After last weekend's swim in Betterton, I was really looking forward to some focused instruction on OWS techniques. My head continues to be the biggest challenge when swimming in open water. I knew that Anne's clinic helped last year and I was hopeful that it would help again this year.
The water temps were approx. 67 degrees, so there was no question that we would be wearing our wetsuits! As I drove over to Hammerman where the clinic was held, I felt relaxed and looking forward to getting in the water. I pulled into the park and Elliott greeted me at the gate. She was checking names off the attendance sheet. We chatted for a few minutes about my challenging swim the week before and then I drove off to the parking area. I looked out across the water and had to take a picture...what a beautiful morning!
I walked down to the pavilion where Anne was checking people in and immediately saw Ron. Ron is my lane-mate during swim class. It was really good to see another familiar face. We agreed to stick together, althougth I knew that I would slow him down.
Anne gave a brief speech about the objectives of the day and then we split up into groups. They divided us into beginner and intermediate. I joined the intermediate group and had several people that I recognized in the group. Ron and I started our warm up swim together. I immediately had issues with breathing and was panicking a bit. Ron kindly stopped to check on me and make sure I was OK. I told him I was fine even though my breathing was a disaster.
Once we started the actual drills and workout, I calmed down and actually got into a really good groove. I encouraged Ron to swim ahead so that I wasn't holding him back, which he did. I found a comfortable group to join and focused on my breathing, keeping my strokes consistent and sighting like an alligator. There is such a HUGE difference between swimming in the pool and swimming in open water!
At the end of the clinic, I checked my fancy new watch to see how far we had gone during the clinic. 1.72 miles!!! Holy cow! That's the farthest I've ever gone in one swimming session. So much for thinking I was out of shape. There was not one moment where I questioned whether I would be able to finish. I'm very proud of myself.
This photo is from the end of the clinic as people are finishing up their workouts and chatting with the instructors. It really was a great morning.
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