Week Fifteen

I'm back in the game. Last week felt weak to me, having had missed Saturday's big ride. This week was one good workout after another. At track practice this week, we covered over 6 miles, not including our drills. On Saturday, I rode a three hour ride, which included climbing Bonny Doon Road to Pine Flats. On Sunday... Well, let me try to explain Sunday so that those reading it can really feel like they are there...

I arrive to Coyote Point slightly late. Everyone is already in their wetsuits and gathered around the coaches. I park and put on my wetsuit as fast as I can. The flat, rubber hot water bottle that I had planned to stuff down my bathing suit for warmth is already cold, so I leave it in the car. I put on my water socks, my wetsuit, my neoprene cap (squid lid), and my latex cap. I grab my goggles, and run over to the group. I glance at the water. It looks choppy, to say the least.

I had missed some of what the coaches were saying. I lift my caps a bit to make my ear free enough to hear: "Don't avoid putting your face in the water," one of the coaches says, "You are going to need to get it numb before you can comfortably swim."

Hmmm.... an ominous beginning. I wish I had more time to drink my hot tea before getting in. They tell us to swim out to the second wood pole from the left, and then swim along the right past all of the poles. Come back to shore after the last wood pole.

We all walk into the water. There's a lot of screaming and cursing. Many people are stalling. I hear, "Make sure you warm up before you start swimming." Yeah, right. Warm up. Hah.

I recognize that the sooner I start, the sooner I will be out of the water, so I start heading out to that second wood pole (right into the current coming in). I doggie paddle for a little while because I am nearly hyperventilating in the cold water. I feel like I can't breath. "Relax," I try to tell myself. I put my face in the water. It stings. My hands are hurting. (Why did I forget to order gloves for this?) I swim 2 strokes, then continue doggie paddling. Okay, if I can do 2 strokes, then I can do three. I put my face back in the water: 1- breathe, 2-breathe, splash... I swallow water because the swell rises when I turn to breathe. Back to doggie paddling. Didn't make it to 3. Okay, I'll try again after this wave.... No, wait... after this wave. I get to maybe 4 or 5 strokes. That pole seems so far away, and it's only the first part of the swim. I talk aloud to myself while doggie paddling, "Okay. You can do this. It's just water. Keep going." I see Bo passing me. He's showing no signs of freaking out at all. All of my newly learned swim technique out the window, I force my face back into the water (when is it going to get numb already?) and keep going.

Aha! It really is getting closer! I see it! The waves are crashing into it though, and I'm supposed to go around it. I envision getting to the other side of the pole, only to have a wave knock me into it, so I go wide. At least now I get to turn, and go with the current. My face and hands are now numb. It is really hard to think about how to swim well; I know I look like I'm just flailing around in the water. I'm supposed to go until the last wooden pole, and then head back to shore. I pass several poles, seagulls perched on top, laughing at me. I feel alone out there. I don't see anyone ahead of me or behind me. Where did everyone go? I start wishing that I wore my bright orange cap instead of my blue cap so that I could be easily seen. Did they even know I was out there? I did arrive late, after all. They might not even have noticed me get in! Still pulling through the water... ah! What was that? Okay, just a random piece of wood floating along, try to calm down my breathing again. I take a wide berth around the piece of wood anyway, just because. Ah! What was that? Just seaweed, Jenn, keep going! My teeth are now hurting from the cold. I try to close my mouth when my face is in the water, but my lips are too numb to form a tight enough seal.

In the distance I finally see the last pole. It is closer to shore than the second to last, and as I turn towards it, I realize that the current is no longer my friend. I pull and kick as hard as I can for a few seconds. I pause and look around; errr, I didn't move forward at all. I pull and kick harder for a few more seconds and only progress a little bit. "You have no choice but to get there," I tell myself, and muster up everything I can. Finally, I see the pole getting somewhat closer, and eventually I reach it.

Now, to head to shore. I see two people up on shore, probably coaches, but I can't tell at all who they are. Knowing that they are watching, I try to make my swimming look more competent, but I actually laugh for a second at the thought that I could actually achieve that. Sloshing and flailing, eventually the shore gets closer and closer. I swim until my finger tips touch the ground as I'm supposed to, then try to find my balance to stand. I look at the coaches - I see them trying to figure out who I am (it's hard to tell under two caps, goggles, and a wetsuit). I can't bring myself to talk. I'm not sure what I could even say. My silence seems to silence them; they were probably worried about me and trying to assess the situation. I look at them, then turn back to the water. There are still more people out there swimming. I never noticed them when I was in there. I give a big sigh, and walk towards my car.

I have no fine motor coordination or energy, but it's time to take off the swim gear. It takes much longer than usual, but I manage it eventually. My hands hurt from being asked to do so much during this transition. I awkwardly change into my running clothes under my towel. My face now feels so flush that it is burning hot. I try to pack all my wet gear up; the zipper on my backpack, though, is way too hard to deal with right now. I use my teeth to open my powerbar, and wolf it down.

Sooner than I feel ready, coach Dan is handing out "the bands." These are thick pieces of elastic that we put around our ankles when doing strength training. Before I know it, we are doing all sorts of things that make the team scream out and grab onto their aching glutes. I smile when he holds up the bag, as an indicator that we are done and can put the bands away.

What? You expect me to run for 90 minutes now? I put my fuel belt on, I hear the several beeps of different stopwatches being started, and I head out with the rest of the team. Of course there has to be a hill right away. Of course. My feet are still numb. Not tingly... completely numb. Every time a foot lands, it hurts because it is just not warm enough. I'm wearing a warm jacket, a hat, and gloves.

Slowly, more and more of the team start to pull away. I don't understand how they can run so fast. I want to keep up, to be with the team, but I know that my body needs to take more time to warm up. Within 20 minutes, every single person is ahead of me, and I begin to wonder if I'm being lazy. I convince myself that I just have to go at my pace. The last thing I need is to get an injury because of asking cold muscles to fire quickly. So, I plow ahead. I get warm enough to tie my jacket around my waist, but I keep the gloves on. I pass a funny sign that says "Watch out for walkers, joggers, bicyclists, and golf balls." At least I can still see the humor in things. I finally see 45 minutes on my stopwatch. I take a gu packet and a salt pill, and head back. I'm surprised by really strong headwinds now, because I didn't notice them as tailwinds on the way out. Sometimes they are so strong that I feel that I can lean forward without falling down. I have to put my jacket back on and zip it all the way up. There are white caps now, out in the water that I'm running along. I start to wonder if I'm going fast enough to even have it count as a run. My legs feel so heavy. I try to figure out why this is so hard... is it the three hour bike ride yesterday? the swim today? the band strengthening work? my nutrition? I just keep moving. My watch stops working, and now I have no idea how much time is left before I get back.

My feet are tingling now, a good sign that they'll feel normal soon. Just in time for the final stretch. More of the team starts appearing now, so I know I must almost be there. When I arrive, I head right to my car to change into warm clothes. At this point, I couldn't care less about the towel. I just want warm dry clothes, and fast. I put on my warm Ironteam Parka, and grab a powerbar. Time to debrief with the team, and end the workout with a nice loud, "GO TEAM!"


***

I learned that several people never made it out to the first wood pole, and of those who did, some turned back to shore early. Some others didn't go to that far pole, but accidently took a bit of a "short cut" as they headed towards a closer one. I take no pleasure in the fact that other teammates had those challenges, but it does help me to put things in perspective regarding my own accomplishments today. Those who came back early had more time to warm up, too, which would allow them more time to warm up and be more ready for the run.

And, in the end, I mapped out how far I ran. I actually covered 8 miles, which put me at an 11 minute per mile pace! That is so much faster than what it felt like.

Workouts like these are so hard while you are doing it, and in hindsight you realize just how strong it makes you. As Coach Paco says, "Turn every problem into an opportunity." I think I had a lot of opportunities out there! Opportunities to practice sighting and breathing in choppy water, opportunities to practice the "mind over matter" battle, and opportunities to recognize that I am indeed getting stronger... especially in that mental toughness, which is the most important kind.


This week:

Monday: rest
Tuesday: spin 50 minutes, run 20 minutes
Wednesday: track workout, 6+ miles
Thursday: swim 2500 yards
Friday: spin 40 minutes, run 30 minutes (lap one: 10:30, lap two: 9:44, lap three 9:06!)
Saturday: bike 3 hours, Bonny Doon loop
Sunday: swim 1500 yards

Body Check: I'm generally really tired right now, but nothing new to report.

Total fundraising to date: $2591