It’s here!
My new wetsuit arrived safe and sound via Mr. UPS man.
Actually, it was here last week, but I’ve been too nervous to pull it out of the bag until now. Why? I’m not sure – wetsuits can be intimidating!
Knowing my wetsuit fear, my friend Courtney came over this afternoon to help me figure this whole thing out.
She told me to
- try it on over my trisuit
- put it on one leg at a time “like panty hose”
- fold my fingers in so my nails didn’t grip into the fabric
- take my time pulling it up a little fold at a time
- where I’ll need to apply body glide come race day
Fifteen minutes and several curse words later….
I had it on. Maybe it’s not so scary after all. 😉
The Xterra suit was TIGHT (talk about feeling like a stuffed sausage!), but I could still breathe and move, so I was told that the snug fit was a good thing. I was also very warm and sweaty – another good thing?
The original plan was to take the wetsuit out for a spin in the open water, but Courtney was delayed at class and neither of us particularly felt like driving 45 minutes to hop in the water for 10 minutes.
So, we went with Plan B – the pool. (Courtney promised it was safe to take my new suit for a quick 5 minute chlorine dip)
Truth – I felt a little funny getting in the water with a sleeveless wetsuit on. Luckily, none of my neighbors were around to notice. Or laugh. 😉
As soon as I stepped in the water, I could feel the difference in buoyancy with the suit – no wonder they’re so popular to wear! It’s nice to know that – come race day – I can just flip on my back and float with ease.
The community pool isn’t terribly big, but I was able to get a couple of laps in with the suit on. I was really surprised how non-restrictive my arms felt. For some reason I assumed it would be hard to move, but it wasn’t at all. The suit felt great!
The real fun came with getting the suit off.
Luckily, I’ve been told Augusta has wetsuit strippers. Perhaps they have more grace with removing these things than I do?
I didn’t get a final open water swim in this week, but I’m ok with that. I’ve completed half a dozen open water swims during my training and I’m just going to have to trust that those were more than enough. There’s no looking back now! 🙂
Lunch
Today’s lunch was an old favorite – BBQ Chickpea Sandwich.
It’s like sloppy joes with bbq sauce and chickpeas. I just sauteed some chickpeas with green peppers and bbq sauce then served it with lettuce in an english muffin.
Open faced. 😉
On the side were some blue corn tortillas with salsa.
Snack
1/2 Spiced Pumpkin Pie Clif Bar
Dinner
I made the mistake of purchasing too many vegetables at the store this week. I forgot we were heading out of town early and kept the ‘must stock up’ mentality. This meant tonight’s meal had to be heavy on the veggies.
The eggplant was my main concerned. I sliced it long ways and broiled the slices for a few minutes on each side. While those broiled, the inspiration for an easy eggplant lasagna hit me. I mixed some ricotta and blue cheese (an odd combination, but it worked), then used that as my filling.
Eggplant.
Ricotta/ Blue Cheese.
Eggplant.
Ricotta/ Blue Cheese.
Marinara.
Flaxseed.
Bake for 15 minutes at 400.
Half for me. Half for Derek.
The cheesy eggplant stack tasted nothing like lasagna, but was still quite tasty. i think it was the ricotta/ blue cheese that put it over the top. Who knew those two worked together? 😉
Roasted okra rounded out my need to eat as many veggies from my fridge as possible for this meal.
FYI: Okra is amazing – slimy balls and all (that’s what she said…)
I’ll count the two handfuls of grapes I had after dinner a dessert.
My last training run is tomorrow! Whoop! whoop!
Wet suit strippers…what a job title huh?
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen recently posted..Good for you zucchini fries
the chick pea sandwich looks yummy. and I have never tasted okra.
jodie recently posted..Gluten Free Recipe and Links
You’re rockin’ that tri suit! Woo hoo!
Casey @ Pocket Full of Sunshine recently posted..Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies With Peanut Butter and Bacon
Try putting your foot inside of a plastic grocery bag and then sliding your foot into the wetsuit – it should make it much easier to put on!
This is the ONLY way to go!!! Makes it SO much easier & faster!!
I totally waited about a week before putting mine on, too. Of course, I was trying to lose weight to make sure that it fit… Whatever, I’m a weirdo. You are going to love those wetsuit strippers!
Lara @TresLaLa recently posted..What I Ate Wednesday – Take 3
Grilled Okra is soooo good. I tried it a few months ago. Keep them whole ~ and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper ~ and mix them around with your hands ~ to get the all covered. I put them on my skewer sticks….. OMG…..soo sooo good!! Try it =)
2 pieces of the best wetsuit advice i got and can give are this:
1. BODY GLIDE your neck–the back of your neck specifically
2. Use plastic grocery bags to cover your feet while getting into your wetsuit. The plastic helps the suit “slide” on a little more easily. I also used the bags on my hands to help prevent the fingernail through the suit (and because I have a long sleeve wetsuit).
Glad you were able to get in the suit and into the water with it on. The final countdown is here!!! Good luck!!
Holly recently posted..Sunny days
Ahhh I am getting so excited for your race!! This post brought me back to my competitive swimming days. We would have team locker room time to get our suits on. You wouldn’t believe some of the things we had to do!!
Nikki recently posted..Dark chocolate peanut butter?!
I remember having to wear a wet suit when I took surfing lessons. Haha, the process of getting in and out of that thing is more of a workout than the actual race!
Lauren recently posted..I’m Not Alone
Seeing you wet suit gets me excited for your race! 😀 & your dinner looks super yummy! I’ve never cooked with eggplant but I’m so eager to try it!
I’ve never had okra before. What does it taste like?
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Another helpful wetsuit tip – put a plastic bag over your feet and hands (if you have a sleeved wetsuit) to get the arms and legs on easily. The suit slides right up over the slippery plastic, and you can just pull the bag out after it’s in place. So much easier than struggling over the hardest parts! 🙂
Callie @ Callieflower Kitchen recently posted..Pumpkin-y Goodness
It’s a good thing that there are people there to help you take the wetsuit off in your transition after the swim. That would be terribly difficult to do yourself.
I wonder if anyone bikes and runs with their wetsuit on?
What’s the water going to be like? Is it really cold? Or did you get the wetsuit for buoyancy purposes.
It’s predicted to be cold – if the water wasn’t cold they wouldn’t allow a wetsuit. 🙂
Oh really? I would have never guessed that. I’m learning so much about triathalons from you!
What’s the temperature point at which wetsuits are allowed?
For Augusta the water temp would be below 76 degrees
It must be such a relief to have tested it out at least a little bit before Augusta! 🙂
I second the idea of putting plastic grocery bags on your feet before putting you wetsuit on
Another idea is to fill the wetsuits inside “walls” with shampoo. It helps to take it off + makes you smell nice 🙂
YOU.are.SO. close! You’ll rock it. Love the new wet suit!!
i would have gotten claustrophobic in that suit. I can barely wear skinny jeans without taking a xanax!
diana@mymarblerye recently posted..Chilling in Colorado
Hahaha oh my gosh!! I’m really impressed with your stick-to-it attitude when it came to getting that thing on! I would’ve given up at minute (and curse word) 1! Looks super snazzy though!! I’m excited for you!
Cait’s Plate recently posted..Barren
Be careful not to catch any hair in the velcro around your neck – makes your head feel tethered and leaves a bad knot. Leave your zipper tie in a place you can grab it on the way out of the water and unpeel the top part while you run to transition. Then unpeel the rest like a banana at your bike or with the strippers! Good luck in Augusta!
Last year, Augusta had a bunch of strippers–maybe 10 all together! Unzip if you can on your jog to transition (it’s a bit far from from the water), and then they’ll help you get it the rest of the way off. Usually they help you get your arms out, and then you sit down and they pull it off your legs. 🙂 Good luck!
Plastic grocery bags are a great wet suit tip.
My tri coach told us to turn the suit inside out…then pull the legs on, to the point where you want the ankle’s to sit…then flip the suit over and pull it up…less fighting to get everything over your feet.
Good luck with your race!
Haha, getting a wetsuit off is seriously one of life’s biggest challenges!
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