I am not a big fan of swimming in the ocean, so the fact that we had to lather up with Vaseline to help keep the jellyfish off… yeah I was about done there! But, I won that battle and kept pushing forward through the next. several. (mental)battles…
The Guam Coscos Crossing 5k open water swim race was a race of many firsts for me. Now, I have never really considered myself a swimmer. I swam 1 year in high school for fun, have taught swim lessons for over 7 years (not the same as actually swimming), and have been casually swimming 2 times a week for a while now. However, to call oneself a swimmer, I have often thought of those who are training for races throughout the year, who swim 5+ times a week, and who always smell like chlorine, oh, and use words like ‘shave’ and ‘taper’ in the same sentence.
It took quite a bit of convincing to get me to do the 5K swim. I think Tim ended up really making the decision for me because he was telling people that I was going to do a 5K swim race before I had actually signed-up. I remember leaving dinner with friends one evening, where he had mentioned that I had been training, after dinner I just looked at him and said “well, I guess I have to sign up now!” I am thankful for his motivation, and for pushing me to do something I really didn’t think I was capable of! I had to take a deep breath before clicking that sign-up button.
For about 3 or 4 months my friend and I trained together. It was a blessing to have her by my side. We are about the same speed when it comes to distance training, however she has a lot more fire-power and sprint speed than I, which helped push me to a new level. We did not follow a training plan, we just made up our workouts as we got in the water each day (See below). These training sessions built up my confidence and boosted my excitement about Guam!
When it came time to race I knew we could complete the distance and that now it was more of a mental challenge, after lathering up the Vaseline that is. Including but not limited to: goggles that wouldn't stay clear, rain + wind = strong currents, and swimming into an unforeseen log, which all led to me swimming well over that 5k race distance.
Despite it all I still enjoyed every minute! I accomplished so much before I even stepped into the ocean; I stayed motivated and dedicated to training to get to that point. I left the boys with Tim for several days; a first for us. I showed up and lathered up. I was positive and had a new level of confidence in myself and not just in the realm of swimming.
I could go on and on about our trip, but I don't want to make you jealous with all the kid-less, book-reading, beach-hanging, relaxation time we had!
Thanks again to my amazing husband for watching the boys and encouraging me so I could go on such a unique birthday trip!