Oh! No I'm Not.

This morning I was up at 5:00 and drove to Goss Lake and started my bike ride of the Tri loop. It was a very nice morning and I felt good even thru the first climb. The Saratoga hill known as "the beast" was still a punch in the chest but I stayed on the bike and slowly p - e -d -d -l -e -d to the top. Thenbe's  when I was rounding the church I slipped behind a pack of real bike riders. This is where I answered the question of are you a cyclist. The ugly truth is Oh No I am Not. As I tried to stay with them focusing on how effortlessly and rapidly they were spinning their legs I knew I still have work to do. A lot of work to do in this sport. I had them in sight for about a half mile to a mile and then I lost them on the down hill. after turning on Andreason I did catch sight of them and I passed them at Goss Lake rd. They stopped due to one persons mechanical difficulty and thankfully I went straight. I can tell I am not yet a cyclist because I still peddal instead of spin and that is enough to seperate the real vs the wanna be's

Biking is my weakest at this time and I am okay with that. I will probably not get it dialed in before the race and I am okay with that. I finished the ride which on my catseye was 18 miles (twice around the loop and back to Goss Lake) in one hour and thirty minutes. This was slower than Amanda and my ride when I first did this route.

Next up was my swim and this was the first time I swam by myself. That was a little freaky and I had some head games going on for the first part of it. I would say I did however learn that if I counted strokes I could give my imagination a break while my logical side worked and thus be less freaked out.
As I have these ridiculous and yet vivid fear of dead people coming up out of the lake to grab me and drag me to a watery death I am reminded of the insanity of it. It reminds me of how I was on my honeymoon in Hawaii snorkling when I saw a sea turtle swimming away from me and paniced and swam away fast as I could. I have always been as scarred as a little school girl in the water.
So in order to stop my insane fears I am taking a two pronged approach. 1. think happy thoughts and 2. count my strokes which is more effective.
I also think I need to get in the lake more often to familiarize myself with the surroundings. Just keep going back like a glutten for punishment. Well the swim or atleast the last 15 minutes was a nice swim and the water was surprisingly warm.

So feeling like a super hero having completed all this befoe 8:00 am I decided to take it a little farther and see if my body could hold up enough to do a 4 mile run in the afternoon. YOu know what? Not only did it hold up but I ran 4 miles in 38.21 minutes which is the best I can remember. I now know I can do all 3 events in one day and survive.

That is a big boost of confidence for this ex couch potato.
I am feeling more and more confident about this Triathlon and getting excited to put my best effort on the line.

So following that on Sunday I rested.
Monday I did a mile swim and that felt good. The pool is differnet than the lake and I need to try to lake route without stopping and count my strokes so I have an idea on how often I need to sight. In my head I have this idea that I should be sighting about once every 50 strokes so I want to test that theory. I need to remember that wanting to go fast and trying hard is forcing it with swimming. Relaxed efficient movement that might feel slower is actually faster swimming.
Tuesday I did the spin bike for 60 minutes followed by a 10 minute run to let my legs experience the transition. A stationary bike is easier than actually riding a bike.
Wednesday I ran 5 miles along the waterfront of Seattle. The minimalistic shoes I wear (Nike Free 3.0) make running on Concrete even more tiring on the feet. Looking forward to trying some running on the beach soon.

Today's song is dedicated to my "voice of self doubt"
Tom Petty "Don't Come around here no more"
Give it up stop.