Power of Suggestion

Last weekend (May 4th) I did the Ransom Canyon triathlon. This is one of those small local races that attracts about 120 people each year. I have done this race every year since 2002. In fact, 2002 was the first year they held the race, and it was the first time I did a triathlon (other than being part of a relay team in a couple of other races). Mike and Marti Greer put the Ransom Canyon tri together. They also put on the Buffman and Squeaky Oly distance race and the Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3. I think Mike was doing triathlons before Dave Scott was even born, and their races are super well organized and very athlete friendly. All of these races are just outside Lubbock, Texas. Now Lubbock isn't exactly Orlando, Florida, (or Branson, Missouri) when it comes to tourist attractions, but it's only a two hour drive from my house. I really like these races.

The swim is in Ransom Canyon Lake. They have a small "party island" connected to the shore by a narrow causeway. It's supposed to be a 500 meter swim, but the geography of the island dictates the minimum distance. I think they may have had the buoys in very close to the shoreline a few years ago, but the last three years they have had the buoys farther out in the water and I'm guessing the swim is about 600 meters. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with the longer swim. Obviously everyone swims the same distance, and it seems to give more balance to the swim leg of this "sprint distance" race.

The lake is spring fed, and it never gets really warm. This year, we've had a pretty cool spring, and the lake was colder than I ever remember. Mike said it was 62 degrees, but that was a bit of wishful thinking. I grew up in western New York state, and I can still remember swimming in the Finger Lakes. 62 degrees was not too bad there, and 70 degrees was positively balmy. Anyway, most of us didn't get into the water until just prior to the start of the race. The ones who had gotten in earlier were shivering and chattering their teeth. I was standing next to Mark Balsiger and Flip Lyle (who have done a few thousand races between the two of them). Flip said something to the effect, "You know, when the water is this cold, a lot of people will have panic attacks." I'm thinking, sure Flip, a lot of these newbies will probably struggle. But this isn't my first time at the dance, and I've done the Harvest Moon swim. That was cold! This can't be any worse.

So the gun goes off, and I'm swimming reasonably hard to the first buoy that is 50-100 meters from the dock. You have to make a 90-degree turn at this buoy, and with 120 people in a fairly small area, it can get pretty crowded. I felt OK, but a 15-20 mph wind was blowing a small chop into my face. That messed up a couple of my breaths. Just as I reached the buoy, I was kicked in the head by another swimmer. It wasn't enough to knock me out, but it was as hard a kick as I've ever had. I paddled around the buoy, trying to get back into a rhythm, and then I thought about what Flip had said. Sure enough, as soon as I put my face into the water, panic attack! Whoa, how can this be? I can swim, I've been in colder water before, and I'm only 100 meters into this swim. But I couldn't breathe. I ended up sculling water on my back for about a minute in order to get myself under control. I noticed about 20 other swimmers doing the same thing (or doing breast stroke). For a few seconds, I wondered if I would ever finish the swim. And then, everything was back to normal and off I went. I ended up taking about two minutes more to finish the swim this year compared to last year (when I had a really good swim), and about one minute more compared to two years ago. Now, if Flip had never mentioned "panic attack".......

My bike leg went really well considering the wind. It was really fun coming back with a tailwind and hitting 45 mph going down Yellow House Canyon. I had a good run too, and ended up first in my age group. Next time I do a swim in cold water, I'm getting in to do some warm up swimming and I won't even think about Flip and panic attacks. Don't think about panic attacks. Don't think about them! Stop thinking about them!!! Quit thinking about panic attacks right now!!!!!

muffinman