Napa Valley Tri -- The Day I Saw Jesus

That day was Saturday, April 14, 2012. And, it was approximately 7:01 a.m. in the morning at Lake Berryessa in Napa Valley, CA. Let me back up. Near the end of last year, I allowed some friends to peer pressure me into participating with them in a triathlon. I told them absolutely not at first, but then when they told me where it was -- Napa Valley aka Wine Country -- and then all of them agreed to participate, I felt that I had to participate as well. So, over the last few months I have been training for this event. I was most concerned with the swim portion of the event because, though I can swim, swimming leisurely is completely different that swimming long distance. And, I found out very quickly in my training that swimming long distances was not my forte. So, I hired a trainer and once a week for nearly 2 months, he trained me on the proper techniques of swimming long distances. And, last week, I finally truly felt like I could do the swim portion w/out a hitch. I knew that I could do the bike and run portions in my sleep, but even though I had properly trained, I was admittedly still a bit nervous about the swim. Fast forward to Friday, April 13th. We go and pick up our packets and it is a tad bit chilly at the lake. It had rained like cats and dogs the night before, so the water appeared to be just a tad bit choppy. And, the buoy for my turnaround appeared to be much much further than I anticipated. But, oh well, I have trained...I have the technique down...I will make it. 4:30 am on Saturday, the 14th, we leave our vacation home for the start of the race. It is like 40-50 degrees outside, and I'm thinking...I sure hope it warms up...and I hope the lake is not that cold. I mean...I'm standing out here in a full wetsuit with swim shoes and a swim cap on, and my teeth are chattering from both the cold and the nerves. People are jumping into the water to get their bodies adjusted to the temperature and coming back out of the water expressing how cold the water is. And, I'm thinking...I'm not going in the water until I have to. It is now 6:59 am and the countdown to the start has begun. And, at 7:00 am on the dot, the siren blows and the race starts. I had already decided that I would let the first wave of people go first b/c it would be crowded and I didn't want to be swimming over the others...or be too congested. So, about 30 seconds in, I start walking in the water and then jump all the way in. And, that's when it happened. That is when I saw Jesus. The water was so cold that I could not remember how to swim...or talk...or breathe...or my name. Apparently, it was 48 degrees to be exact. In an instant, everything that I knew was no longer and I was like a fish out of water. I tried to think warm thoughts and remember the proper techniques, and I couldn't. My body was in complete shock. And, I seriously thought I would not make it out of the water; though, interestingly enough, I was determined to finish. So, I turned over on my back and started floating on my back and looking to the sky and praying to Jesus. And, it was he and I for the next 37/38 minutes in the water. There were several times when I turned over and did the proper strokes, but those times didn't last too long because my legs started cramping up. And, 30 minutes in, as I heard the siren blow for the next heat to start, I panicked and tried to go faster. But, I couldn't. So, I just said...I'll get there when I get there. And, though I was one of the last people in my heat to come out of the water, I finished the 1/2 mile swim. I got out of the water freezing and disoriented, but I made it. I ran into the transition area...trying to make my brain unfreeze and remember what I was supposed to be doing. And, about 8 minutes later (which is way longer than it should have been), I finally hopped on my bike and started the 12 mile up and down hill bike ride. I ended up making up considerable time on both the bike and the run...though the entire time, I was STILL traumatized by the swim. What's so ironic about the whole situation is that there were times during my training that my swim coach rescheduled my weekly sessions b/c there was a problem with the heaters in the pool that I practiced in, and he said it would be way too cold for me to practice Be that as it may, I finished and I can check that experience off of my bucket list. Will I do another triathlon? (crickets)