A week ago today, I was back in East Freetown, MA for the Patriot-a Half Iron distance triathlon. Melissa and I have done this race the past two years (Melissa the AquaBike). We love the venue and the great job that Sun Multisport does to make this a super event. We got into town Friday afternoon and met up with good friends Nikki and Darlene at the packet pickup. All went smooth there and we drove the bike course with them. It is a picture perfect New England course complete with cranberry bogs, scenic ponds and classic NE homes. After the course preview, Melissa and I did a short ride and then I did a short run. We both felt great and ready to race.
We got to transition early on Saturday and got our gear set out. I had time for a short run warm up before we did our swim warm up. The water temperature was 65 and felt great. I opted for my sleeveless wetsuit which felt fine in the water. We had done an open water swim the week before and I had used my full suit. The water here was definitely warm enough for sleeveless.
Before I knew it we were standing on the shore as the race started. My wave went off at 7:12. I found myself at about the middle of the back end of the pack as we set off on the swim. That is when I experienced something I have never experienced before. For some reason, I felt like I just couldn't get a deep breath of air. Shallow breaths were all I could manage and all I saw were thrashing arms around me. I tried breast stroke and still couldn't get a deep breath. I made my way to a lifeguard on a paddle board. I told him that I don't usually have any trouble on the swim. He thought it may be because of the water temperature, but I told him that seemed fine. I stayed with him for a bit and then started to swim again-still feeling like I just couldn't take a deep breath. Should I turn back? Should I have them take me back? Should I rest a minute? I just wasn't sure what to do. Now the neck of my wetsuit seemed tight. I tried to open the Velcro closure on the back of my neck, but it wouldn't budge. I made my way over to another lifeguard in a kayak. The young lady there opened up the neck of my suit and commented on how tight the Velcro was. Maybe that was the problem....off I went again with the same results. Then I remembered a race report I had read recently of some friends that did the Black Bear Tri. One of the fellows who is an excellent athlete had done the backstroke and still had a good race. I quickly turned over on my back and did backstroke. I was feeling better and tried the front crawl again, but with the same feeling of only shallow breaths. By now a few other waves had passed me and made me feel even more panicky that someone would swim over me while I was struggling. I made my way to the third lifeguard in another kayak. I explained what was happening and hung on again for another break. Her name was Sue and she started to engage me in some conversation. I wondered if that is a technique they use to help calm swimmers in this situation. She was great as all of the other lifeguards were and I thanked her as I took of again swimming. At this point I was almost to the first turn buoy. A short swim across to the next turn buoy and then a straight stretch in. I continued to use my arsenal of swim strokes and made it to the turn. Now my breathing was starting to get back to normal. By the first or second buoy after the turn I was finally in a rhythm and able to get my breathing back. Wow, what just happened!!!! I just couldn't figure it out but was super excited to make it to the swim finish and on into transition.
Yeah, I survived and made it through whatever that was. Now onto the bike course. My plan was to ride the first of two loops conservatively and try for a negative split. I knew my swim time was going to be way off of my usual time, but tried to put that behind me. All was going well until about the 23 mile mark. There were several riders around me and I didn't see a pot hole. I did feel it though! Oh boy I hate when that happens. Before long I felt my steering start to get wacky and saw that my front tire was flat. Oh well, what else can happen today!! I got the tire changed and got back in the race. Would you believe that about 30 seconds later the bike support truck went by....if only they were 5 or so minutes earlier!!! My second loop went smoothly, but I could feel my power slipping a little and my speed drop a bit.
Back into transition and out on the run. I felt as though my nutrition on the bike was good and I had gels, S`caps and my fuel belt with me for the run. It was a beautiful sunny day, but we found the temperatures rising. Soon I was walking the hills and the water stops. Most water stops also had ice which I used to help get my core temperature down. One of my goals for this race was to run the final hill. Last year I walked that hill and saw a woman in my AG pass me there. I didn't want that to happen again and was happy that I ran that entire last hill. I felt good on the last mile and through the finish. But still I wondered what in the world happened in the swim......
On our drive home on Sunday, I couldn't help but wonder if I had a panic attack in the water. If it was, then it was my first ever. Maybe it was just feeling a little anxious. Whatever it was, it was scary. I know that trouble in the water can be a very dangerous thing, especially in the sport of triathlon. I was happy that I worked through it, but it still puzzled me. I thought of past races and where I normally seed myself...maybe I should have been back further....maybe I should have waited a few seconds before starting out to let the group get ahead of me...maybe I should have gone to the left of the buoys to get away from every one like I did in Lake Placid. Maybe I should have done a practice swim in my sleeveless suit before race day. Maybe, but I'll never know. What I do know is that I should have mentally prepared a little better while waiting in the start corral. I should have reviewed my start strategy and how I planned to race the swim. I know I didn't do that at all that day.
I called my coach the next day and described what happened. He didn't think it was a panic attack-just some anxiety. He said he always instructs people to float on their backs to get their breathing back and relax. That made me feel good since I resorted to backstroke. I had also been stressed quite a bit over the last month or so and had been fatigued leading up to the race. That probably played a role as well. Trouble sleeping and moodiness should have been red flags to me, but I chalked them up to losing my good friend and kitty PK. I probably wasn't at my peak for this race. He also pointed out that struggling in the water like that takes a lot out of you physically and emotionally which catches up with you as the race goes on.
Some might say that I should have called it a day when things went wrong in the water. I am really glad that I didn't head back to shore. If I felt in danger I would have, but I never got to that point. Pushing through and finishing the swim was the best thing I could have done. From that point on I just wanted to complete the race. My times were slower than last year (except for my transition times which improved), but I learned a ton from that swim.
I went to the pool that Monday just to make sure I felt OK in the water. Now I can't wait to get another race in to assure myself that everything is good with my swim. Congratulations to Melissa, Nikki and Dar who all had good races!! Thanks for the swim lesson Patriot! See you next year!
S-59:18
T1-3:40
B-3:40
T2-4:37
R-2:21
7:31:02 11/12 AG
Bike - 2 Bottles PowerBar IronMan Perform, 3 gels, 3 S Caps, 1 1/2 Bottles H2o
Run- 2 7oz bottles Ironman perform, water, 2 gels, S caps
ps...I didn't even take my camera to the race this time.....I guess that was a sign that it was going to be out of the ordinary!
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