September 15, 2009
Jennifer A.

When I signed up to do this ½ Ironman way back when, I had never done a triathlon. As Jenna stated in her blog, I didn’t (and still don’t) consider myself an athlete. I ran a couple years ago to stay healthy. Then, I got sucked into doing a ½ marathon last year, went to Diabetes Training Camp, and somehow I became a triathlete. Since I had never done a triathlon, I signed up for a few races to get my feet wet. My first 2 sprint distance triathlons went ok… but the swim part gave me anxiety every time I started regardless of how much I trained. Although I finished both races with a fair time, I was disappointed in myself that I didn’t give my best effort on the swim.

Two weeks ago was my first Olympic distance triathlon, the Chicago Triathlon, which by the way, is the largest triathlon in the world. This will be my last triathlon before Longhorn. It was 8 weeks from the big race and approximately half the distance. So, I thought, perfect for a training race. But, in the back of my mind, I was thinking about the swim. If I freaked out again, I would be going into Austin with low confidence in my abilities. And, I function much better with self-confidence built from experience.

One week prior to the triathlon, I went to the lake to practice an open water swim. For some reason (well besides it being Chicago), the water was very choppy and freezing, about 60 degrees. The last sprint I did was 58 degrees and I couldn’t breath because it was freezing. I thought to myself, I had to do this because who knows what it will be like next week during the race. I watched as some swimmers looked and left stating, "it's too rough to swim." Determined to get my work-out in, I put my wet suit on and headed in. I overheard some of guys bigger than me state, "well, if she's going in..." The water was frigid, but I managed to swim the mile and got a good arm work-out swimming though the waves.

The following week, I contemplated my plan. Will I use Levemir or try the waterproof pump Aquapak I bought months ago (and never once used). There would be a 3 hour lapse from the time transition closed to my wave start. After help from Mari (via Facebook), I decided on the Aquapak. The weather was cold in the morning, but by the time my wave started, it was perfect weather with the sun peaking out of the now scattered clouds. The swim was a tread start. I got in, the bell went off and so did I. I was relaxed and just swam. No anxiety, no fears that I was going to drown. It was a great swim. And, I finished the swim 8 minutes faster than my usual pace. I was glowing getting out of the water.

Since the swim was over, I was at ease for the bike and the run. I even found a way to strap my glucometer onto my aerobars and was able to check my blood sugars while going 18-20 mph down lakeshore drive, which was consistently in the 90-120 range. I was tired during the run, but I was determined to make it a best effort. No once did I stop running (well except for the water breaks). I finished around the time I wanted to do and was proud. I ran to the finish with a big smile on my face. This was definitely the confidence booster I needed. All the training paid off! AUSTIN, HERE I COME!!