For me, that time is in one week. Because my husband signed me up to do the Desert Sprint Triathlon. So far my training has consisted mainly of worrying about it a lot.
It's one of those "Tin Man" mini-triathlon events. 500m swim, 14 miles bike, 3 mile run. I said I'd do it because my 10 year old son is going to do it this year. Which is awesome. I was so proud of him for wanting to do it and I knew I'd want to be there anyway to cheer the guys on. So I thought, "Why not?" But that was just my initial thought. My subsequent thoughts, after a bit more reflection, are more like "What on earth was I thinking?"
Until this last Sunday, my main fear was the freezing cold swim in the nasty lake. (More like a "lake"). But last Sunday, my hubby put together a mini-mini-triathlon for us to see what it might be like. I was pretty iffy on the cold swim pratice. I don't want to do it more than once. As much as I dread it, I believe at the moment of truth, with a start line banner and announcer and hundreds of other people jumping in, peer pressure will win me over. I'll just be like "F**k it" and take the leap with everyone else. Do we need to practice being cold?
But he is our Alpha-Dog and where he goes, we follow. We swam, in our wetsuits, in a local man-made ski lake. I made it about 200 meters. Not even half the distance of the actual event. I couldn't put my head all the way in because it felt like the cold was making my skull spontaneously fracture. I felt pretty out of breath, and claustrophobic in that wetsuit, and mostly freezing. I know this is not exactly Lake Michigan in winter, but I'm an extra extra big cold water wimp. So it's like calculationg wind chill factor: you have to adjust the scale.
So now my biggest fear is actually drowning.
But I have to give credit where it is due to the Alpha Dog. Because I did feel pretty encouraged after the whole bike and run. (Really more of a "run") And wonderfully wrung out. Plus tuna melts and fries afterward tasted about 1000 times better than ususal. And it was a reality check. Which is always helpful. I least I can feel like my fear of drowning is based on the facts, logic. Not just unfounded hysteria.
Wish me luck friends. And if I should perish in that smelly nasty "lake", it has been lovely knowing you.
