Defeated by a cold
The Chinook Half-Ironman was a no-go. I got up feeling pretty okay, so I decided to go and give it a try. We got there a little later than I usually like to arrive before races because...I'm always late. I had just enough time to set up my bike and transition area, get my numbers marked on me, go to the bathroom, and get into my wetsuit. At that point the race was beginning in less than 10 minutes, so I went to the beach and waited.
The countdown began and we all jumped into the water. The first five minutes of my swim felt horrible, HORRIBLE! Because of my cold, I couldn't breathe properly and consequently, could not swim with my face in the water. I almost turned around and swam back to the beach. I decided to go at least one lap though, just to give it my honest effort. My head out of the water breaststroke wasn't too taxing, so I knew I'd be okay. After about five minutes, I was able to swim a normal front crawl about half the time. But after about two-thirds of the first kilometer lap, I finally faced the truth. Yes, I could for sure finish the swim, but then what? What if I were to bike the 43km out to Bragg Creek and feel too terrible to come back? What if I did the whole race, but made myself sick for the next two weeks because of it?
Not worth it, I decided. Not worth the risk. I finished the lap and instead of jumping back in for my second one, I walked right off. I started to cry for a short while because of the pure suckiness of it all. A very nice lady came up and told me she felt bad that I had to quit. I told her how I had gotten sick two days before and she was very nice and sympathetic. Ryan and my friends were nice too and I even got hugs in spite of my drippy wetsuit.
I totally could have done it too. ARGH! Now I have to decide if I want to shell out another huge race fee and put in more training time this summer. This certainly isn't a very nice way to end the season. Stupid cold.
The countdown began and we all jumped into the water. The first five minutes of my swim felt horrible, HORRIBLE! Because of my cold, I couldn't breathe properly and consequently, could not swim with my face in the water. I almost turned around and swam back to the beach. I decided to go at least one lap though, just to give it my honest effort. My head out of the water breaststroke wasn't too taxing, so I knew I'd be okay. After about five minutes, I was able to swim a normal front crawl about half the time. But after about two-thirds of the first kilometer lap, I finally faced the truth. Yes, I could for sure finish the swim, but then what? What if I were to bike the 43km out to Bragg Creek and feel too terrible to come back? What if I did the whole race, but made myself sick for the next two weeks because of it?
Not worth it, I decided. Not worth the risk. I finished the lap and instead of jumping back in for my second one, I walked right off. I started to cry for a short while because of the pure suckiness of it all. A very nice lady came up and told me she felt bad that I had to quit. I told her how I had gotten sick two days before and she was very nice and sympathetic. Ryan and my friends were nice too and I even got hugs in spite of my drippy wetsuit.
I totally could have done it too. ARGH! Now I have to decide if I want to shell out another huge race fee and put in more training time this summer. This certainly isn't a very nice way to end the season. Stupid cold.