Just a little bit terrified

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Have you done something recently that's scared your frickin' pants off and that's taken you above and beyond any acceptable fear factor level?  We don't often take ourselves out of our comfort zones, or if we do, it's within an acceptable parameter than we know isn't too far away from where we want to be.

I'm guilty of this.  Personally, I'm completely terrified of heights (you could fall off), or small enclosed spaces, I'm not going to begin trying to explain that one, lets just say, I'm flapping my hands wildly in front of my face.

So I'm doing an ocean swim event next weekend.  1km of sharky, blue bottlely water, and I'm not even exaggerating that.  This is fact, but apparently the sharks are harmless, and the blue bottles are just bad luck.
Lets just say I'm also a very, very, very bad swimmer, and even though I'm able to swim that distance, I tend to swim at the same pace as older swimmers who wear floral caps although even they burn me off sometimes.   But I still back myself that I can do it.  I have a mental image in my mind of running out of the water, looking like one of those Nutrigrain Ironwoman, shaking my hair in slow motion.

But reality hit last weekend when I swam in the ocean for the first time, and not in a clear blue pool with lines on the bottom.  It was terrifying, and that's not even taking into consideration the potential wildlife lurking below me.  What I hadn't factored in was how deep the water would be.  Like as in really, really deep.  Lets call it a novice's mistake.  In fact as I was swimming, I swam over a diver BELOW me, which of course, completely did my head in.  How deep am I?  I inhaled lots of ocean water, and lay on my back for a moment as another friend swimming asked if I was ok .  "Yeah, yeah, all good, just a small freak out, nothing serious", and continued on my way, to the shallower water.  Another revelation, if I have a freak out when I'm doing a running event, I just stop and do a pretend stretch, get my shiz together and get on my way.  But if I freak out in the water, there's no lamppost to lean against, instead you're in deep, sharky, blue bottley water, which is usually the cause of the freak out in the first place.  Bit of a dilemma right?

Tomorrow is Australia Day, there are a group of swimmers, the Bold and the Beautiful who swim this distance daily as a warm up in the sea  before heading off for more kilometres, they have an annual Australia Day swim, complete with the national anthem and a lovely sense of community.  I'm thinking about joining them, just me on my own.  Quietly tackling my fear.  I probably won't, and will head to the ocean pool instead, but I am thinking of it.  It's scaring the bejesus out of me.  Maybe that's why I should do it?

What terrifies you?
Should I do it?

Postscript: Even posting this photo has put the shits up