Not exactly running down

Originally uploaded by red_rocket

With five days to go to the South Cost Triathlon, I thought it was about time I got in the sea. We ended up at Shell Bay, as Barmouth was rammed. Three of my mates came along, allegedly to sit on the beach, read newspapers and mess around in rock pools - but really they were there to take the rise out of my “shorty”.

After squeezing into the wetsuit (that was donated to me a few years ago and had remained unworn until Monday) I ambled down to the shore line. Inching my way into the cool waters, I swam out - breast stroke, of course. I soon found I was out of my depth (in more ways than one) and decided to swim back a little; then realised I wasn’t going anywhere and did front crawl to get out of trouble. To play it safe I swam along the coast for a few hundred metres; got tired and stood up. The water came up to my thighs and I felt rather stupid. I attempted to swim back, but didn’t manage all the way back against the tide, so decided enough was enough, and got out.

For a while, I felt a bit fed up with my poor effort in the sea. Jo insists that the first time is the worst and even Armgard seems to be a little nervous, so it’s not all bad by any means.

The question is, with only a few days to go, how much swimming can I get in to get myself up to the grade?