BS!

i am not referring to bull sh*t, i'm referring to beautiful barton springs in austin, TX! i should have started my open water swimming in barton springs a couple of weeks ago. with the cold weather & knowing that the water at barton springs is cold to begin with i've stayed clear of those training sessions - that isn't the right ironman attitude & i know that.

at some point i knew that i would have to "jump in" to barton springs - heck i've got a half ironman that is just 5 weeks away. anyhow, this is the weekend of bricks! swim & bike today & bike & run tomorrow.

ed, noah, & i agreed to meet at barton springs at 8:30 (nice late start) this morning for a 2000 meter swim & afterwards we would ride the dam loop (40+ miles). i was up early, ate well, chatted it up with kristin, & then hopped in the shower to warm-up. after my warm shower & knowing that it was 50 degrees outside i put my wetsuit on at home before leaving the house. not only would having the wetsuit on now keep me warm, it was just easier to pull that puppy on at home rather than outside in the cold by the water. if you've ever worn a wetsuit you know what i'm talking about.

i made it to barton springs on time (noah who bailed on us due to having one to many beers last night) & waited by the water for ed to arrive. after ed arrived i put on my swim cap & stepped into the water expecting it to be freezing & miserable. to my surprise the water felt great! the sun was up, there were a good number of triathletes already in the water, & the view of the austin skyline from the springs was just rockin!

it took me 15 - 20 minutes to get used to swimming in the wetsuit & open water again. sighting (popping head up every 5 - 10 strokes to see where you are going) was the most difficult part to get used to, but after the first 1000 meters i was really feeling comfortable. the springs continued to fill up with texas iron folks who showed up around 9am & other than having to work hard to avoid a head on collision with another swimmer it was a relaxing swim & it felt good.

*** the workout: 1x 1200 & then 2x 400s = 2000 meters ***

i feel more confident about the open water swim now & i am actually looking forward to my next open water training. tomorrow i'll have to settle for a bike & run though - a training schedule exists for a reason!