Monday, July 7, 2008

Lake Monsters and sunburns


Ahhh back to work. If only there was any other way…sigh. Anyway. Sunday morning I got up bright and early planning on a swim at Mentor Headlands. I was supposed to meet someone there at 9, but she called me around 8:30 and couldn’t make it. Well, I was already on my way there and it’s about 45 mins from my house, so I decided to go on out there and see if by chance there were others swimming. There were not. So, I decided that I was there and there were a few people on the beach, so I might as well get in the lake and put my face in and try and swim close to shore. Please no comments, I know swimming alone is a stupid thing to do, but believe me, my feet could touch and I didn’t go deep. The water was surprisingly cold and I was freaked out from the first toe into the water. Seriously, who is this person! I can’t decide what it is I am afraid of, I don’t think it’s drowning. I guess it’s lake monsters. Since I was having a bit of a freak, I decided to at least breast stroke for awhile and get some sort of workout in. So, I managed to breast stroke about 200 yards down the beach, stopping to stand up every now and then. I’m sure the people on the shore wondered what the F I was doing. After going out, I gave free style a go and was able to get back to where I started, but did stop a lot, I certainly didn’t get into a groove and I wouldn’t call it successful. I think if I had had someone swimming next to me I could have done a little better. But if I am ever going to be an IronWoman, I can’t depend on others for my strength. My issues with OW swimming are just stupid and I hate it. Its one thing to not have the stamina, but to just freak out for no reason…sigh. I sat on the shore for awhile afterwards and thought I might cry, threw rocks into the lake for awhile, tried to just enjoy the sunshine, tried to talk myself into getting back in and swimming some more. But I didn’t. I packed my stuff and headed to the pool. I didn’t have a lot of time, so I only did 500 yards. But at least it was something. Oh and I have a killer sunburn on the top of my legs from our long ride, it is making it so comfy to wear jeans today.

Gary and I had a big day of painting planned, but he has pulled a muscle at some point over the weekend and was in a lot of pain. I know he really hurts badly b/c he actually took aspirin and then later a muscle relaxer. This man hates medicine. So, we basically did nothing. It was nice. I spent a lot of time on the porch reading The Host by Stefanie Meyer. My friend Amy met me at 4 and we walked a little over 4 miles around shaker lakes. When I got home my legs were done. I was supposed to get up this morning and swim with Janet, but overslept due to a restless night. So, I hope to get to the pool tonight. Or it might end up being a rest day, but I am trying to only take one every 2 weeks. I had a good week last week, here were the totals:

Swim – 2400 yards (obviously this needs to go up)
Bike – 92 miles
Run – 24 miles

4 comments:

Trishie said...

I'm afraid of those Snakehead fish from China :P. Seriously, a fear of OW is not uncommon. I think if you keep getting out there you'll get more comfortable... I also think that you'll become more comforable in open water the more confidence you gain as a swimmer. Hang in there and happy Monday.

triguyjt said...

monica....
keep going out there...it really will become second nature after awhile...really...

best of luck

TRI TO BE FUNNY said...

ditto to JT...perhaps a swim coach can also help alleviate some of the deep fears.

Brian said...

Practice practice and unfortunately more and you'll be kicking ass. They have a 1 mile and 2 mile open water swim coming up out there. They are 800 meter ovals so you're never too far from shore. That might be a good one for you to get over your fear.

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Mnowac
distance runner attempting to run a marathon in every state, vegetarian foodie, mediocre triathlete, sucky swimmer, mommy to Harper, tea lover, coffee drinker, animal saver, hubby snuggler, race addict, full time working 31 year old living in cleveland
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Marathons so far

  • Sept 2012 - Corning, NY - TBD
  • April 2012 - Louisville, KY - TBD
  • Sept 2011 - Erie PA - 4:25
  • June 2011 - South Bend IN - 5 hrs+ (it was 98 degrees!)
  • Dec 2010 - Rehoboth Beach DE - 4:26:06
  • Nov 2010 - Huntington WV - 4:11:44
  • Oct 2009 - Towpath - Cleveland area OH - 4:30:35
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