No camera and it's killing me

Yesterday was another sensational day here in Auckland. I don't have a camera and the scenery around here is just spectacular. It was another early start to beat traffic heading out at quarter to six for our 30 minute commute to our open water swim session under the guidance of Mark Watson. Mark is such a passionate coach and fan of triathlon and you can see it through his words, actions, and how all the athletes respond to him.

We were in the water early and it was another star studded field. One of New Zealand's top female ITU athletes, Debbie Tanner was swimming today. It is very cool to see so many top level athletes all assembled together for sessions.

The main set for the day was 2x15 minutes at race pace. According to Mark, it was going to be a real "mind fu**" since we had some strong swimmings who would be pulling the "pain train". Mark is full of great phrases while training. I fared much better then I thought I would stay with the pack the first interval. During the second interval, my wetsuit filled with water and I was spit out the back. It was so hard to make forward progression with the suit full of water, and my form gone to bits while I thrashing about in the ocean. Now I have a HUGE fear of open water especially when it is murky. Conditions today, Murky and early = perfect feeding time for predators lurking in the depths. There was a time there i honestly thought i was going to drown. I was 20 meters off the back, and freaking out. i couldn't breathe, I thought sharks were all around me! It took some strong mental power to focus on form and stay relaxed. Eventually i caught up, my fear dissipated and i was able to enjoy a very nice sun rise.

Off to do my first solo ride with a map in the back pocket! We'll see where I end up in this beautiful country!

Cheers,
JC