Glutton for Punishment

I signed up for another fitness event that happened this week. It was the Islander Aquathon sponsored by BTO Multisport. It would be just a simple 500-yard swim and 5K run. No big deal! In fact, it seemed like such a pleasant event that the DH decided to do it with me. We swam at the pool last Saturday and he got tired out, but his swimming was great. We both were sure he could do it.

Then Wednesday came along. The day was turned out to be beautiful after starting a little wet and cloudy. By the time we got to Mercer Island, it was in the low 70's and sunny. We got checked in and I got my wetsuit on and we headed to the water for the start of the race. They separated the men and women for swimming waves, so the DH had to go in without me.

What I didn't realize while I was that while I was hoping the DH would have a good swim, it was decidedly not good. The water was extremely choppy and by the time he got close to the first buoy, he was in over his head. Literally. The waves knocked water into over his head and he got a mouthful of water. When he tried to get a breath, there was another wave of water. The result was a panicked swimmer who decided to cut his losses and get back to dry ground.

While that was happening, I got started on my own swim. When I got close to the first buoy, I was shocked at how big the waves were. It was so choppy that I felt like I was swimming backwards. I did OK when I was just swimming and not trying to breath or sight, but those two things are required when swimming, especially when it's a race. I got several mouths full of water, but fortunately didn't panic and could keep going. However, for the first time in a long time, I did roll over to my back and try to breath for a moment before continuing the swim. While swimming from the first buoy to the second buoy, it felt like someone was slamming against my right side the entire time and the waves went over my head several times while I was either trying to breath or sight. It was NOT fun. When I finally got out of the water, I was a little beat up and a lot tired. It was much more difficult than any other swim I've done.

Fortunately, when I got back to the transition area, the DH was there and helped me get my wetsuit off. It was much easier with his help than it would have been on my own. I was really glad to see him. When we started the run, he told me about his adventure. I was proud of him for trying to do the swim, because I knew he hadn't spent much time preparing, but I was really glad I hadn't know he was struggling while I was swimming. I just got to find out about it when he was safe on dry land.

The run was super hilly, so I walked up some of the hills, but it was a strong power-walk. We ran most of the time though and our times were OK. I was really glad when we were done. We each got a handful of Dilettante mint chocolate truffles and we headed home to warm showers and soft pillows. All in all, it was a good event, but not our best night.

Thursday, I had thought that I would get up and go to the gym first thing in the morning, but my body said NO. I was really sore from the swim. I took a day to rest and then I was back at it again today. Only two more weeks to my second triathlon!