"It's February 7th and it's an outdoor swim?!?!?!? You're gonna freeze!!!! My husband's brother's friend used to train up near there (Gainesville) and was always talking about how many gators are in the lake."
Seriously? Why on earth would someone say these things? Yes, the water might be a bit brisk. And yes, there are likely gators who will be swimming in the lake with me...it's a body of water in FL, so the gators are pretty much a given. The way I see it, as long as it's not so cold that I'm going to get hypothermia and as long as I don't actually see any gators, I should be fine. And should I be so unlucky as to spot a gator, I'll just swim that much faster :)
And now for the lists of fears and favorites with the fears being related to the actual triathlon itself and the favorites having to do with this whole process leading up to said event on February 7th:
Fears - I am aware that these are a bit ridiculous:
1. I will see and/or be eaten by a gator during the swim
2. I'm going to have a hard time swimming straight and on course in the lake (I'm training in a pool)
3. I will be the last person to finish the triathlon
FAVORITES
1. Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna Bars
2. The leopard print shoe laces currently in my running shoes
3. Swimming in an outdoor pool while the lifeguard is wearing a winter coat AND having her tell me when I'm done that several guys coming out of the gym had been watching me and saying I was tough
4. Losing 10 lbs
5. Encouraging other people to try new things and be more active
6. FINALLY having established a really good pattern of exercise and healthy eating for myself. This is no minor miracle!!! I might be turning into one of those people who freaks out (just a tiny bit) if I don't get a good workout in. This is HIGHLY amusing to me. And to many of my friends as well.
All that being said, these next 3 weeks will be interesting. I mapped out all my workouts from now until race day as best as possible to fit them in around work, the hours the pool is open, the hours the sun is providing daylight, etc. I've been following the training plan obsessively, so hopefully everything will be great on tri day. I don't feel ready, but I think it's mostly cause I've never done it before. And as a good friend told me, "Beck, you wouldn't feel any more ready if you'd been training for 6 months. You're gonna be fine".
