Get in the water.

Its no secret that I have issues with the water. I've been afraid of it most my life and until 16 months ago, couldn't swim one length of a pool. I have worked really hard to overcome this fear. I took lessons, I spent LOTS of time in the pool and plenty of time in the lake. Swimming, swimming and more swimming. Then there were the triathlons...the sprint distance, the Olympic and of course the half ironman. Nothing says "I've overcome my fear of water" like jumping in with 1500 other people to swim 1.2 miles in the fog covered waters of Lake Stevens...except maybe jumping in the water with 2000 other people to swim 2.4 miles in the waters of Lake Okanagan at Ironman Canada.

That's right, I've got 10 months until Ironman Cananda. The last time I was in the water was at the Vancouver Triathlon in mid-September. After that I decided to take a little break - the marathon was the next big event and I really wanted to focus on that. I didn't have a lot of training time and I was so tired of getting up at 4 am.

I've enjoyed my little break and now that I am not working, my schedule is a bit more flexible. I can go to the pool in the middle of the day instead of at 4:30 am. That is what I did today.

I headed over to the pool around 2 pm and there were a few others there. It was quiet and calm. I had forgotten how much I love that part of lap swimming. I put in my earplugs and put on my swim cap. I got in and started to swim. The water felt so good. I swam about 1000 meters freestyle and then did some drills, just to get the feel of the water. I tried not to put any pressure on myself. I tried not to think about all the swimming that will happen in the next year. I just enjoyed the silence.

After a while, I started to get a little sea sick. I have motion sickness issues and some days I have a tough time. I felt good for a while, then felt kind of yuck. I finished up my swim and spent some time in the sauna.

I guess I'm not really a beginner anymore, however, I still feel like it. So every time I swim, I feel very proud of myself. Very accomplished. So many people out there doing triathlons don't realize what a struggle that swim is for people like me. They don't understand why I get out of the lake with a huge smile on my face. To many, its not big deal. To me, it is the BIGGEST deal...every time, every lap, every event. Today was no exception.