Conquering my fear

Tonight the forecast from the Met office was for 1 degree and snow - on returning from London it was a beautiful night and ideal for an open water swim so I was pleased they had got it completely wrong!  However this was only my second open water swim in the year and once in the water I had to control my feeling of panic.  The cold water increases your heart rate, your breathing is strained and the wetsuit constricts your chest.  Your mind plays games and as I was swimming and feeling uncomfortable, lunch was threatening to reappear, I started to doubt my ability to take part in next weeks event.  I was worried about being left behind with the 12 swimmers in the water and in a weeks time I will be involved in a mass start with 1,500 swimmers - slightly more dangerous.
However I kept talking to myself and trying to relax.  The good thing about open water swimming is that is that your wearing a wetsuit and if you relax you can glide which takes less energy.  So half way through the swim I started to relax and managed to punch one of my coaches in the face, by mistake - honest.  Punching, kicking and climbing over other swimmers is common in an open water swim especially if you have a mass start.
Next Wednesday is my last chance before the event to relax and enjoy an open water swim because if you are panicking that saps your energy which isn't clever as you still have a hilly 90km to ride and 21 km to run.  Part of Mission Ironman is about overcoming obstacles.  It depends on your mindset how you handle obstacles because to some hurdles are an obstacle and to others they are a form of exercise.  So bring on the exercise!

London calling

Slipped the running gear into my overnight bag and a 6am went for a 10k run round Green Park and St James Park.  The activity in the parks at this time is incredible.  People playing rounders, doing sit ups, cycling, ti chi & boxing - it's a hive of activity.  Running past Buckingham Palace and many other land marks keeps the run interesting.
Last night I went to Shepperd's Market which is tucked in behind Park Lane and it's places like that which make London special.  It's like a tiny village with restaurants, pubs and shops and it just shows you what you can find when you venture off the main roads.  So business and training went hand in hand on this trip.
When I get back tonight I am scheduled for an open water swim subject to the weather followed by steak and pasta I hope!  In the meantime I need some calories so I'm off for breakfast!