Swimming in San Francisco Bay

I did it! I swam in the Bay this morning, at Aquatic Park, to be exact. The water was cold. Let me rephase that. The water was very cold. When the feet went numb, I was ok with that. When the salt water whooshed down my wetsuit I squealed with shock. But when my hands froze, I swore. Then I hyperventilated.

There I was doggy paddling in the bay with freezing hands and a bad attitude. How was I going to swim to the buoy and swim back to shore? I had to put my face in the water.

But I couldn't. I couldn't do it. The image of choking on salty sea water from all those times I'd been tumbled by waves wouldn't let go. Then Suzy, the instructor, said, "Just do it! You won't warm up." So suck it up.

That I calmed me down and I relaxed. Because I was angry. I didn't like the way she spoke to us.

I inched my face in the water, first my chin, then my chin and my nose. The rest of my face followed because my eyes were covered in googles and my head in two layers.

And then I started swimming. Wow! I was a seal for an hour! I swam in the bay.

Track Running

Well, now it's official. I hate track running. Why else would I have missed two weeks in a row? (Ok, the fatigue, rain and my car breaking done had something to do with it also.) I may continue not going to the track. I'm ok with that. I do go out, however, and walk/jog Lake Merritt. Now that makes me happy. Today I did the whole lake in one hour, and that included a little under 20 minutes of jogging in intervals. My longest interval was 5 minutes! A record! I went with my friend, Alexis, who was so happy to run! She pushed her baby's jog stroller at a fast clip and he was laughing! Great weather too! An all-around satisfying workout.

The Stress of Training

Stress wasn't something I anticipated. Simple routine work tasks suddenly pissed me off. An ongoing long-term project suddenly seemed not important (my novel), and I was short-tempered. Me? I'm usually a calm person, but something was changing in me. A very level-headed friend of mine, Alexis, pointed out that we all have a maximum carrying capacity, and I'd reached mine.

Training three days a week with the Tri Training group and then a few additional days on my own was maxing me out. Training takes a focus and intensity that is quite different from just working out on a regular basis. The focus is now on improving your abilities and technique each time you go out, not to mention improving your time, eventually. The intensity bumps up because there's constant learning and monitoring. Whew! No wonder I've been more tired and irritable than usual!

So, I've taken some steps to reduce stress. Reduced hours at work, a relaxed attitude about my book and a reminder to be gentle to myself at all times.

Saturday's First Trail Run

We met at the Tennessee Valley Trailhead at 8am. The road deadends into a parking lot and from there it's two miles out the ocean. And it's gorgeous. We had good weather, a bit brisk, and I saw a hawk, some deer, horses in an enclosure, and plenty of crows. Water riverlets gurgled along side the trail and sometimes crossed it.

I didn't know how I'd feel about more jogging after Thursday's miserable workout at the track. But I learned something -- I love being outdoors in nature to walk, especially with water nearby. To start, I walked moderately, knowing I had to warm up. I knew and told myself I was ok with being at the back of the slow group -- the group that was only doing two miles. I ended up doing a little bit more than that, and jogging slowly! I jogged up a rather steep hill. That was totally fine! As I was coming down the hill, ladies were coming back from the ocean and saying "good job" and encouraging us. My shins ached a little, so even though my morale was good I made myself stop jogging so that I wouldn't get injured.

On the way home, my carpool buddy, Dele, and I were high from the good workout. It was her first four-mile run in years, and I felt good with my approx. three-mile walk-jog.

Running -- Ack!

Now, I'm not a runner. Maybe in my dreams, but not in real life. So, last night at the first real run workout, I walked. Ok, so far. Except I didn't get enough of a workout walking, and I'm not ready to bump up the intensity yet. Ergo, lots of frustration.

I walked 2 miles (3.2 k), pretty good. But I'm one of maybe three walkers ... I just need to remember that I didn't even consider a tri two years, when I started working out. Oh, I daydreamed about it but it was so far off as to be a fantasy. So, here I am, actually living my dream. And it's hard, because I know I'm capable of so much more, but I have let my body acclimate, get stronger, and surtout (above all!) prevent injury.

I know myself best, and if there's no one else at the tri training can see where I'm coming from, other people outside of that group do: namely, Beth Sweeney, my trainer, and Bella Barany, my mother-in-law, who's been nothing but supportive this whole time. Last night, she reminded me how far I've come, and that made me put my frustration into perspective. It's like when you're a small child and you want to keep up with the big kids, but you're just not strong or big enough yet.

I'll get there... Courage, courage.

Swimming

Tuesday, Feb 28, was our first swim workout. The first of many! I am a fish!

It was a truncatated workout because Leslie, our swim trainer, talked to us. While we stood by the pool, the 50 degree air chilled what parts of our body weren't covered. In my case, just my face. I couldn't wait to get into that pool! Finally, she gave us the go ahead, and I stripped down to my bathing suit, donned my new silicone blue cap, and squished my blue wide kids goggles, and dove it. It felt great!

Total laps for the night = 8 --> 400 yards.

One lap is up and back, 50 yards.

In the time trials used to split us into groups, I did one lap in 56 seconds, placing me with the intermediates.

I sputtered for air a few times, but it was ok because I was having a good time in the water.

I know the next workouts will be harder because we only had a half workout that night.