Friday, August 10, 2007

2 days to go...

Two days to go.

The forecast now is for a high of 94, partly cloudy and about 10% chance of precipitation. Nothing I haven’t trained in all summer, but I still wish it would be a little cooler.

Last night’s Stroke & Stride was abbreviated again, only one lap and I really wanted to get in two…

As soon as I got in the water I could feel the wetsuit floating me in the water, even just when I was halfway to my knees. When I got above my knees I could tell that the seams were leaking around my right knee. When I started swimming, I was stroking too fast, especially in my arms. I also felt like I lost a lot of power from my kick since my legs were floating so high in the water. My feet actually came out of the water more than a few times. On the plus side they weren’t sinking or dragging.

I never really felt like I got comfortable with my stroke. I think this is partly because of the reduction in my swim hours and partly the wetsuit. I’ll have to be sure to focus more on my form and stroke during the race on Sunday.

I went for a short jog with Klaus, one of the BTCers, immediately after the swim. We weren’t going to do the full 5k with the Long Course so close but it was good to loosen up the legs a little bit.

I practiced taking the suit off a few times as well while we waited for the race to start (delayed by 20 minutes) and believe me, it was a LOT easier when the suit was wet. No chafing problems and I hung it up to dry (inside out) once I got home. I’m glad I got the sleeveless suit, I think the full-sleeve would have been even tougher to take off and I liked feeling the water on my body.

I’m not freaking out yet, but I am definitely feeling kind of stressed and nervous. I’m not sure having my mother come out here for this race was a good idea since she isn’t exactly a calming influence. Oh well, too late to do anything about that.

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