Tuesday 30 June 2015

Triathlon countdown - An emotional roller coaster ride

When I embarked on my triathlon journey I was aware of the physical challenge that lay ahead of me, having never done anything remotely like this before. But over the last week or so the emotional side of my challenge has reared its head.

After a bit of a panic a couple of weeks ago, I started the week feeling positive. The brick sessions were now becoming easier and I was feeling good about my swimming. But by Thursday my mood had taken a nosedive and I felt thoroughly exhausted.

A couple of friends asked me how I was keeping on top of things with all my training. In all honesty, at the end of last week it felt quite the opposite. I felt as though everything was getting on top of me! The strain of juggling training with working and looking after my two young children was starting to show. On Thursday I had an epic mum fail when I had to take the children out for tea because there was absolutely nothing in the fridge... and I mean nothing! I just hadn't had time to go to the supermarket. How bad is that!

Until now, training on my own hasn't been a problem, in fact it has been a benefit as I can fit training sessions in when it suits me. But this last week or so, as the triathlon looms, I have realised that it would be quite nice to have a training buddy who is going through the same challenges as me at the same time. Sadly, I didn't manage to persuade any of my friends to do the triathlon with me (can't think why) and so I'm having to go it alone.

Anyway, I decided there was only one thing for it - to have a couple of days off training in order to get my energy levels back up. I knew that on Saturday I needed to be firing on all cylinders.

The alarm went off at 6.00 am on Saturday morning. My bags were already packed and off I went to Cliff Lakes Open Water Swimming. By 7.30 am I had squeezed myself into my wetsuit and was in the lake ready to go. My goal - to swim the 500 metre course for the first time (round the three orange buoys in the photo) - a pretty daunting prospect for someone who not that long ago couldn't even swim a length of front crawl.

It looked such a long way and I was very nervous about swimming that far without being able to stop, hold the poolside or put my feet down ... but I DID IT!!! Believe it or not I actually enjoyed it and I even saw some fish (just small ones though)! Instantly, my mood was restored and I have been on a high ever since. So, with less than three weeks to go this roller coaster is riding high. Let's hope it stays that way!

I am raising money for Pregnancy Sickness Support. If you would like to sponsor me my fundraising page is here. Thank you.

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