Triathlon training ... what have I done??

So, today was the first day of the rest of my triathlon training.

Oh.

My.

God.

First off I just have to say something. Swimmers? You guys are frigging maniacs. How do you do this stuff? I swam one lap. Count it, one. And I could barely get my heart rate back down from what felt like 200. I can run 20 miles without stopping, but I can't swim 1 lap without almost passing out. What the f@#!? Swimming is hard, hard, hard work. I had forgotten, I really had. When I was training for the last triathlon, 3 years ago, it was hard work then. But the mind blanks on these things - you forget just how hard. Just how much it sucks. Until you try it again. But I remember now. And it ain't a pleasant memory.

I'm sore in muscles I had forgotten I had. And I had forgotten I had them because I didn't have them anymore. And now I still don't have them and they hurt. What a wonderful combination - worst of both worlds. For the record, I did 12 laps, total. In about 25 minutes. That's pathetic, I know. I'm putting it down here so that when I do the triathlon I'll know how bad I was when I started, and hopefully will be doing better than 12 laps in 25 minutes when I'm done with this willing hell I'm embarking on.