the use of race belts, Body Glide anti-chafing sticks and how they could affect my transition times.

I woke last Saturday morning tired because I dreamt continuously the night before of swimming a consecutive 550 (which, I am happy to say I did despite the delirium).

Maybe it's because of the sleep deprivation that I have seriously done things that call into question my sanity.

Take last night for example:

I left work and drove down to Lake McBride for my first open water swim. This sounds innocuous enough. I was going to have to do it in eleven days anyway, so what's the big deal?

It was 58 degrees when I left work at 4 that afternoon.

And cloudy.

And windy.

And a little drizzly.

Oh sure, you say, you have a wetsuit. Isn't that the whole point?

Well, yes. So?

If you had asked me this time last year if I wanted to go to the lake I would have said sure. But you bet your boots that in my head I would have been in jeans, socks, tennis shoes, my favorite fuzzy pullover and my Corona ball cap. Not in a swimsuit, wetsuit and a swim cap.

It wasn't a fabulous work out. It wasn't bad either, all things considered. It made me truly understand the importance of a warm up. It taught me not to panic just because I can only see as far as my hands as they pull through my stroke. I learned to stop as if I'm treading water so when I put my feet down and can't touch, I don't go into girlie hysterics.

Hmmmm.....Maybe I won't drown after all.

I've also begun to think through the sleepless haze that a 14 mile bike ride really is no big deal. Where's the challenge in that? 14 miles doesn't even make my bottom sore anymore. (Yeah, I said it.)

Lake water (at least this lake water) tastes better than Y pool water. Not that I intentionally drink it, but well, it happens.

Swim training is tapering off now with only three sessions left on the books before the big day: my usual hour at the Y on Saturday, a 550 on the race course itself followed by a bike ride of the course, and a nice an easy swim a week from today.

It's all drawing to a close and I'm not sure how I feel about that. What am I going to do with my life?

Oh yeah.

Train for round two.

September 27.

The Danskin Tri in Chicagoland.