After the 2 mile OWS and you CAN do it

Ouch. My muscles are tight. Muscles that I did not know that I had. In strange places, where I never imagined I used those muscles during swimming. I am walking funny. I can barely hold anything of substance due to fatigue in my arms.... maybe I should have trained for that swim.

Today we started our vacation. We are staying in DE (near the outlets - yay!) and ventured to several places. A short stint on the beach (hottest part of the day), a walk through the town of Dewey, a visit to a state part in Lewes, where we stopped and climbed a gunner tower from WWII. It wasn't very high and normally, would have been cake, but today.... I got winded. My hamstrings hurt. I couldn't hold onto the railing because my arms hurt. The kids raced up and by the time I made it, they were ready to come down (which really isn't saying much, they are 6.5 and 8, not that thrilled by the "view"). And as I caught my breath, Brock yelled: "Last one down is a rotten egg!!"

Of course, I raced them down... and wow, my quads decided to say hello. I let them win, by the way.

We ended with some pool time and a nice dinner at our friend's house.

More important, I have had several people comment and send me FB messages that they are "amazed" that I swam 2 miles, that they could "never" swim 2 miles in OW.

I am here to tell you, if I can do it, so can you. I had NEVER swam that far before... even in a pool. I believe my longest swim to date was 2700m in a pool and that was about 2 months ago (believe me I am NOT advocating lack of training). And I had surgery that forced me out of water for 10 days prior.

My point in all of this is, I hesitated about my ability. I thought about the possibilities. What if I drown? What if there really were sharks? What if I couldn't make it?

Don't doubt yourself. The way I got through the swim was one stroke at a time. Yes, I was nervous while out there. Yes, I thought, I may not make it. But I was determined to make it. What an accomplishment to say that I swam 2 miles in OW. That was the thought that I repeated over and over in my head... "How cool is this? Swimming 2 miles in the Chesapeake Bay!"

I am not super human or extra brave. I even had the opportunity to drop down to the 1 mile swim but I didn't. If we don't push ourselves, we will NEVER know what we can do. A year ago, I never thought I would finish the marathon. Several months ago, I was scared to death of my first Olympic Tri.

We all push ourselves... but sometimes, we don't push ourselves far enough. Think of something that seems completely unattainable. (For me, right now, it is an Ironman.) Now, instead of listing all of the reason it could never happen, think of how it could happen! If we just refocus our attention on the possibilities... instead of the obstacles, we just may be able to conquer the things that are holding us back.

Try it... if all else fails, at least we can say, "I tried!" Right?