Swim-2.4 miles (1:39:32)
Run-15 miles (152 minutes)
Weights-2 x 12 (Chisel)
Whew! What a weekend! So I was getting bored with the regular hum drum of our workouts, so I decided to spice things up a little today and invite Lance Armstrong to join us for a swim out at the lake. At first he couldn't believe that The Jiggly Middles would actually invite him to swim with us, but after the initial shock wore off, he was psyched! He even let us take a picture of him.
This looks like a total stalker photo!!! Hahahaha! But he really was at the swim today. He's training for the Kona Ironman.
There was an Open Water Swim (or an OSW as it's known on the circuit...haha...) at Lake Travis this morning and we decided that we should do it to see how well prepared we are for the actual event. The swim started at 8 am. I thought it was important that we arrive early to make sure we could get parking, that we could get our swim caps, and that I could use the restroom a bunch more times. We arrived waaaayyyy early. Wayne was pretty upset and said that I was trying to killing him. I told him that the early bird gets not only the worm, but the toilet paper! He had a little nap in the car and once the sun came up so did his happy cheerful self!
The water temperature was a chilly 65 degrees. We all had wetsuits which helped a little. A very little bit. The wetsuit made the difference between me passing out from hypothermia and actually being able to survive frostbite. At the start of the race I was only about 15 feet away from Lance. I was going to ask him for a Good Luck High Five but decided to keep my cool and not distract him from his swim start. I didn't want him to be intimidated by my obvious swim prowess.
So we all set off on the swim. My goal was just to finish in under two hours. We have two hours and twenty minutes to finish the swim portion in the actual event or you get pulled from the course. I've done the distance in the pool, but wanted to convince myself that I could do the full distance in a lake.
The first 100 yards of the swim were pure torture, As the water made its way into my wetsuit, my heart pounded to jump start my internal heater system. No such luck. I think my IHS was missing a part today. I can't remember a time in my life that I have been that cold for that long of a time. I thought I might warm up as I kept going.
After the turn-around point we entered a cove. I didn't think it was possible, but the water in the cove was even colder than the water in the lake. I thought I was going to loose my fingers and toes. I tried to think about other things to distract myself from being so cold. I was thinking about all the hikes we've done in the dessert, all the runs here in Austin in the July heat...nothing worked.
So I started to come up with alternate endings. I thought I could go into the "HELP" position. That's the Heat Escape Lessening Position that I learned about during a Lifeguarding class years ago, but then I thought that wouldn't get me to shore any quicker.
On the second lap I started to get hungry-then starving-then famished. I was so miserably cold and starving that I thought I could go up to one of the lifeguards on the course and lean on their Stand-Up Paddle board. I could tell them that I was starving and freezing. Then they could hoist me onto the board and drag me to shore where I'd be met by medics with heating blankets and a hot IV drip to warm my core. And lots and lots of food.
But then I said to myself that I was almost done. I wasn't really almost done, but that seemed to work a little bit. Then I told myself that I'd never ever have to swim in water this cold ever again. And that seemed to work a lot.
But other than the hypothermia, frostbite, and starvation, (oh, and the unfortunate chaffing in the nether regions from wearing a swimsuit instead of a tri suit....) the swim itself felt pretty good. I felt comfortable with the distance, and even the waves that would splash up in my face ever time I came up for air didn't bother me that much. I finished in 1:39:32. About twenty minutes behind the rest of The Jiggly Middles. And about forever after everyone else in the race! I was the third to last person out of the water! Hahahaha! I really really hate swimming, but I'm super proud of myself today. It was definitely one of the most difficult things I've ever done. And I'm extra super happy about finishing with forty minutes left for the swim portion of the event! Yeehawww! I feel more and more confident about this race each weekend.
Here are some awesome photos from the swim.
I couldn't eat fast enough after the swim. I ate over 800 calories in about ten minutes!!!! My teeth didn't stop chattering until I changed into warm clothes and got in the toasty car.
After the swim we went downtown to run 15 miles. It took me a couple miles to get my running legs. I needed to walk/run at first. 5 minutes running, 2 minutes walking. Then 7 minutes running, 2 minutes walking, then 10 minutes running, 2 minutes walking. Then straight running. I was happy that my legs were able to kick into running mode. We did 15 miles in 152 minutes. And I felt pretty good at the end. "Pretty good" considering the crazy weekend we had!
The highlight of the run today were all the pianos around the lake. There's an art exhibit in town called, "Play Me, I'm Yours". Some artist put 16 pianos all around the trail for people to play! People can decorate the pianos, and play the pianos whenever they feel like it. They are going to be there for the month of April. At the end of the month they're going to donate the pianos to non-profit organizations. At night they cover them with tarps. It's very cool! I love this town!
Here's the website for the project.
Today I played the pianos at the Lou Neff Point and the Shoal Creek Peninsula. If you click on the names of the locations you can see photos of the views while I played. I played a couple songs that I remember from Middle School piano lessons, but I couldn't remember Furry Elise. I wanted to play it because it's one of Caribia and Cheyenne's favorite song. They really like the name of the song. But I have the whole month of April to practice.
Ok, time for an ice bath. It'll probably be warmer than the swim today. God knows it can't be any colder!
M :)
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