The last time I rode with DA, we had several very pertinent conversations, things that I have been mulling over in my mind for the last week and some. When I told him about my swim, he told me that there is a scientific explanation for my response to the water. Apparently, as some athletes get into the cool water, it triggers a fear response--something a bit primal. He also said that there was a trick for it. Enter the water 5 minutes before the race and acclimate your body to the cooler temperature. My response to this was that the whole thing is a mind game. All that mental toughness is what makes people do triathlons.
Another thing we discussed was discipline. This is something I think a lot about. My feeling is that my happiness hinges on my own discipline and how readily I adhere to the things I know I should be doing. Things like waking up early, making lists of things I need to get done and doing them, exercise, cleaning, bill paying, eating healthy, saving money, working on something (and earning what I need to earn), fulfilling promises or agreements. If I procrastinate or ignore those things, I find myself unhappy. Unhappiness is a nasty little spiral stairway that can plunge straight to hell.
Today I woke up feeling great. It was 6 am, my body's natural waking point. I rode with JE to his work (in the car) and then took off around the Back Bay on his bike.
His bike is a custom baby blue Surley cyclocross with a honey colored Brooks saddle and brown handlebar tape. The ergonomics are amazing to ride. My bike is so upright, his bike demands a long reach. By the end of my 25 miles, my deltoids were on fire. The first 18 miles, I just relaxed and enjoyed the smooth flow of the bike, getting to know its configurations and components. The last 6 miles of my ride, I opened up and found that speed I have been lacking in my rides on my bike. It is the bike. There is both relief and a bit of sadness in that statement. I love my bike, but she is slow!
I took a little break at a park overlooking the back bay. The tide was out, so the only water was a river coming straight down the middle between muddy flats. When I first saw the coyote, she was pacing the shore near the wide river. Eventually, she waded out and continued pacing. Then she started swimming for the opposite shore. Egrets and cormorants were swooping low and circling, screeching their worst swears at the invading predator. When she reached the other side, she swam back and forth, looking for safe mooring, but the birds were standing sentinel all along the shore, refusing admittance. She stayed out in the water for quite a while, so long that I lost track of her. When I looked back, she was nowhere to be seen.
The rest of the day, I spent making a guitar case for JE's base, so he can safely haul the thing around to band practice, etc. He loves it. A length of bright and beautiful handmade embroidery from Uzbekistan runs the length of the case on one side and loaned itself for external pockets. I am pleased with it.
Tonight, we swam as the sun set. It was a fun swim, with the challenges of a speed lap every 4 laps. My best time was 43 seconds for 40 yards. This is a 6 second drop for the same distance. My average pace was a 50 second lap. All of my in between laps, I spent trying to reduce my strokes per lap-lengthening and pivoting in the water. It feels good to swim like that!
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