Frustrating? Yes.
I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a brand spankin new internet setup that should arrive sometime next week.
Anyway, this post is just a quick catch-up of all the things that have been going on lately. I went to visit my new niece in Ohio and also to celebrate my nephew's birthday, which was great. My nephew and I went bike riding, ice skating, did puzzles, and went to Chuck E Cheese. I also taught him and his friend Mia how to fly a kite on a windy day. I had to laugh to myself because it is so empowering to be able to teach a kid how to do something. I can't imagine getting to have that experience of teaching your child something new everyday. It was really special. We also tried to learn how to jump rope, but I think that lesson will need to continue another time.
My niece is fantastic! She's beautiful, peaceful, and just perfect. Even though she was only 5 weeks old, you could already tell her personality was developing and she seemed to be more alert each day. I can't wait until the next time we can all get together. Fun times in the hot tub too.
I've also been trying to keep up my training. (Read: I've not been working out enough.) This week in TriLaVie focused on swimming. Wednesday we had a workout in the pool and today was our *gasp* first open water swim. It was sort of a rite of passage for us newbies. The swim was at Lake Mission Viejo, which is a fairly big man-made lake in, where else, Mission Viejo.
The lake is a bit hoity-toity in that it's private and you have to be on a guest list to get in. There's a beach on the north end with sand and a cordoned off swimming area.
Now, it seems like it would be fun swimming in a lake with a nice beach. However, not when it's raining and in the 50s. Which was the case this morning.
My group was designated to get there at 8am, but I arrived early at 7:30. The ironman (long distance) group was already there and in the water doing laps along the buoys. The next group (Olympic distance) was getting on their wetsuits. The rest of us (the new people) were watching with nervousness and trepidation because it sure seems like the water will be cold. And dark. With fish in it.
Coach Martha gave us all a pep talk and emphasized that we would all be fine. One girl who had some residual post-traumatic stress from a failed lake swim at this very venue last year started to tear up. We all assured her she would be fine, even though none of us knew for sure that WE would be fine.
Martha was able to procure wetsuits for all of us who didn't have one from a great store in Los Alamitos called Tri Zone. The one handed to me looked like it must be a mistake. It was so SMALL. Martha showed us how to put on our wetsuits inside out because fingernails easily puncture holes. I just want to state right now that the puncture in the leg of my borrowed wetsuit was already there....
Putting it on was more of a workout than the swim! After about 15 minutes of tugging, pulling, straining of my fingers and forearms I was finally able to get it up to my... waist. Coach Linda kept assuring me that this was how it always is and to just be persistent. Really? This is not gonna end well...
So I kept working at it and finally managed to get the suit onto my arms. Now the tricky part is that the zipper is conveniently located in the back. Why? I have no idea other than to embarrassingly require you to enlist the help of others to get fully suited up. What are you supposed to do when you're on your own? Ask a complete stranger to help zip you up?
Linda came back to help me complete my transition into a sausage. After significant amounts of cursing and Linda and my friend Samantha both helping to get it zipped up, I was in! I said that next time I should probably request a larger size, but Linda said that this was the right size for me. Say what?
Getting into the lake wasn't bad. Putting my face in was bad. The water was so cold that I instantly felt like I had a brain freeze. And, the water seeping in the wetsuit to create the water barrier that would eventually keep me warm made me chilled. We were supposed to start swimming toward the buoys on the other side, but I wasn't prepared for how the wetsuit felt in combination with the frigid water. The suit was constricting on my chest and the cold water made me feel like I couldn't get a good deep breath. After swimming a few yards, I would feel out of breath. Also, keeping in a straight line was so hard! Several times I looked up to see that I was swimming cockeyed either out towards the deep or in towards the shore. This will take some serious practice. The key is to keep moving forward even if you have to lift your head to figure out where you are or to get your breath back to a rhythm.
Coming out of the water, we were all so proud of what we did. We faced our fears (some more fearful than others) and still managed to have fun despite the rain and temperatures.
Taking off the wetsuit took all of 20 seconds. Figures.
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