Thursday, March 18, 2010

Maybe... maybe not?


I knew that I was starting at a disadvantage because of my lack of swimming abilities. However, what motivated me to even start this journey was the story of a lady who learned to swim in 12 weeks and completed her first Triathlon. I truly believe that I can do anything that I want if I put the work in. There is no doubt in my mind about that. I have been in the pool 3-5 days a week for the last 6 weeks and have made major strides, considering I started at zero. I can now make it across a 25 meter pool without stopping and with a quick break I can swim a 50. I am now learning different strokes and must learn to tread water, but I feel like I still have time. This week, I am taking a little bit of a break, but I will jump right back into it next week. I will continue to train for this Triathlon, but after someone reminded me today of how people drown doing Triathlons and I have spent the last hour reading article after article after article on drowning deaths during Triathlons, I have come to a decision. I will continue to train and work on increasing my swimming ability. I will do as many open water swim clinics as possible to gain the experience of swimming in lakes and rivers prior to the race, but I will make my decision on whether or not I will race closer to the date. Perhaps my test race on May 9th should be wiped off the calendar and I should just train for the June 20th race, which I still have 13 weeks to train for. I want to be a Triathlete, don't get me wrong. But do I want to die trying to to obtain that goal? I don't know if I want to go out like that. The puzzling thing is that so many of the  drowning deaths were with seasoned swimmers and not amateurs, but still. All I said to the person was "Don't discourage me". Perhaps he succeeded? Maybe the person who gave warning today was saving me from myself. Maybe? Maybe not? The decision will be made closer to race day. For now, I will still TRI to be a Triathlete, so I am still Tri Becca. At least for now....

4 comments:

  1. DO NOT let TheFireMarshall discourage you AT ALL. He is ULTRA conservative and safe to the point we knicknamed him K.O.J (pronounced Koge) for Killer of Joy.

    And Imma need you to let google alone - "article after article on drowning deaths". You scared your damn self near to death, hell. Now that you know for sure that swimming in a pool & swimming in the lake is definitly different and you have to be equipped with some swim skills...YOU ARE GONNA BE FINE - Ya Hear!

    I believe you should stick with the plan of the test race on the 9th. I don't think it is a good idea to go cold turkey on hte 20th. Let's talk about it.

    Damn it girl, you gonna have me signing up to do this thing with you. *shakin my head*

    ReplyDelete
  2. DO NOT GIVE UP! You will race on race day. Tis all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @TravelDiva - You may just have to sign up with her to make sure she is out there on May 9 and June 20. Becca, lay off that kind of research for a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey there!! Dont let someone elses fear discourge you from working toward your goal to become a Triathlete!! Just con't training and keep you eye on the PRIZE!! Say of that darn internet researching!!

    ReplyDelete