Second Swim at Nehalem....BRRRRRR!

Although the air temperature was as warm or warmer and we had a beautiful sunny day at Nehalem, someone froze the water between last Sunday and today! Holy you know what, I was a bit shocked that it had changed so much. I really think this was the result of an invocation Julie was making on the way over in my car....I swear to God she was lamenting the fact that the water was warmer than it was supposed to be last week and wishing and praying for colder water so we could really feel our bodies in water like race day. It happened just like that! It didn't take more than my big toe in the water to realize what I was in for....by the time my whole body was submerged all I could do was yell and start swimming to try and warm up. The tide was just going out this time so we made it to the second buoy pretty quickly (12 minutes or so), and when we got there I could no longer feel my hands or feet (everything else was ok). On the way back, we went against the strong current again and it felt like it was taking forever. Somewhere on the way back I realized that my hands were so cold they were not really working properly and I couldn't feel what position they were in...they could've been all balled up for all I knew! We made it back finally, and then Julie taught us how to exit the water. It was another example of how technical this sport is....there is a certain way to do this and many ways not to do it!

The idea is to swim up as close as possible to the shoreline, so that your hands and arms are actually clawing the sand bottom, and only then do you stand up. The water level when you stand up shouldn't be higher than your mid-calf (if the water is higher its much harder to run through it!). Then you run with high knees while pulling the cord on your wetsuit and releasing the velcro at the back of your neck, lift your goggles off your eyes (because they instantly fog up), pull the goggles and swim cap off and roll them into the sleeve that you are yanking down on the wetsuit, and then get the other shoulder off so the wetsuit is down to your waist...then you run to the transition zone before taking the entire wetsuit off. We practiced this several times today...the tricky part is remembering everything and doing it in the correct sequence. For instance, you wouldn't want to try to rip your wetsuit down before unzipping it (believe me, it sounds like a no brainer but after swimming a mile in ice-cold water, your brain isn't quite normal!)...and I can just see myself forgetting to put my goggles up and then tripping because they are all foggy!

I think I am going to need to get some neopreen gloves to wear during the swim because it actually took my hands about 45 minutes to thaw out, and I am pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to handle the bike very well today after this swim. Trying not to feel like a wimp about this!

Went for an 8 mile run in Forest Park when I got home from the beach...it was beautiful up there today. I passed two guys who had left the parking lot about 3 minutes before me, and though I almost missed hearing it, one of them said under his breath as I was passing them..."what about my ego...how do you think it feels now?". I told him I was sorry but that maybe it was time for a new ego. Funny, he didn't even seem to notice the guy who blew past all three of us with his bright red racing shoes and a look that could kill. Nope, its always the hardest when its a girl who is doing the passing!