victory at sea?

So, I've been watching the weather. Hurricane Ophelia is moving up the coast. We spend our weekends in Montauk, which is on the the very tip of Long Island's south shore. It's pretty cool to look at the point where the ocean meets Block Island Sound. Good surfing here.

The marine forecast for this weekend looks a little rough:

• Coastal Waters From Moriches Inlet To Montauk Point Ny Out 20 Nm-
• Small Craft Advisory for hazardous seas remains in effect from this evening to Sunday morning on the ocean
• Fri Night: NE winds 25 to 30 kt with gusts up to 40 kt. Seas 4 to 6 ft...building to 6 to 10 ft after midnight. Showers likely with isolated tstms. Vsby locally 1 to 3 nm. Tides up to 1 ft above normal may cause locally minor coastal flooding around the times of high tide.
• Sat: N winds 25 to 30 kt with gusts up to 40 kt...gradually decreasing to 10 to 15 kt by midday...then becoming NE 5 to 10 kt in the afternoon. Seas 7 to 10 ft. Showers likely. Vsby locally 1 to 3 nm.
• Sat Night: Se winds 5 to 10 kt...becoming SW after midnight. Seas 5 to 8 ft in E swell...subsiding to 4 to 6 ft after midnight. A chance of showers. Vsby locally 1 to 3 nm in the evening.
• Sun: SW winds around 10 kt...becoming N. Seas 3 to 5 ft in E swell...subsiding to 2 to 3 ft after midnight.

Small craft advisory?!? I guess I won't be doing any practice swimming on Saturday near our place. I predict that Husband will do some surfing, though.

Sunday's race is about an hour away in Sag Harbor, which is more protected. The swim is in Noyac Bay, not in the Atlantic Ocean. Sag Harbor's marine forecast is not nearly so bad:

• Long Island Sound East Of New Haven Ct/Port Jefferson Ny-
• Fri Night:NE winds increasing to 20 to 25 kt in the evening... then increasing to 25 to 30 kt after midnight. Seas building to 2 to 3 ft. Showers likely with isolated tstms. Vsby locally 1 to 3 nm.
• Sat: N winds 25 to 30 kt...gradually decreasing to 10 to 15 kt by midday...then becoming NE around 5 kt in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 3 ft...subsiding to around 1 ft. Showers likely. Vsby locally 1 to 3 nm.
• Sat Night: E winds 5 to 10 kt...becoming S after midnight. Seas 1 ft or less. Showers likely. Vsby locally 1 to 3 nm in the evening.
• Sun: SW winds 5 to 10 kt...becoming N. Seas 1 ft or less.

So, it's not really going to be like "victory at sea". I am sometimes a little dramatic. Looks like our drive out Friday night may be the biggest adventure.

But I am feeling a little nervous. Now, a 1ft wave is nothing to a surfer or on a boat, but it's a little scary when you are swimming in it. Although I am getting somewhat comfortable with open water swimming, I have only really been practicing in the dog days of summer, in a protected cove or lake, with little wind. The one windy day with some swell actually kind of freaked me out. I don't like when the waves splash me in the face and I swallow water. The water at my Sprint tri was totally calm, just a really gentle wave, and I still got freaked out.

Husband has pointed out that I have a tendency to unnecessarily get myself all stressed out about swimming, biking , running, and he's right. I often find that writing about something gets it out of my mind, so just indulge me.

Part of the reason I do this stuff is because I don't like that I have more fears about doing things than I used to. It's part of getting older, I guess. When I was in my teens, we used to play "follow the leader" on the ski slopes - through the trees, moguls, whatever. I could keep up with the boys. Now, I have probably skiied twice in the last 5 years and I am super conservative. Which makes sense - don't want to go breaking a leg. But it's other stuff too - other swimmers kicking, getting splashed in the face, people biking too close to me, a little sand on the road -- I want to get to a point where those things make it exciting and fun, and not scary. Pushing myself a little makes me feel good. When it's over, at least.

Went to the gym last night and did 10 miles on the bike, followed by some run/walking on the treadmill. Not my best workout, but it felt good to get back in the gym.