Sunday, May 21, 2006

First Star To The Right And Straight On 'Til Morning

Second open water swim today--this time in a wetsuit.

I think if one studies the ancient biblical autographs carefully, one would find that wetsuits are the one thing that Adam and Eve were permitted to take with them when they were banished from paradise after the fall of man. It was damn near as good as forbidden fruit.

Out of the water, in the blazing Texas sun, I was like a huge solar collector. The radiant energy roasting me alive in my black rubber skin could have powered every refinery on the Houston Ship Channel. But in the water, it was all pixie dust and weightlessness. Rotating my core, stacking my shoulders, and gliding around Twin Lakes was like flying in Peter Pan's wake, all the way to Neverland. It was not a huge training event in terms of effort, but it was a big deposit of confidence for my first wetsuit race on memorial day.

. . . and I sure as hell don't want to grow up.

Weekend Totals: Swim 1500 yards, Bike 60 (hot, hilly and hard), and Run 15. Recess is fun.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow, listening to your description of your open water swim makes me so excited to take my rental wetsuit for a pre-race test run this weekend!

Iron Pol said...

I didn't see the "breathe" part. Maybe that's the real secret. Learning to swim without actually breathing.

I have (mostly) the core rotation down. The downhill swim thing. The reach thing.

I'm willing to grow up if it means I can learn to breathe properly.

Tracy said...

I LOVE that quote!!!!!!!!! Way to go GH!

TriBoomer a.k.a. Brian said...

G'houn,

Neoprene is a miracle fabric! Just wait until you swim with it in saltwater. You'll feel like you're gliding on top of the water.

Good luck in Austin, dog.

Stay tuned...