Monday, June 4, 2012
Even though I went swimming last night after my panic attack I was still emotionally drained from the whole ordeal yesterday. I was tired and feeling very uneasy about my training and what I got myself into. I ended up going for a run this afternoon and ran about 60 minutes. I just wasn’t into the workout but knew I had to do something.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Swam 1800 yards today in the pool but also reached out to a few triathlon friends and asked for some advice regarding the wetsuit. I found out that I wasn’t alone and what happened to me had happened to so many people. The one piece of advice I continued to get was don’t give up. Keep trying and know that if all else fails I don’t have to wear the wetsuit. It makes me feel a lot better that what happened to me has happened to so many others. I didn’t feel like such a freak anymore.

This evening I went for a 12.5 mile ride after work. Got caught in a rain storm and I realized why I hate riding in the rain … potholes covered by rain! Other than the rain it was a good ride … feeling stronger on the bike and more and more comfortable every day I go out there!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012
CNY Triathlon training day … do you know what that means? It means we have an open water swim today … do I bring the wetsuit and face my fears or do I leave it at home and swim without it? I decided to bring the suit with me and face my fears. I took the advice of many friends and got in the water and just floated for a while. My plan was to get used to the feel of the wetsuit before I headed out for a swim. The measured swim was 400 meters but I was feeling so well after I got started that I decided to do two loops. I think I conquered my fear! After the swim I headed out on my bike and road for 10 miles.

Friday, June 8, 2012
The time was 5:45 AM and I was walking on the beach at Oneida Lake … I was in the water by 6 AM and swimming with my friend Cindy. Once again trying out the wetsuit and becoming more and more comfortable in this large piece of rubber. The morning was beautiful; the water was calm and clear. It was a perfect morning for a swim. We swam for about a mile (based on the number of buoys we passed) in less than 45 minutes. I felt great! After the swim I headed home to pack my car and head to Lake Placid for a weekend of training and cheering on my friends at the Lake Placid Marathon.

Saturday, June 9, 2012
After an evening of thunderstorms I woke up to a beautiful, sunny morning. Today the plan was to ride around Lake Placid for a few hours and try to get up and over the many hills! I ended up having a great day completing 40 miles in 3 hours and 8 minutes. I ended up riding parts of the Ironman course and conquering what I later found out were the three bears on Route 86.

The three bears are three large climbs on Route 86. You first climb the Mama Bear, then the baby bear and then finally PAPA BEAR!! I climbed them twice today and made it up all three without having to stop. I have to admit I didn’t know anything about the three bears until after I was done riding. I just called them three tough hills. The funny part of this story is when I was climbing the hills the first time I saw these spray painted signs on the road. The signs read “Mama Bear” and then “Baby Bear”. As I passed them I thought to myself is someone warning the bikers that there are bears out here??? I got a bit nervous because I didn’t have the speed or the energy to run away from a bear!!! It wasn’t until later in the weekend that I found out why those signs were on the road.

After I got back from my bike ride I rested for a couple of hours and then I went for a swim. I was really excited for this swim because I was going to be swimming the Ironman course in Mirror Lake. I a