An Eventful Saturday

So here's how my weekend panned out:

• Treasure Island -- last open water swim before leaving for Hawaii


• Bike drop off -- bike shipped to Hawaii


• Bingo for a Cure!

Treasure Island Swim

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was a little apprehensive about the Treasure Island swim. It was my last open water swim in the Bay Area before leaving for Hawaii and in my mind, it would be an indication of how I would do during the actual event.

When I got to our meeting location at 7:30am, the sun was shining...it was another beautiful day in the Bay Area. I was the first person there, so I decided to check out the "swim spot" which was a cove with several boats docked and there was a beach area. The water looked calm, not at all menacing as it looked from the Bay Bridge. My other teammates and coaches started to show up and at around 8am, our coach said "ok, everyone in your wetsuits!" As I struggled to get into my wetsuit, I was thinking "thank God I don't have to wear this thing in Hawaii!" -- but then I soon realized that this thing actually helps me float (and we all know that I need all the help I can get!) and could provide me with some protection from the dreaded jellyfish (in case they are any straggler jellyfish wandering around the swim area) -- so maybe it was not such a good thing that I wouldn't be wearing it in Hawaii :\

When we were all ready for our swim, our coach gave us the usual spiel -- he told us where we would be swimming and what to expect: it will be cold...it will be salty...it will be murky...it will be a little slippery as you walk into the water because of the seaweed...there *might* be some jellyfish out there...wait...did he just say jellyfish?!?!?! Hold on...the jellyfish are supposed to be in Hawaii, not here in the Bay...AND they are supposedly canceling our swim in Hawaii because of the possibility of jellyfish...and now he wants us to swim in the Bay where there also *might* be jellyfish...really?!?! Am I on Candid Camera or something?!?! Coach told us to not worry about it too much because it would be rare to even see any (yeah, easy for him to say, he's on a kayak!)

I had heard from my friend on the IronTeam a couple of weeks ago that there might be some jellyfish in Aquatic Park -- I wasn't prepared for jellyfish on Treasure Island...So not only did I have to worry about swimming (ie, not drowning) -- I also had to worry about the possibility of jellyfish stinging me...great...

We walked to the beach area and the coach went over our route again -- we were to swim between and around the docked boats -- it was like an obstacle course. Then he told us to start. I, as usual, stayed back and was the last one in the water. Before I got in, the coach that usually swims with me told me that he wouldn't be in the water, but he would be in the kayak and if I needed him to raise my arm -- and I told him that if I needed help, he along with everyone else in the water (and on the boats for that matter), would clearly know (flailing arms and frantic water splashing would be the indicator that I needed help)! Walking into the water was a feat in and of itself -- the water was cold (of course), and the ground beneath was squishy, like quicksand (not that I would know what quicksand feels like) and every step I took, I felt like I was sinking...and there was seaweed everywhere! When the water got to right above my waist, I decided to "attempt" to swim...first I just stuck my face in the water -- and immediately took it out -- the water was really cold -- it took my breath away...that was the first indication that I was going to have problems during the swim. So for about 10 mins, I was just treading water, sticking my face in it every so often so I could get acclimated to the cold...then I tried to swim again --but again, the cold water was making it difficult to breathe...so back to the basics -- blowing bubbles...I did this for a few minutes, and tried to swim again. And I actually took about 20 strokes this time -- granted it was a "struggle-swim", but hey, it got me that much closer to the turnaround point! So I tried again with a goal to take more strokes than the last -- and just when I was getting comfortable, at close to 30 strokes, I panicked -- I thought I saw a jellyfish! So I immediately got my face out of the water and gasped for air...and just my luck, the coach was in front of me in the kayak. "Good job!" he said. Wait, did he just say good job -- clearly, he didn't sense or see the panic on my face. I told him I saw a jellyfish and he looked at me and said, "there's no jellyfish -- that's just bubbles you're making from your stroke." Oh, that made sense :-) After that assurance from the coach, I continued on...I got into a rhythm a few times, but I also struggled a few times too -- I just couldn't get my mind past the jellyfish...I was finally getting close to shore, and one of the other coaches on the kayak kept yelling to me "swim until your hand touches the ground" -- so I did. Finally, after about 25 mins in that cold, murky, jellyfish-infested (ok, so I'm exaggerating about that -- but I swear I saw one!) bay water, I made it to shore!

Whew -- 5 down, one more open water swim left -- in the warm, clear waters of Hawaii (and hopefully NO JELLYFISH!) Wish me luck!

Bingo for a Cure!

Bingo was a success! Thanks to everyone who made it out...especially to my ROCK STAR volunteers! It was definitely a lot of work, but I think everyone had a good time -- at the end of the day, it was all for a good cause -- to help find a cure for blood cancers...to help save lives!