Rattled.

Well, today I had my worst tri practice to date.
I completely freaked out in the ocean. Panicked. Couldn't swim past the break. It was terrible. The waves were pretty huge and the current was absolutely brutal, everyone was having trouble, but I just froze up and couldn't do it.

So, I am supposed to race next Sunday and I am completely shaken up. I am going to get in the ocean tomorrow and also Wednesday to try to overcome it and get mentally prepared for the race. I know I need to push past this, but it's probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.

Anyway. Then my chain fell off in the middle of a bike sprint and I had to get off and fix it and was super pissed off.

Sigh. Bad practices happen, right?

So, let's take a minute to reflect on where I was 10 weeks ago, just to make me feel better about this morning.

1. Running. I am told I am a "natural" runner. I don't know, I hadn't ran since hating "the mile" in high school (my average - 12 minutes) up until February when I begrudgingly raced in the "Run for your Life" 5k because Dana was sponsoring it. I did poorly, but it encouraged me to start running more regularly. I can run a solid 8 minute mile now. I feel good about that.

2. Biking. I took a couple gnarly falls off my childhood bike in grade school, one in particular where paramedics were called because my foot somehow got stuck between the pedal & frame of the bike. I swore I would never ride again. Obviously, I eventually had to get over that and picked up a bike again last year. Thankfully, riding a bicycle is well, like, riding a bicycle, so I've found it to be fairly easy to pick back up.

3. Swimming. Well, I have written a lot about swimming already.... like the fact that up until I started with TnT I didn't know how to swim! I have always had issues with swimming. As a child, I took swim lessons at the YMCA, but dropped out when the counselor threatened to drown me if I didn't stop crying (no joke!) Swimming has always frightened me. It is really quite incredible that I have progressed even this much in the last 10 weeks. I am proud of myself, even though the ocean still scares the bejesus out of me.

Picture time!



This is our practice transition area. Almost looks like the real thing, right!?


This is my bicycle. Isn't it sexy?


My teammate, Jay. He is a total character.


Kelly and I rockin' what I like to call "wetsuit couture."


Yea, I know I look hot.


Come watch me race next Sunday!! You know you want to!!!