I’m in over my head…

Several weeks ago, I made my goal of completing a Sprint Triathlon a bit more of a reality when I dropped my entry application and fee in the mail.

I dug out a couple of bathing suits.  I dusted off my bike.  And I put on some running shoes.  I figured that somehow or another, I would get my body to do the 1/3 mile swim in the Atlantic Ocean, then bike for 9 miles before kicking into a 3.1 mile run.

I must tell you here that I do none of these things particularly well or fast, but I printed out a training schedule that I found on-line and have missed only a couple of days of training. I’ve done everything on my own, squeaking in the time to do the “Swim 20 minutes, Run 30 minutes” days, the “Run 60 minute” days, the Bike 40 minutes, Strength days and every other combination you could think of.  From the very beginning, I promised myself that my training would not interfere with my family… and some of my most proud training times were in the pouring rain at 10:00 pm.  Or 5:00 am.  In the rain.  Or when my legs felt like rubber mallets, and I just kept on running or biking or swimming.

Next Sunday is the big day.  The race is in Falmouth, on Cape Cod.  650 people will be racing that day.  I might come in #650, but I have completely adapted the attitude of Compete to Complete.

I am scared.  My heart is pounding just writing about it.

Especially the swim part.  The first time I showed up at the YMCA, I couldn’t swim 2 laps.  My goggles kept getting fogged up.  And my freestyle stroke looked anything but traditional.  But I hung in there.  Six weeks later, I could swim 50 laps without stopping.  But the swim part of the Triathlon is in the ocean.  No lane lines.  No walls for turns.  Ocean.

It is advised that before your first race, participants practice in a pond, lake or ocean.  Good advice.  And it is also advised that swimmers wear wetsuits… you know, because the ocean is kinda cold.  So yesterday, I headed to one of our beautiful Rhode Island beaches with Barry and Jane.  Jane is a wonderful swimmer, and I needed a “buddy”!  I borrowed my daughter-in-law’s wetsuit (she has done several Sprints and a Half IronMan) and I thought I was ready to go.

Not so.

Have you ever tried putting on a wetsuit?  It’s like wrapping a watermelon in a grape.  Stuffing a 25-pound turkey in a toaster oven.  Pulling a sock over your head.  I pulled it and yanked it and pleaded with it to please fit.  OK, it didn’t.  Jane suggested using the Body Glide that my daughter-in-law had sent along with the suit.  (Oh, so THAT’S what Body Glide is for… didn’t want to ask!)  The Body Glide was a magical little trick, and soon the wetsuit was on and I was entering my little slice of the Atlantic Ocean with Jane.

Jane, also in a wetsuit, dove right in and said to follow her to the buoy.  OK.  The buoy was 7,000 miles away.  A blip on the surface of the water.  OK.  OK.  OK.  I can do this.  I dove in and began swimming.  Suddenly, I was surprisingly buoyant.  And wonderfully warm.  The wet suit was working!  I began to swim, rotating my head in and out of the water in rhythmic breathing.  My goggles didn’t fog up, and I could see the sand and rocks below me in the water, and then I could see the sun when I breathed.  I stopped every few strokes to see where Jane was… and found that the current was carrying me that way… but I was able to make the adjustments.  When Jane reached the buoy, she turned and called to me, “How are you doing?”

All of a sudden, I realized that I was in way over my head.  Literally.  I turned to look at the shore, where Barry was waiting and waving.  He looked like a tiny pebble.  But you know what?  It was exhilarating.  It was awesome.  I was doing this swimming thing, in the ocean, way over my head.  Jane said we should turn around, and that’s what we did.  Swimming back toward shore was like returning home after having been on a journey.  My arms were tired.  My legs were tired.  But my heart was alive.

I think I can do this thing.  Even if I come in last.

About Audrey

Audrey McClelland has been a digital influencer since 2005. She’s a mom of 5 and shares tips on her three favorite things: parenting, fashion and beauty. She’s also a Contemporary Romance Author.

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