First Open Water Swim of the Season

Today we went out to Gunlock Reservoir so I could get a little practice in open water with my wet suit. My friend Rachel and her two oldest kids came with us. It was really hot in St. George, but by the time we got to Gunlock, it was pretty windy so we weren't too excited to get into the water. The kids ended up mostly playing on the rocks and in the mud surrounding the lake, but they had fun anyway. 

I got my wetsuit on, got into the water, and at first I was like, "It's not too bad." Then I got all the way in and had to float around a little taking deep breaths to get used to it. Then I put my face in and started swimming, and I got that panic feeling that I usually get at first. The water was just so dark, and it felt so cold on my forehead, and the waves were bumping into me making me feel very small. I found myself thinking, "What am I doing?" so I told myself to just relax and get into the rhythm of it, but it was hard.

I practiced my sighting on a tree across the little bay we were in, and at first this worked really well, but as I got closer it kind of started fading into the background. The big orange buoys will be easier to see tomorrow. When I got back, they told me it had been 15 minutes, and I was like, "WHAT?!" Then I accidentally kicked a rock, hidden under that dark water, and that hurt. I was planning on swimming for half an hour, so I headed back out to do it again. This time I felt a lot better, and was even able to focus on my form a little bit. I did this one in 12 minutes so that was encouraging. I just need to make sure to get into the water and swim around a little to get used to it before my wave starts tomorrow.

Pete put his wetsuit on and went out after me. This was the first time he'd been swimming since he broke his collar bone, so we weren't sure how it would go. When he got over to the other side, we looked and we looked, but we couldn't see him. I knew he could swim that distance because I've seen him do 6 times that distance, and I knew that if he got into trouble he would lay on his back or get himself to the edge, but I still started to get worried. I climbed up on the rocks a little ways to get a better view, and I still could see no sign of him. Then Rachel said, "There he is!" and we could see his arms as he was swimming back. Of course he was just fine, but he said it was hard, and that he had taken a little break when he got to the other side. That was probably why we couldn't see him. It's amazing how much fitness you can loose after 10 months, and a broken collar bone. I'm glad he was able to get out in the water today, though, because we did get into Spudman so we'll be doing that on July 25. (yeah!)

I've taken a bunch of pictures today and yesterday, but I don't have the cable to put them on the computer, so I'll post them along with St. George Tri pictures when we get home.

BUT our photographer from last week has posted some more of the pictures from our photo shoot on her blog so go check them out. I LOVE them! Let me know what one is your favorite (it's going to be hard to choose).

Well, wish me luck everyone! I'm trying really hard not to be nervous for tomorrow's race. It's not my "A Race" as Pete puts it. It's just a practice race, and I've gotten a lot more hours of training in than last time. It will be good. My toe is pretty sore and bruised from kicking that rock. I hope it doesn't bother me too much on the run . . . I need to get all my stuff in order and go to bed.