The Maiden Voyage

This was a big day.  The training schedule said to swim for 48 minutes.  This would be the maiden voyage of the DW Ship.  So, I got up early, put on that really unattractive swimsuit, grabbed my goggles, and we drove to the YMCA.  On the way, we hit rush hour traffic, and I was thankful.  That gave me a few extra minutes to find some courage.  I actually asked the Husband to drive a little slower.  I'm not sure what I was so worried about.  You don't just forget how to swim, right?  I think I was worried because I didn't know what to expect.  Would I swim three laps and then cling to the side of the pool gasping for breath?  How far would I get in 48 minutes?  Could I even last 48 minutes?  What was I thinking announcing that I was starting to train for a triathlon when I had no idea if I could even complete the first event?!  The Husband patiently listened to all of my wonderings and drove on.  Slowly.

Thankfully, the pool was fairly empty except for a large group of aqua exercisers bouncing up and down with floaties, so it was easy to find a lap lane to share.  The Husband wished me luck and he was off.  "See you at the other side!"

My first lap was great, the second lap was even better.  On the third lap I started to feel my biceps straining.  What?  I thought swimming was a shoulder workout.  By the fifth lap I seriously thought my arms were not going to be able to take another stroke.  Then somewhere during the sixth lap, something magical happened.  My arms suddenly felt fine.  The muscle fatigue was gone.  My body felt great!  So I just kept swimming.  And swimming.  And swimming.  It became a numbers game for me.  I knew that 64 laps in this pool was a mile.  I had no idea if I could swim that far in 48 minutes, but on my non-flipturns I'd check the clock and do a little math.  Was it possible?  Could I really swim a mile my first time out? 

I didn't push.  I just swam and counted, swam and counted.  And believe it or not, I did it!  I swam a mile!!!  A whole mile!!!  And I only had to stand up once in the middle of the pool sputtering when the Husband's splash choked me as he sailed by.  When I saw that I had completed my mile in 42 minutes, the next six minutes were spent celebrating, bouncing, bobbing, and floating on my back, not a whole lot of serious training there!

So, I'm feeling a lot better about my ability to do the first leg of of the triathlon.  But I have some huge anxieties to get over.

This picture sends my heart into my throat.

This picture makes my heart pound out of my chest.

The ripples WAY the heck out there is the first wave of men.  The Husband is out there somewhere!

But that's a whole 11 1/2 weeks away.  For now, I'm just taking one day at a time, hanging onto the side when I need to, giving this thing my best shot.