The swim started, or rather the wading before the swim started. For a little bit I tried out the running method that the guy I took swim lessons from showed me (kick your leg sideways over the water like you are running hurdles). It made for faster running but I splashed a lot and felt silly since no one else was doing it. So I went back to trudging like everyone else. I'm a follower.
I figured it was time to dive in and swim. I got a couple strokes in but I noticed that the guy running next to me was passing me. So, I got back up and ran for a bit more before diving back in.
Before the race, I had decided that I would just breath every two strokes (and keep it on my right side). I just wanted to keep my breath and push through the distance. Just about 20 strokes in I started to have trouble with my air. I felt like I wasn't getting enough oxygen even though I was breathing after every 2 strokes.
I wanted to swim through it, hoping that I would find a good rhythm but then I really started to panic. There was too much water ahead of me for me to survive like that.
I tried to roll over on my back to catch my breath and got splashed in my face. This normally wouldn't have been that bad but the wet suit doesn't bend very well at the waist. It kinda puts you into a good posture position which when on your back, pushes your upper body back towards the water. Even though I knew that I would still be able to hold my face out of the water, it felt like the suit was trying to pull me under. Couple that with the tightness of the wet suit (relative to no wet suit) which feels very constrictive when panicking and I was sure that I wasn't going to make it the full 1.5K. I couldn't think of anything other than not being able to breath.
While treading water, I felt for the bottom to hopefully stand up but I was too far out. I looked for a rescue boat but there were no race officials in sight (which without my glasses really isn't that far). Had I seen a boat, I'm pretty sure I would have flagged it down to pick me up.
Making the decision to go back to shore, I flipped on my back and pointed myself toward the beach. I thought "Arial will understand" (which is probably true, she is a very understanding person). My next thought though was how much effort we had taken to get to this point. Not only the cost of the tri and the travel expenses but all of the training. If I quit, I probably wouldn't try another Olympic again.
I really wanted to continue, but wasn't in any shape to do it. So, I undid my collar to give my neck some space, flipped on my back pointed in the correct direction and tried to relax. It wasn't easy but I began to regain control over my breathing. Then, I thought that I might as well move toward the goal and started slowly using my arms. After a little bit, I added some kicking to the mix.
By this point, I was feeling better. The open collar helped me so that I wasn't feeling as constricted and using my muscles was helped my feel like I had a little bit of control over the situation. I rolled over and started to crawl. This time it felt better and I felt like I was getting enough air.
When I looked up to see if anyone was even close to me, most of the men were gone. There were a couple stragglers that weren't too far ahead. One of them even looked like he had been holding onto a buoy (but I really can't be sure because my vision is not that good without my glasses). That made me feel a little less alone (even if it was just a trick of my eyesight).
A very short time after, I saw the women start behind me. Most of them passed me in short order but at least I was going forward and feeling okay. I didn't have to rest on my back for the remainder (mostly crawl but a little bit breast stroke) and I finished the swim in a much better time that I had hoped going in (mostly because of the wet suit) even with the delay of almost quitting.
mwz
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Monday, September 03, 2007
First Olympic Triathlon: Post 1
This weekend I completed an Olympic (International) distance triathlon. That is 1.5K (~1 mile) swim, 40K bike (~24 miles) and a 10K (6.2 miles) run. It was pretty rough.
I'm going to do this recap in chunks, I'm not going to do a post for each leg of the race. I think I'll just stop when I think a post has gone long enough.
-- Pre-Race
The race wasn't near our house so we got a motel room for the night before. That actually worked out pretty well. I slept pretty well, so that was a plus.
For breakfast, I had a bagel that Arial had picked up from the Wal-Mart near the motel. We packed up the car and headed out to the race site. On the 25 minute drive, I had another bagel (this one a mini-bagel). It turns out I should have had more.
When we got there, we had to park in a field. The grass was long and wet which made me glad that I wasn't wearing my running shoes. I put my stuff in the transition area, got body marked and then set my stuff up for the race.
I walked down to the beach area and looked at the swim course. The night before we had come down and the swim looked really long. But after letting it sink in over night, it didn't look as bad. The buoys were still a long way out but I didn't feel as much fear looking out.
We found Mrk and Mg, did some other pre-race things (this time, I used the port-a-potty before taking my shoes off).
Wet suits were allowed in this one, so I donned mine, removed my glasses and found Mrk by wandering near his transition spot and shouting his name until he responded.
We went down to the water. I said my goodbyes to Arial and the kids. Walking into the water, I was surprised that it wasn't that cold. I sure it would have been worse without the wet suit but my feet were colder walking on the dewey grass.
They kicked us all off the beach so they could count us and hand out the swim caps. (I had been joking that they hadn't given to us yet because they were late to be delivered but then I heard a volunteer say "The swim caps have arrived"). I said good bye to Arial and the kids again, got my swim cap and went on the beach.
The men started first (with the women starting 5 minutes later). Everyone was wading into the water up to some imaginary line between some boats. I was going to stay behind most everyone in a less dense section in the middle, but Mrk pointed out that because of the curve of the beach, being on the far outside was actually closer to the first buoy.
The announcer said he would give a countdown from ten and say "Go" but then he made some joke about making a buzzing noise instead of "Go". I thought that was lame but I now I don't even remember what he wound up doing. I just no that the 10 second countdown when rather quick and then we were running in the water.
mwz
I'm going to do this recap in chunks, I'm not going to do a post for each leg of the race. I think I'll just stop when I think a post has gone long enough.
-- Pre-Race
The race wasn't near our house so we got a motel room for the night before. That actually worked out pretty well. I slept pretty well, so that was a plus.
For breakfast, I had a bagel that Arial had picked up from the Wal-Mart near the motel. We packed up the car and headed out to the race site. On the 25 minute drive, I had another bagel (this one a mini-bagel). It turns out I should have had more.
When we got there, we had to park in a field. The grass was long and wet which made me glad that I wasn't wearing my running shoes. I put my stuff in the transition area, got body marked and then set my stuff up for the race.
I walked down to the beach area and looked at the swim course. The night before we had come down and the swim looked really long. But after letting it sink in over night, it didn't look as bad. The buoys were still a long way out but I didn't feel as much fear looking out.
We found Mrk and Mg, did some other pre-race things (this time, I used the port-a-potty before taking my shoes off).
Wet suits were allowed in this one, so I donned mine, removed my glasses and found Mrk by wandering near his transition spot and shouting his name until he responded.
We went down to the water. I said my goodbyes to Arial and the kids. Walking into the water, I was surprised that it wasn't that cold. I sure it would have been worse without the wet suit but my feet were colder walking on the dewey grass.
They kicked us all off the beach so they could count us and hand out the swim caps. (I had been joking that they hadn't given to us yet because they were late to be delivered but then I heard a volunteer say "The swim caps have arrived"). I said good bye to Arial and the kids again, got my swim cap and went on the beach.
The men started first (with the women starting 5 minutes later). Everyone was wading into the water up to some imaginary line between some boats. I was going to stay behind most everyone in a less dense section in the middle, but Mrk pointed out that because of the curve of the beach, being on the far outside was actually closer to the first buoy.
The announcer said he would give a countdown from ten and say "Go" but then he made some joke about making a buzzing noise instead of "Go". I thought that was lame but I now I don't even remember what he wound up doing. I just no that the 10 second countdown when rather quick and then we were running in the water.
mwz
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
My Baby's Going to School
Frances has started pre-school. Well, she had her pre-pre-school orientation. But it's all down hill from here. Next thing you know, she'll be in high school and I'll have to beat up some guy with a baseball bat for breaking her heart.
Scratch that.
She's never dating.
mwz
Scratch that.
She's never dating.
mwz
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Ding Dong
Today, Frances invented her first imaginary friend.
This afternoon I was working in my office and Frances came down. She said she had friend named Ding Dong. I asked the following questions.
Q: Where did you meet Ding Dong?
A: Outside.
Q: Is Ding Dong a boy or a girl?
A: A girl.
Q: What color is her hair?
A: Umm... yellow.
Q: Is she nice?
A: Yes, she always shares her toys. (I later learned that Ding Dong also shares her books.)
We then went upstairs and told Arial about Ding Dong. She and Johann were outside with a bunch of purple flowers in her lap. They had been pretending the flowers were bells, hence the name Ding Dong. I actually think I may have misunderstood Frances at first.
She may have meant to tell me that they were playing with the flowers and saying "ding dong". But I heard something like "I was playing with Ding Dong". Based on my questions, Frances may have picked up on what I meant and ran with it.
Later, I was downstairs and I heard Frances yell "Surprise!" from upstairs. I hollered back "I was surprised." I was then informed that the surprise was for Ding Dong and not me. It turns out that today is Ding Dongs birthday. So, she was getting a birthday surprise.
As an aside, Frances gives interesting names. She has three toy horses. One is named Comet (because that is what the box said). One is named Boy and the other is named Biggie (it's bigger than the others).
mwz
This afternoon I was working in my office and Frances came down. She said she had friend named Ding Dong. I asked the following questions.
Q: Where did you meet Ding Dong?
A: Outside.
Q: Is Ding Dong a boy or a girl?
A: A girl.
Q: What color is her hair?
A: Umm... yellow.
Q: Is she nice?
A: Yes, she always shares her toys. (I later learned that Ding Dong also shares her books.)
We then went upstairs and told Arial about Ding Dong. She and Johann were outside with a bunch of purple flowers in her lap. They had been pretending the flowers were bells, hence the name Ding Dong. I actually think I may have misunderstood Frances at first.
She may have meant to tell me that they were playing with the flowers and saying "ding dong". But I heard something like "I was playing with Ding Dong". Based on my questions, Frances may have picked up on what I meant and ran with it.
Later, I was downstairs and I heard Frances yell "Surprise!" from upstairs. I hollered back "I was surprised." I was then informed that the surprise was for Ding Dong and not me. It turns out that today is Ding Dongs birthday. So, she was getting a birthday surprise.
As an aside, Frances gives interesting names. She has three toy horses. One is named Comet (because that is what the box said). One is named Boy and the other is named Biggie (it's bigger than the others).
mwz
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Night Run
This evening, I ran almost 5.5 miles. It has been a while since I have run at night. I still enjoy it.
I like that it is cooler and it is somewhat peaceful. Plus, in some ways, being outside at night feels like being inside.
However, if I do run at night again, I am going to take a different route.
Tonight, I ran on a bike path that goes out of town into less developed land. There are patches of near-wilderness (I say near because it is really close to the city, so it shouldn't be able to support large predators) and it can get pretty dark. It didn't give me the creeps or anything, I am simply aware that a deer would beat me in a fight if it thought that it needed to.
I saw three deer during the run (lest you think I am just being paranoid). The first was off in the distance but the second encounter was with a pair just off the path. They were in a well lit area so I could see them for a while.
In order to let them know I was coming, I stomped my feet. That got their attention but it wasn't until I started waving my arms that they ran away. Even though that took some energy, I was glad that they didn't decide to start their violent rebellion against man at that moment.
That was when I decided to stick to city streets on any subsequent night runs. But to punctuate the point, I had an encounter with a dog.
With a mile left on my run, on a straight stretch of path, I heard a loud bark (from a large sounding dog). I could barely make out the shape of a fairly big dog about 50 yards away, right in the middle of the path.
I was not pleased about the prospects of being mauled and exhausted on a dark patch of bike path. There was a row of houses whose backyards lined the path. So, I figured that the odds were good that this was a pet. But I didn't really want to take many chances.
So I slowed to a walk (actually I did that immediately when I hear the bark) and just kept going. I saw the dog shape move off the path and into a back yard. That was either good or it was trying to flank me.
Shortly afterword, I think I heard a doggy door open/close at the house the dog was closest to. I'm pretty sure it went in because I didn't see it again.
I walked for a little while passed the house (I didn't want to look like prey) and then started running again.
The run was good but I'm going to stay out of the country (-ish areas) at night.
mwz
I like that it is cooler and it is somewhat peaceful. Plus, in some ways, being outside at night feels like being inside.
However, if I do run at night again, I am going to take a different route.
Tonight, I ran on a bike path that goes out of town into less developed land. There are patches of near-wilderness (I say near because it is really close to the city, so it shouldn't be able to support large predators) and it can get pretty dark. It didn't give me the creeps or anything, I am simply aware that a deer would beat me in a fight if it thought that it needed to.
I saw three deer during the run (lest you think I am just being paranoid). The first was off in the distance but the second encounter was with a pair just off the path. They were in a well lit area so I could see them for a while.
In order to let them know I was coming, I stomped my feet. That got their attention but it wasn't until I started waving my arms that they ran away. Even though that took some energy, I was glad that they didn't decide to start their violent rebellion against man at that moment.
That was when I decided to stick to city streets on any subsequent night runs. But to punctuate the point, I had an encounter with a dog.
With a mile left on my run, on a straight stretch of path, I heard a loud bark (from a large sounding dog). I could barely make out the shape of a fairly big dog about 50 yards away, right in the middle of the path.
I was not pleased about the prospects of being mauled and exhausted on a dark patch of bike path. There was a row of houses whose backyards lined the path. So, I figured that the odds were good that this was a pet. But I didn't really want to take many chances.
So I slowed to a walk (actually I did that immediately when I hear the bark) and just kept going. I saw the dog shape move off the path and into a back yard. That was either good or it was trying to flank me.
Shortly afterword, I think I heard a doggy door open/close at the house the dog was closest to. I'm pretty sure it went in because I didn't see it again.
I walked for a little while passed the house (I didn't want to look like prey) and then started running again.
The run was good but I'm going to stay out of the country (-ish areas) at night.
mwz
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Mama and Dada
At Target today, I checked out and Arial pushed the cart (with the kids) back to the cart area. As they went away, Johann reached towards me and yelled "Momma". Arial said "No, that's Dada".
The guy behind me said, "When they learn a word, they use it for everything."
That was when I had to say "No, he really calls me 'Momma' and her 'Dada'".
He laughed and said that I would have to tell him about that when he gets older. I almost said "that's what I have a blog for" but I just left.
But it's true. Johann thinks I'm called "Momma". I think it is because when he is in distress either one of us responds (whoever is the closest and/or the least weary). So sometimes he cries "Mommy! Momma!" and I will respond. I think that is what has confused him.
He will occationally call me "Daddy". Hopefully, he will eventually stick with that.
mwz
The guy behind me said, "When they learn a word, they use it for everything."
That was when I had to say "No, he really calls me 'Momma' and her 'Dada'".
He laughed and said that I would have to tell him about that when he gets older. I almost said "that's what I have a blog for" but I just left.
But it's true. Johann thinks I'm called "Momma". I think it is because when he is in distress either one of us responds (whoever is the closest and/or the least weary). So sometimes he cries "Mommy! Momma!" and I will respond. I think that is what has confused him.
He will occationally call me "Daddy". Hopefully, he will eventually stick with that.
mwz
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
We're Sick
Our family has been run through a wringer with this last cold.
Johann started with a cough a month ago. Then, he and Frances got runny noses. Two weeks ago, I came down with runny nose, cough and just general tiredness. Arial was still healthy.
I thought I was getting better. We ran the Bix (7 miles). The cold reactivated. This time it added a soar throat and a bit of muffling in my ears.
When Johann had a really bad day on Sunday (he was really cranky) and I was having a hard time swallowing, we decided to go to the doctor. I hate going to the doctor for a cold but Arial convinced me that it could be strep and she was starting to come down with symptoms. So for the sake of the family, we went.
They told us that both Johann and I had ear infections. I didn't know that adults could get ear infections. But that was the cause of my hearing loss.
We got scripts for antibiotics which I feel a little guilty taking since we don't know if it's bacterial. But I've been knocked out by this thing for 2 weeks and I need to get better. So with a heavy heart, I started the treatment.
Two days after starting the treatment, I feel a lot better. Which makes me think that the antibiotics weren't needed (although there is something to be said for the placebo effect. I'm still going to finish the regimen because stopping early is a good way to develop drug resistant bacteria.
mwz
Johann started with a cough a month ago. Then, he and Frances got runny noses. Two weeks ago, I came down with runny nose, cough and just general tiredness. Arial was still healthy.
I thought I was getting better. We ran the Bix (7 miles). The cold reactivated. This time it added a soar throat and a bit of muffling in my ears.
When Johann had a really bad day on Sunday (he was really cranky) and I was having a hard time swallowing, we decided to go to the doctor. I hate going to the doctor for a cold but Arial convinced me that it could be strep and she was starting to come down with symptoms. So for the sake of the family, we went.
They told us that both Johann and I had ear infections. I didn't know that adults could get ear infections. But that was the cause of my hearing loss.
We got scripts for antibiotics which I feel a little guilty taking since we don't know if it's bacterial. But I've been knocked out by this thing for 2 weeks and I need to get better. So with a heavy heart, I started the treatment.
Two days after starting the treatment, I feel a lot better. Which makes me think that the antibiotics weren't needed (although there is something to be said for the placebo effect. I'm still going to finish the regimen because stopping early is a good way to develop drug resistant bacteria.
mwz
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