you are going to KICK ASS. 😀 xo

You’ll do wonderfully! When you have any doubts just look at all the great things you’ve done this year in your own health and wellness, marriage, and OPERATION BEAUTIFUL. If the founder and initiator can’t have faith in herself then really, who can?

Fell better!

I feel like I am getting something too, hope it’s just a temporary thing!

You are gonna rock the tri!

I am so proud that you made your decision! The goal has been set and now you can take the time and keep building your confidence! Catherine brought up a really good point about the gators so it’s unlikely that you’ll have those suckers to worry about!

You can do it… an OLYMPIC!!!

Way to go on choosing the Olympic! You will do great. I hope you feel better soon 🙂

I am proud of you. You made the right choice. You will do it, and no gators will get you … or else I will get them.

Just remember this…. positive thoughts = positive results! 🙂 You’ll do great!

Great choice! You will rock it!

You are amazing Caitlin! You are going to ROCK that Olympic distance!

You can totally do it…and think about once you get the swim done, you will be that much more determined to kick butt on the bike and run portion!

Feel better 🙂

Fear is temporary, quitting is forever

….I think that you just changed my life.

you can do it!!! swimming in lakes is scary for me, too. I’m sure you’ll conquer it !

I used to do open water swims and would get scared with dead heads/logs below…it made me swim FASTER! 😉

Good job! You can totally do this. But do NOT work yourself up thinking about what happened last time. That was an isolated incident, and you can’t let it seep into your next triathlon. So no more worrying. You can do this, and you just have to stay focused. Any time you feel some fear or panic creeping in, just counter it with a positive thought like, “Not this time, I can do this!” We all believe in you, lady! 🙂

Good choice!

I feel a bit under the weather too…..

Yay congrats!!! I know you can do it girl!

You need to spend five minutes a day visualizing yourself kicking that swim’s butt! Picture yourself getting in the water, taking a deep breath and SWIMMING. The more you picture it, the more confident you will feel going into the swim! You can do it!!!!!

Yay for making a decision! Now you can confidently go forward without wondering “What if?”.

Good luck with the swiiiiiiiiim! (Ah! ;))

Those ladies gave great advice! Although knowing you’re in FL…the gator thing is a lil scary!!!

You can do this Caitlin. Just think of how you’ll feel once you do!

Do you still use rice or soy milk in your coffee? Also, this is super random, but I was wondering if you ever use soy yogurt? I know you eat yogurt a lot, but I can’t remember you ever eating a soy kind. It’s obviously not the same as Greek yogurt, because it’s not as thick, but I was wondering if you ever thought about substituting it occasionally. I know you’re not vegan, but it’s a good additional substitution to make, if you’re already cutting down on regular dairy in some ways. Just curious!

You can do this Caitlin!! I know you can. that quote really got me thinking this morning too…fear is temporary!

I’ve been reading about your triathlon training and i just wanted to echo some of the comments about doing a few open water swims prior to your tri. With the help of TNT, I completed the Wildflower Olympic Tri a few years ago and the swim was the most difficult part for me. During the first team open water workout, I freaked out as soon as my face touched the water. The water was so cold that I couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t see anything. Despite repeated attempts, I kept freaking out and I had to go back to the shore while the rest of the team finished its practice swim. After the session, the head coach told me that she thought I should drop down into the sprint distance because of my anxieties (not in a mean way – just in a concerned, “I want to do what is best for you” way). I was concerned – we were only 2 weeks away from the actual event and even in a pool, I was not a strong swimmer, but I had raised over $5,000 for the L&LS from co-workers and friends by promising to complete an Olympic Tri (prior to this event, I was not a “worker-outer” as I used to say). Luckily, I had a really great TNT mentor who took me out to swim in Aquatic Bay (really cold and gross swimming area right near Fisherman’s Wharf in SF) 6 times in the next 2 weeks so that I could get comfortable in the water. The first couple of times, I was only in the water about 15-20 minutes, but started to get more comfortable with the cold and murkiness of the water. She also had me just bob upright in my wetsuit without treading my hands or leg so that I could trust my wetsuit. As I mentioned, I was able to complete the Tri and was so grateful that I had a mentor who helped me believe in myself. After the tri, the head coach came over to me and told me that my determination to stick with the longer distance had made her proud. You definitely believe in yourself, so you’ve got that part down! Good luck!