Freedom Swim countdown

2007 Freedom Swim

The annual 1.6 mile Peace River Freedom Swim takes place at 1PM tomorrow and I'll be there with bells on. Okay, no bells; but definitely with a swimsuit on (unlike some of the other 'Freedom' streakers).

We borrowed a big 'ole Ocean Kayak from a neighbor and Scott will be there beside me the whole way. I'm throwing my SCUBA fins in the kayak in case I feel like I need some extra help... and of course, Scott can always tow me to shore on the rear of the yak if I bonk. Actually the thing is so big, I could probably just jump in.

My mother just called to wish me 'good luck' and I reminded her that this is not a race and that I'm looking at is as a safe opportunity to get in open water swim time with lots of other people around. To be honest, since we are swimming with a slack tide (so I won't get any help getting from point A to point B), I do not expect to be able to swim the entire thing unaided. I usually always swim over a mile in a single pool session, but my training is geared towards 'sprint' distance events and I take 20 to 60 second breaks between sets. Tomorrow's swim is longer than 1/2 iron distance & it's theoretically continuous.

It's actually nice going into something without any sort of self-imposed pressure to perform. As I sit and type this, I'm not nervous. If it were a race, I would be very anxious. As long as it doesn't thunderstorm tomorrow afternoon (like it did today), the sharks stay away, I don't get run over by a boat, AND the boat exhaust fumes aren't too terrible... it should be a really nice day.

I'm going to 'try' to get Scott to snap some photos, but I'm not sure how much water he'll generate inside the yak. I certainly don't want to exit the water to find a ruined digi cam. LOL!

Freedom Swim Gear:
swimsuit
cap
Aquasphere Vista OW goggles (spare pair of Speedo Air Seal XR)
Aquasocks (for beach entry- I am not about to step on any fishing tackle)
SCUBA fins (in case I need a little 'help' along the way)
pool noodle (to float on while I wait for a chance to exit on the pier)
1/2-1/2 mix of h20 & Gatorade Endurance formula
packet of GU (I'm all out of my Accel Gel; but I don't think I'll really need this anyway)
towel
dry bag
sunscreen

Training updates: Training is going well and I stayed on target this week except for the push-up segments. I only got in day 1 of week 2 so far... so I'm a bit behind. I was just really afraid of overdoing it on my upper body and then suffering during the swim tomorrow.

I should note that I'm slowly falling in love with structured treadmill sessions. "Structured" being key. I did a 5-mile hill repeat session today. Those hills hurt so good!!! Saturday is my last 'brick' before my next tri and it's a shortie... just a good 10 miles on the bike followed by a 3 mile run. Monday starts my short taper week! I'm very excited about my upcoming tri! I can't believe it's only 10 days away. Feels like the Danskin was just yesterday.