The "Forces" were against me today...

Today was my first open water swim...and as the title of this post says "the forces were against me today..." -- need I say more?

When I left the house Sunday morning the wet ground and cold air should have been a clear indicator of what was to come later on in the morning at Lake Del Valle in Livermore...wet ground + cold, moist air = bad sign #1.

I met with my mentor group at Pleasant Hill Bart so we could carpool. As we drove to Livermore, the rain started to get heavier, the clouds looked angrier, and the car's outside temperature gauge started to drop, from 52 degrees to 48 degrees...bad sign #2.

When we got to Livermore, the clouds started to part and rays of sun started to peak through the clouds -- wait, good this be the first good sign? On our approach to the lake, the road was long and steep with many hills and at each turn, the elevation was climbing...I knew part of the day's workout included a bike ride -- so if we were going to have to ride on this road, that's bad sign #3.

As we pulled into the parking lot at the lake's boat launching area, we met up with the rest of the team which many of them were already in the process of changing into their wetsuits. So as soon as we parked, we got out of our car and did the same. If any of you are familiar with the process of putting on a wetsuit -- it is neither easy nor fast -- or pretty for that matter! So after a few minutes of struggling to get into the wetsuit and while at the same time trying to listen to the coach give us instructions on the swim -- we were supposed to swim for 30 minutes -- we were ready to head towards the launching area -- yes, where the boats launch -- and start our swim. But first, a group photo opp ;)


The coach asked that the virgin open water swimmers stay back so he could give us a few additional pointers -- which I desperately needed -- actually, what I needed was scuba gear to keep me warm and a tank to help me breathe! First, he told us that we should get some liquid -- lake water or pee -- in our suits to keep us warm (I know, sounds strange and gross, but that's how a wetsuit works -- it warms up the liquid that's in your suit and that is what keeps you warm -- yes, very technical, I know). He also told us that once in the water, to just start swimming to get our bodies going and warmed up. Then he told us to focus on something on land and use that as our marker so that when you look up, you can tell if you are swimming in the right direction. And after those additional tips, he told us to get in the water and start swimming...and that is where my problems started....

First off, the water was ice cold -- imagine the coldest shower you could possibly think of and multiply that cold feeling by 10 -- the water was even colder than that! It was so cold that my breathing became so shallow and quick that I felt like I was hyperventilating -- thereby making it very difficult to actually swim. After a couple of minutes in the water, just wading around, I decided to actually try to swim -- but as soon as I stuck my face in the frigid water, and saw complete darkness because hey, I was in a lake, and you can't see $%*& in a lake -- I completely freaked out and so began my panic attack. I immediately stuck my head out of the water and rolled onto my back and really started to lose it. My breathing became more shallow and quick and I just could not get control of it -- I had horrible thoughts racing through my mind (OMG, what did I just swallow...what parasites are living in this water...what the hell is under me, at the bottom of this lake...) Luckily, two wonderful coaches were right next to me, Coach Amy and Coach Mike, and they stayed with me through out the entire disastrous ordeal and tried to do the best to get me to relax. They told me to take deep breaths and keep my legs and arms moving to stay warm. They then told me to flip back on my stomach and try to take a few strokes...and so I tried it and to no avail -- the second I put my head in, I panicked again -- so again I rolled onto my back. And this time, in addition to my panicking and shallow breathing, somehow some water got into the left side of my goggles and into my left eye and I lost my contact lens! So, to top it all off, I couldn't see in my left eye -- bad sign #4 -- what else could go wrong?

Have you ever had to burp so bad, but just couldn't let it out -- making your stomach so full of air and very uncomfortable? Have you ever had that feeling in the open water? Well, I did. After about 10 mins in the water and attempting to swim, each time I took a breath, instead of breathing normally -- exhaling in the water and inhaling when I turned my head -- I was swallowing the air, causing my stomach to fill with air -- and after about 20 mins, my stomach was so full of air that I felt like an overinflated balloon waiting to pop, only I couldn't let out a burp of any kind because of all of the other forces that were working against me (see previous paragraph).

So, everything that could go wrong in the water...did -- and all I could hope for was to make it back to shore without having to be resuscitated! I actually was out in the water for the 30 mins that we were supposed to, but I probably only made it out about 30 yards from the shore -- which is 30 yards more than I expected!


After my failed 1st attempt at open water swimming, we moved on to the bike ride. I was supposed to ride for an hour, which at first, I thought was going to be a piece of cake -- until I got to the first hill. Remember those hills that I mentioned during our drive towards the lake -- well, yes, you guessed it -- those were the same long, steep hills that were part of our bike route. And after a mentally draining 30 mins in the open

water, these hills were going to be the death of me -- if I let them. It took me about 30 mins to get up the hills, but I pushed through them, I wasn't going to let the hills overcome me like the water had. And when it was time to ride down the hills, it felt so exhilarating -- I felt accomplished, finally!


After the hour bike ride, we were then supposed to run for 10 mins -- which, for this marathoner, piece of cake! Finally -- something I know I can do! So I took off for my 10 min run and although I was physically and, most of all, mentally drained from the other two sports, running seemed to just make me feel better, hey what can I say, I'm a marathoner at heart!

And so ended the torturous day at Lake DelValle -- 30 mins swim...1 hour bike ride...10 min run...When the coaches asked me how I felt at the end of the workout, I summed it up in three little words "I Hate Today!"

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What I learned today...It's all mental.
Even though I may have felt like the "forces" were against me today, I know that if I was mentally strong enough, I could have conquered that lake...I guess I will just have to put my mental skills to the test next weekend at Lake San Antonio in Monterrey County -- open water swim attempt #2 + a 3-day camping trip to boot -- yikes! Wish me luck!

And may the force be with you in all of your endeavors...