But that simple realization was not what caused my panic attack yesterday afternoon. Heck we all know I am not able to follow training plans (a bad habit I’m slowly trying to break) and so winging a race is nothing new to me (believe me, I’m not bragging). No the panic started when I visited the Irongirl Columbia website and discovered that..wait for it….what I thought was a 750 yard swim….is actually a 0.62 mile swim. That’s 1091.2 yards (thanks coolrunning.com distance calculator). Not understanding my fear yet? The furthest I’ve ever swam consecutively was the 300 yards (in a pool, and I struggled) I did in April for my very first triathlon….which would also basically be the last time I’ve swum laps.
Heather sucks at swimming + 791 extra yards + OPEN WATER-2 months I’ve been absent from the pool = panic.
*deeeep breath*
After the initial freak out, a panicked call to my older sister’s voicemail, and a “what am I going to do” post on dailymile….I started to calm down. There’s only one thing I can do at this point. Back out is not one of them. The only cause for a DNS (did not start) in my book are broken and torn appendages. And here’s hoping none of that applies come August. The only thing I can do now is swim like my life depends on it for the next 9.5 weeks.
Oddly enough, the whole idea of open water doesn’t really intimidate me, despite the fact that I included it in my freak out equation above. I grew up swimming in rivers and lakes, then later moved out here to SC only to spend 5 hours of every single day April-November in the Atlantic Ocean on a surfboard (pre kids, clearly). I’m very used to being tossed into the whitewash, holding my breath, not knowing which way was up, and waiting for the waves to spit me out. I once heard another surfer compare this to being in a washing machine, and I couldn’t agree more. There is no fear for me of not being able to see the bottom (you can’t even see your toes in 3 feet of Myrtle Beach ocean water). There is no fear of “what’s lurking below”…unless you toss me in the local waterway…I’m not messing with any alligators. Sharks? We’re cool. Alligators? No thank you. Fortunately, I don’t believe there are any gators in Maryland so I’m safe in that pond in Columbia.
The biggest fear I have is not being able to swim 1,091 yards consecutively. Surfing does not equal endurance swimming. You almost always have a very buoyant board strapped to your ankle at all times (did you know beach patrol will yell at you for not having a leash?) so when you fall off, you reach for the board, hop back on, and voila. Paddling is great for your arms, but you don’t have to worry about keeping your head above water. Swimming doesn’t come easily to me, and that’s incredibly intimidating. Yes, I still struggle when I push myself hard on a run, I struggle when I push myself hard on a bike, but at least I know I’m doing it correctly. I feel so awkward in the pool, no matter how much I practice, it never feels natural. It won’t cause me to give up, but it still intimidates me.
But, if I remember correctly, back in February, 50 yards consecutively terrified me. It was all I could do to swim one length (25 yards) of the pool. In two months, I worked my way up to 300 yards, a distance that I had deemed near impossible on that first day in the pool. I did it. So why the fear of 1,091? It’s just another number. Just like 800’s or a 5k or half marathon. Just another number, another goal to work towards. I’ll never let myself be a person who is afraid to push their limits.
Fear no distance, Heather, fear no distance. I will finish that swim, even if I have to dog paddle or back stroke. Fear no distance.
Yes it appears that it no longer matters that I can’t run for the next 3 weeks, because I need to get my butt back in the pool and grow some gills, STAT.
Funny how everything happens for a reason, right?
Happy running my friends! Get in a few miles for me….I’ll be in the pool!
Holly
Sorry to have missed your “panic call” but happy to see you found a way to work through it! FEAR NO DISTANCE! Just get in the pool and do what you can – and use the PULL BUOY if swimming is bugging you ankle too much… One Last Thing: If you need me to, and we are in the same swim wave I will swim with you the entire way! HUGS! Love you Sister!
Karen
Just keep putting the time in at the pool, you will be fine. Being relaxed will help – so no freaking out! 🙂
most times, there are kayaks along the route you can stop and hang on to if you need to rest. You can do it!!
Emz
I LOVED THIS!! :
Fear no distance, Heather, fear no distance. I will finish that swim, even if I have to dog paddle or back stroke. Fear no distance.
Awesome!!
SideofSneakers.com
Oh gosh. First you have me scared about the distance, now you have me scared about the time!! 9.5 weeks and I can’t even start training yet ahhh! Haha you will be a fish by the time August rolls around 🙂
abbi
Best Wishes! I’m a new-ish reader to your blog and love it! I’m a terrible swimmer and don’t think I could tackle a triathlon but perhaps I should adopt your no fear philosophy, sounds like it’s definitely going to work for you!
misszippy
If all else fails, trust me that Centennial Lake is very shallow and you could always stand up if needed! But you won’t!
HEATHER @ runfastermommy!
misszippy, that actually makes me feel much much much better! Always good to have that in the back of my mind !!
P
I totally want to do a tri in a lake shallow enough to stand in if necessary – LUCKY! 🙂
I am also a reluctant swimmer facing 800 meters at my next tri and I’m pretty sure I’ve found the mantra I’ll be using come race day: Fear No Distance. Thanks!!
Swimming is great rehab for running (and, ummm, jumping) injuries – happy training to you!
Lnw80050
I used 0 to 1650 to ready for the dc tri this weekend, you should totally use it! You have plenty of time to get up and past the ~1000 distance. You can do it!
http://ruthkazez.com/ZeroTo1mile.html
Holly
Hate to freak you out sister but you’ll only be standing in Centennial Lake if you are swimming way off the course on race day near the very edges of the lake…
Melissa Cunningham
you can do it heather!!!! swimming is awseome rehab for running injuries,so im sure you will get a (slight) headstart in the growing gills department before some good ol fashioned BRICK sessions start!
heres to a speedy recovery from your injury,and a good luck wish to conquering your goals!! (but i really have no doubts!)
*huggs*
Lisa
Best wishes!
Open water freaks out a lot of people. If that part doesn’t bother you, you’re gonna’ be fine. You can always take a break and float on your back if you need to
tara
You can do it. Glad you figured out the distance difference now instead of on race day :). Can’t wait to meet you in 29 days. Heres hoping you are up and running by then, if not I bet you will be the best coordinator and cheerleader we have ever met 🙂
Navy Wife on a Diet
“its just another number”
this applies to SO MANY life situations.
– the number of your age
– the number on the scale
– going from 5 miles to 13
– the number on your jeans
– the number in your bank account
We constantly live our lives by numbers that dont matter! They only have significance if they give them significance. Go out there are swim girl!
Jess
Good luck!
Running and living
Remember that there are buoys on the course, so you don’t really need to swim the distance continuously. And you can always go on your back and rest for a bit. Swimming is very hard. I taught myself in October and have been in the pool 3-4 times/week since then; I still have bad days, and know it will take years of hard work to get up to real speed. Good luck, you’ll do great!
merrymishaps
You have time! Don’t worry, just get in the pool regularly and go a little further each time.
I will be doing the Columbia, MD Iron Girl for the third time this year — hope to see you there!
It’s a great race, and very beginner-friendly. You’re allowed to hang onto the buoys if you need to take a break in the middle of the swim 🙂
Catey
I am really not much of a swimmer, and my first tri was one with a short pool swim like yours. My second tri was a long open water swim, and I was in a panic. My goal for that tri (seriously) was to not drown!
Though open water starts can be a little rough, you’re already ahead of some if the open water factor doesn’t bother you! I was really very surprised at how many people were breast stroking or back stroking the swim (water was choppy!), and didn’t feel the least bit bad about doing the same. The good news: I made it without hanging on to anything, though that swim was some of the longest minutes of my life! lol
You’ll do great, and you’ll probably come away wanting to only do open water tris after this!
Irene
What they (up there) all said! You CAN do this!
Amanda
You can do it! I definitely did some dog paddling and back stroking last summer when I did my first sprint tri.
Ali
Hey I am doing the Irongirl in Columbia too!
Ron
Even my first *successful* open-water tri involved some sidestroke, some backstroke, and a little bit of just floating to collect my thoughts. And I’m quite irrationally afraid of the water. You got this, Heather!