Lake Swimming 2014
I put on my long sleeved wetsuit that I got from my friend Allie and I headed down the stairs to Francesca and Kent's house. I was brave!
Swim 1
On Thursday July 2nd I attended my first Ithaca Tri Club group swim. I had failed in my first attempt to group swim (it was cold, I arrived late and there was some confusion about whether the group was going out, so I didn’t go) so I was determined to make this one. I put on my long sleeved wetsuit that I got from my friend Allie (part of the reason I didn’t go in on Monday was that I had my new sleeveless wetsuit on) and I headed down the stairs to Francesca and Kent’s house. I was brave! I listened to race music on the way and just finished reading Shane’s blog about his amazing adventures in his Trans Mass Ultri Tri. My head was in the right place and I was ready. I walked down to the dock and prepared to meet people before the swim.
How long do you think you’ll take?
One member of the group asked this completely innocent question. She was trying to decide who should go first. A simple and fair question to kick off the evening. I responded,
I’ll need the full hour and most likely will be plucked out before we reach our destination.
Another swimmer said, “45 minutes” and someone else replied with “38 minutes.” Conversations turned to races recently completed and upcoming events. Discussion about nerves in the water, cold water and dark water were had. It comforted me that even people who participate in Ironman events sometimes have bouts with nerves. I still felt ok about this evening. I had been upfront that I’d need the full time. I was ready to go for it.
The Canoe
The canoe clinic prepared us to paddle alongside a swimmer. I hopped in the front of the boat knowing that meant I wasn’t responsible for steering. I wish now that I had taken the back because if I had to steer my energy would have been used for that instead of worrying about the swim. We were pacing a speedy swimmer and still that distance seemed extremely daunting. I was starting to get psyched out. Suddenly finishing the distance seemed unlikely. The current seemed strong and the water was choppy. However, they had set it up nicely; the slower group would go 2nd and have the benefit of going with the current. Soon, we arrived at the Girl Scout camp and it was time for my group to go.
Rip!
Normally I swim with my tempo trainer attached to my goggles. It has never fallen off in the pool, but we were in a lake so I decided to stick it under my cap. Upon pulling it over my head my cap promptly ripped. “That’s ok” I said aloud, right after muttering that my cap ripped. I would just put it on my goggles. Francesca said I could use her cap and I happily obliged. I reminded my canoe handlers that they could pull me early. I wasn’t interested in making anyone stay late for me to finish. “Pull me as soon as the first group finishes,” I said. They agreed. There were 4 of us swimming in this group and I knew I’d be in the back of this pack.
I set the trainer for 1.21 (the tempo I used for the Tri for the Y and what I’ve been using for my mile swims). I started off rather well thinking, “I can do this.” and “this is fine.” and then I hit a cold patch. “Yikes I’m in a lake” flashed through my mind. I was wearing booties with my wetsuit (the water was 64 degrees). The first time I looked at my watch 2 minutes and 34 seconds had elapsed. I was breathless, freezing and terrified. The zen feeling I had after reading Shane’s blog was long gone, and my can do attitude had shifted to, “maybe I won’t do the CLT this year after all.” However, I also thought back to the first lake swim last year that lasted less than 2 minutes. After a year of swim lessons I had to be able to do better than that! Carry on. For the next 10 minutes I alternated between relative calm and complete panic. I approached the boat two or 3 times, took the booties off at the suggestion of one of the boaters, floated on my back, flipped back over and swam a bit etc. Ultimately, I stopped because I just felt so bad for my boaters. This is where my personality gets in my way. My friend Anne recently posted on her blog that she enjoys solo travel because she can relax and not worry about others’ happiness. I was worried about the poor people freezing in the canoe. They were giving up their Thursday evening to slowly paddle next to me while I alternated between swimming and drowning. Even though I knew that as I had paddled up next to my swimmer (when I wasn’t thinking about my swim), I was enjoying the views of the lake and the sun on the water.
12 Minutes - Success!
I went out with 7 people for a group swim. 6 of those people swam 1.2 miles. Some had nose plugs or a nose covering, some were really fast, one wore fins to help with staying afloat, and everyone was friendly. I learned that many of these very strong swimmers had struggled with the water at some point. The woman I canoed the first leg with with took lessons from Shane several years ago. When she started she was completely terrified of even being in the pool. Francesca said that on her first lake swim she didn’t make it all the way either and suggested that I continue to come assuring me that each time it would be better. The people that took me back in the boat were so sweet and helpful, and they also suggested that I keep coming. It is this support from these wonderful people that helped me realize that 12 minutes is SUCCESS. I swam for most of those 12 minutes, and last year on my first lake swim with Jenny I came back in less than 2 minutes screaming!! No, it wasn’t what I had hoped, but it was a successful outing, if only because it happened over a month from the date of the CLT. Now, I have a full month to improve.
Swim 2
Right Back in the Water
As with many things I do, the first outing is my smack in the face that I have to hit this hard! I knew I had to get right back in before fear set into me. My friend Kathey lives on the lake and she extends an open invitation to me every summer to come swim. I’ve tried once or twice in the past (rather unsuccessfully) to practice from her house, but I am determined that this year will be different.
On July 5th, we left Xander at my in-law’s pool (_his most favorite place to be in July) _ and headed down to Kathey’s. Our plan was to have Scott and Elizabeth kayak for me, and then Elizabeth and I would kayak for Scott. Scott typically swims once or twice before the CLT and isn’t terribly worried about it. It is something he isn’t amazing at or terrible and he just gets it done and moves forward with the other two parts. Today, however, he would try his wetsuit for the first time AND swim in a cold lake (normally he swims the week before the event in a much warmer lake).
This time I go FIRST
We agreed that I would go first. This would take worry time away from me. I quickly got my wetsuit on, complete with the booties and headed unhappily into the lake. The rocks were slippery and you couldn’t see anything in the water. It was very smooth though; this was a saving grace.
I decided to set the tempo trainer much slower this time. One of the people in my canoe that first evening suggested that part of my problem was that I was swimming at an unsustainable pace. She told me to slow down so that I wouldn’t be out of breath. The pace I tried last week is perfectly reasonable for me in a pool when I can stop as I turn around every 25 yards. I realized quickly that it was completely unrealistic for a lake swim. Today I set at 1.35.
A few minutes into the swim and my goggles had water in them. After adjusting them, my swim alternated between bouts of lying on my back hyperventilating and flipping over to swim. The booties were keeping my feet aloft and my kick was sloppy and splashy. I felt like I had no form as my panic consumed me. With Scott and Elizabeth as my escorts, I had no concerns about looking foolish or taking their time. This turned out to be good, and I ultimately got into a groove. I found my swim stride and started to make forward progress. I almost made it to the .25 mile turnaround point (going for .5 miles instead of 1.2 seemed more realistic) and then asked them if it was ok if I turned around. The way back was slightly better and soon we were back at the dock. I struggled to take my wetsuit off, but eventually found success with it.
It took me 24 minutes and change, but I swam almost .4 miles in the open water. I was pleasantly surprised that I doubled my time from the first outing.
Scott’s Turn
Scott hopped in the water and wasn’t much calmer than I was. He swam quickly for a minute or so and then stopped and gasped and then resumed his fast cadence only to stop and gasp more. He struggled with his wetsuit and the booties just like I did. He did made it the full distance, but it wasn’t easy for him. I was so happy to see him finish the distance. He thanked me for kicking his butt to get him in the water. He said, “If it weren’t for you taking this so seriously I would probably just wing it.” And later he said,
you know when you were swimming and not panicking you had a very patient lead arm.
He has read every blog entry and listened to my chatter after each class, so he knows all about patient lead arms!! I suddenly felt a rush of gratitude for my year learning from Shane. This will come together - someday - and it already is in some ways. While I am not exactly looking forward to my next day in the lake, I’m not as terrified either!! I learned another thing - no booties next time. I’m going to enter from the dock so I don’t have to worry about zebra mussels cutting my feet, and hopefully my feet will kick properly without the booties.
Swim 3
After finding moderate success swimming in the lake the day prior, I was eager to get right back in. After all, even with my moderate success I was very far from anything “tri worthy” in the lake. Last year, I panicked near the first or 2nd buoy and flipped over to my back. I ended up completing the entire distance using the backstroke.
I promised myself that I would swim freestyle and enjoy the swim this year. This promise took the form of a year of Total Immersion Swim lessons with Master Coach Shane Eversfield, and now it is culminating with a month of practice in the lake.
Pitting Cherries helped me Swim!
On July 5th we picked Cherries! We had lots and lots of sour cherries. I had to pit half of the almost 30 pounds that we picked. As I stood picking them the morning before we headed out for the swim I realized,
Cherry picking is boring. Progress is slow and it seems like it takes forever to see a change in the bucket. It isn’t so much that it is difficult, just tedious and slow. Just like swimming is for me.
I vowed to remember this when I was in the water. I could do this. I just needed to get into a stride, find a comfortable rhythm and swim the way Shane taught me to.
Choppy Water
Late in the morning on Monday July 6th, the kids and I hopped into the car and headed to Kathey’s house. They were excited to kayak for me together. Elizabeth is 14 and very capable in the kayak and Xander enjoys kayaking too. He was excited to be in the boat and not really have to paddle. I totally trusted them to be my support for this third lake swim.
I realized I forgot my tempo trainer as we headed down to Kathey’s house. Luckily Kathey also took Shane’s classes and had one that I could borrow. I donned my wetsuit and walked out to the dock. I would start from the dock today; no booties.
The kids paddled out, and off we went. The lake was really rough with a strong current going against me. While scared, I was happy about this because you really can’t control what the weather brings you on race morning. I know that practicing in rough water is a good opportunity. The first half of this swim went much better than the day prior. I still had water in my goggles twice at the start. I realized this was mostly about the position of the tempo trainer and got it sorted out after the 2nd time it happened. I flipped onto my back once and had a big wave crash on me. I was breathing heavily and a little freaked out but there was no hyperventilating today!!
Soon we reached the turnaround point. There were moments when I considered stopping early. After all there was no rule saying I must finish the half mile, right? Yes there was - this was MY goal today and I would meet it!
With the current
And the beauty of rough water is the way back!! Suddenly the current was with me and I felt its gentle push as I swam. The way back was completely uneventful. I swam without stopping to lay on my back or fix goggles. Soon we were back at the dock in just over 26 minutes (my swim time from last year for 750 meters when I did the backstroke was 25:07).
Swim 4
Time Pressure
On Tuesday July 7th Elizabeth and her friend Alana wanted to kayak for me. Xander was again at his grandparent’s pool enjoying the warm weather we’ve been having. We had just over an hour to squeeze in a 4th lake swim for me. My goal with this swim was to start at the dock and not struggle even once. Today was going to be my day for swimming success!!
Swim to Impress
“My mom hates to swim in the lake,” said Elizabeth as we headed down to Kathey’s house. I followed by sharing about my first 3 swims and assured Alana that I’d be on my best behavior for her today. Elizabeth and Alana have been friends for several years, so I know Alana reasonably well, but not so well that I feel like I can show her my poor behavior.
We started with the same routine. I set the tempo trainer to 1.34 and headed out. The lake was calm and clear. It was the first time since I started lake swimming that I could see to the bottom. I am petrified of seaweed and life of all kinds in the water. However, today I found the zen in this. I remembered Shane sharing his experiences swimming in Hawaii and suddenly felt that maybe I could be ok with that someday. I felt safe in my wetsuit because it acted as a barrier between the lake and me. I started to enjoy looking at the bottom, and enjoyed to watching the now familiar houses and docks pass by as I swam. Sighting went well and I wasn’t zigging and zagging as much as before. Soon, we reached the stretch where there is one large property so there’s not a lot to look at. This is the part that I always want to quit. It feels SO hard! I powered through and soon arrived at the turnaround point.
I asked Elizabeth to turn off the timer as I hung off the back of the boat, caught my breath and thanked the girls for coming out to support me. I was probably there for less than a minute when Elizabeth turned the boat around and we headed back. My time to get to the .25 mile mark was 11:31.
The return trip started off easy. I was so thrilled to hear that I had arrived in 11:31 that I briefly ignored my tempo trainer and swam at a faster tempo. Soon though I settled back into the rhythm of the tempo trainer. I worked on keeping my kick calm and snapping from the core instead of just using my arms. Docks went by quickly and I waited for the water to become clear again (it had become murky about 3/4 of the way to the turnaround). I don’t know why I thought that the water would clear - it never did. But I learned from this that it actually IS easier to swim when you can see rather than being in the murk (I’ve been telling Kathey forever that I want to see NOTHING and she laughs and tells me I’m crazy).
When I was just over halfway back, I looked at the water trampoline in the distance. It is the last marker before Kathey’s dock and suddenly it seemed SO far away!! I started counting strokes - 50 (look up and sight) and then another 50 and so on. This helped the time pass.
Just over 20 minutes of my life
“21:31” Elizabeth shouted out as I hopped up to the dock. Of course this time doesn’t include the time that I hung off the back, but I wasn’t there very long. I was on cloud 9 as I quickly pulled my wetsuit off. I can do this! I actually kind of enjoyed it - wow!