“Take pride in how far you’ve come and have faith in how far you’ll go.”

On our drive to Mont Tremblant, Dave and I decided that we would stop in Ottawa on the trip back home so that we could swim at Britannia Beach. “That’s a great idea!” he said when I suggested it. For him, it meant a break from driving. For me, it meant a chance to swim in the same area where I would be racing a few weeks later. I knew that a chance to visualize and experience the location would help me on race day.

As it turned out, this decision became even more psychologically important. Having a pre-planned swim, one that had a purpose, gave me something to look forward to after not being able to finish the swim in Mont Tremblant. It was a swim that I knew I had to do.

In our typical road trip style, Dave and I somehow ended up behind schedule on the way to Ottawa, and Dave was concerned about getting stuck in traffic on the way home later in the afternoon. “Let’s just swim at Meech Lake,” he suggested.

“No, I need to swim at Britannia. I need to get my head in that water so that I know what it’s like.”

“We don’t have a lot of time.”

“Then we’ll keep it short. We planned this last week, remember? I need this.” Dave knew that I was right. We kept going.

Two hours later, we finished our swim and it was exactly what I needed. The water was warm and choppy, but I felt in control the entire time. I actually wanted to go further out into the lake but that would have meant swimming alone, and both of us knew that wasn’t a good idea. So, for the last fifteen minutes, I swam back and forth and back and forth along the buoy lines where Dave and the lifeguards could see me. I wish we had time to swim longer but we had enough time that my confidence was restored.

The next day, I got back to a typical week of training. On Tuesday, since my cycling distances had dropped while we were away and my legs were rested, I did a long ride on my trainer: 180km. On Wednesday, I headed back to the pool to swim 3100m and I ran in the late afternoon. I was feeling focused and strong. I felt like myself again. Most of all, though, I felt ready to take on another Half Ironman in the beginning of July.