I can honestly say this is the least-prepared I have ever
been for the Pigman Tri. My bike didn’t even come off the trainer until May.
While other people were taking advantage of our warm spring, I felt my bike
should have some more time to enjoy the comfort and safety of my living room.
I had been doing lap swims throughout the winter, but it’s
always an adventure that first time the wetsuit goes on. Will this be the year
that all my tugging and pulling and sucking in my gut fails to work? Can I
blame it on a “shrinking wetsuit? After spraying lots of Suit Juice ( a lubricant)
on my body, I was able to get into the suit. I waddled down the Pleasant Creek
Park beach, dreading that first cold dip in the lake. Instead of the cold that
takes your breath away, the water was actually warm. I can do this!
I would need to adjust my swimming. Swimming in a wetsuit,
and away from the stability of a pool, feels different. There are waves and
darkness. Coach Nick (my swim coach) had been training me to keep my cheek on
the water and not turn my head so much when I went to breathe. That was not
going to work in the choppy current of the lake. I took in a healthy dose of
water that first time and I learned that in open water I needed that extra wide
turn of the head.
I had also kept up my running throughout the winter. I had
been injured after last fall’s marathon, but I was starting to feel better. I
had run the Mall to Mall race (nearly 9 miles). The added endurance of longer
runs would help me in a tri. It’s that darn brick that gets me. Moving from the
bike to the run, my legs just don’t like it. I think they go on strike!
My schedule over the last few months had been crazy and I
didn’t get in the quality training I would have liked. I should be freaking
out, but I like the idea of “winging it.” This is my sixth Pigman and I know I
have come far from the person who was terrified of the water and had to borrow
a bike to do the race. Instead of worrying about times and who I beat, I just
want to enjoy a day with my tri friends. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
Good luck to everyone doing the Pigman!
