What the heck happened to summer? I was greeted at the venue with an outside temperature of 43*F. Hoping things would warm up before my 9:00 AM swim, I stuck around. Volunteers showed up wearing ear muffs. It was cold.
My intent was to swim the 1-mile race, but I honestly considered dropping. Nearly everyone showed up wearing wet suits...a handful of us came armed with only swimsuits and goggles. Pride took over and I decided to go through with it, but I opted for the 1/2-mile. I didn't think I would last in this cold much longer than 45-minutes.
Many theories were flying around, and everyone seemed to agree that the water would be warmer than the air. Of course, nobody was willing to test this theory before the race started. The horn went off and we all jumped in. Those earlier theories were quite wrong. The cold was such a shock to my system that I couldn't catch my breath...actually swimming was out of the question. At least in the beginning. Withing a few minutes, my body adapted to the low temperature and I was able to get my breath. I kept remembering an instruction I read: "Calm down and swim". And that's exactly what I did.
Once I got into it, I was fine. Although many other racers were well ahead of me. Their wet suits gave them a nice advantage. This is something I need to consider, as water temperatures are very unpredictable. I'm not suggesting I would have won if I had a wet suit, but I wasted a lot of time trying to catch my breath...nearly 25% of the race. I could have significantly closed the gap between myself and the pack.
It was a photo-finish for 6th/7th place, with me finishing only a few seconds behind another racer wearing only a swimsuit (my way of saying "I got my ass kicked"). The [young] guy who took 6th did not want to give it up, and I was happy to see him push so hard toward the end. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy winning and question what happened when I don't. But I also enjoy sharing in the victory of others, especially when we push/pull each other forward. I wasn't winded at all after the race, and I wasn't cold anymore. I had a great time and can't wait to do this one again next year. It was a beautiful venue and the water was very clean.
LESSONS LEARNED: (1) Train more in open water, (2) invest in wet suit, and (3) start strength/speed training. The fact that I didn't medal and wasn't winded means I need to go "harder" not "farther".
My intent was to swim the 1-mile race, but I honestly considered dropping. Nearly everyone showed up wearing wet suits...a handful of us came armed with only swimsuits and goggles. Pride took over and I decided to go through with it, but I opted for the 1/2-mile. I didn't think I would last in this cold much longer than 45-minutes.
Many theories were flying around, and everyone seemed to agree that the water would be warmer than the air. Of course, nobody was willing to test this theory before the race started. The horn went off and we all jumped in. Those earlier theories were quite wrong. The cold was such a shock to my system that I couldn't catch my breath...actually swimming was out of the question. At least in the beginning. Withing a few minutes, my body adapted to the low temperature and I was able to get my breath. I kept remembering an instruction I read: "Calm down and swim". And that's exactly what I did.
Once I got into it, I was fine. Although many other racers were well ahead of me. Their wet suits gave them a nice advantage. This is something I need to consider, as water temperatures are very unpredictable. I'm not suggesting I would have won if I had a wet suit, but I wasted a lot of time trying to catch my breath...nearly 25% of the race. I could have significantly closed the gap between myself and the pack.
It was a photo-finish for 6th/7th place, with me finishing only a few seconds behind another racer wearing only a swimsuit (my way of saying "I got my ass kicked"). The [young] guy who took 6th did not want to give it up, and I was happy to see him push so hard toward the end. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy winning and question what happened when I don't. But I also enjoy sharing in the victory of others, especially when we push/pull each other forward. I wasn't winded at all after the race, and I wasn't cold anymore. I had a great time and can't wait to do this one again next year. It was a beautiful venue and the water was very clean.
LESSONS LEARNED: (1) Train more in open water, (2) invest in wet suit, and (3) start strength/speed training. The fact that I didn't medal and wasn't winded means I need to go "harder" not "farther".
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