Swim Report – Rockett’s Landing Olympic Tri (or shall we say Try?)

This is a little late, but better late than never, right.

Last Sunday I did an Olympic distance Triathlon – which for me, because of the swim distance, is a feat in itself…
Pair that with the weather – um, well 80 degrees and 100% humidity at 530am, you can begin to understand it was H-O-T.
My biggest reason for choosing this race was because it would be my “attempt” at an against current swim in open water – 1.5 kilometers, over half being against the current of the James.
I had great support on the course race day. Hubby Bob came with me and Maggie, Emily and Kevin were racing, Sue was there for Chris’s race BUT I got to borrow her as a cheerleader as well, AND to make it XTRA SPECIAL, Hot “momof 3” was working the race so I would get the treat of seeing her somewhere out there.

(Me, Maggie and Lady Em post race)
The river, although I had been in it several times before, looked particularly daunting and nasty that morning AND being in the last wave (why do they always make the 40+ women go last?) was the cherry on top. So I am going into this not only worrying I won’t make the swim cut off of 70 minutes but also I have the added bonus of possibly being the absolute LAST person out of the water PERIOD.
With everyone being uber-supportive and my stomach not having issues for once, I decided I was okay with both of those options. It is what it is and it will be whatever it will be.
So in I went, found myself a nice little spot where I wouldn’t get kicked (or so I thought) snuggled in and waited for the whistle.
Off I went. My strategy was, well, not to have a strategy. Rather to just go out, swim at a comfortable pace, keep my breathing gentle and not panic – all of those things plus I added in a little singing and hollering “Om Nom Nom” like a shark, as well as chit-chatting a hello and thank you to the kayakers that were there to save me if I started drowning.
The water was warm and stinky and it didn’t help to read the sign about being below the sewage line and how we could be swimming in waste - but all in all it wasn’t going bad. I made it to the first yellow buoy, where I could turn right and start my voyage back in (with current) in just over 25 minutes.
Wow! I was pretty amazed. That was giving me 45 minutes before cutoff and I was already on my way back! I was extremely happy and I also basked in the glory of knowing there were at least 10 people behind me.
I was utilizing 3 of the strokes I knew… breast, free, and side, and I was rotating through them as not to wear myself completely out. I wasn’t speedy but I was consistent.
As I passed the last red buoy and started angling towards the exit dock, I realized how well I had done on time. Out of the water in 41:07! I.WAS.THRILLED! As you can see by my expression in this very unflattering photo…(lucky for you, I edited out the rest of my body, ugh!)

…and as I ran by a family in the swim exit area, I told their little girl of 4, “learn to swim now, don’t wait til you are old like I did!”

BUT, I did it…that was HUGE!

The rest of the race was good…sweltering but fun. I guess I shouldn’t call it a race because in that heat and after that swim, my only goal was to finish feeling healthy and not pass out.

I did both.

Bonuses for me that day:
1. My husband seeing me finish a race (hardly ever happens)
2. Having Maggie and Emily on course with me (although I never saw either of them during their portions of the race)
3. Sue being there to cheer me on
4. Seeing both Chris’s on the course
5. Seeing momof3 – at the very furthest out water stop out on the course – right at the base of the Mayan Ruins hill…what a treat to see her and get some supportive words from a friend! That is also where I got to meet, albeit briefly, Dave!

It was a good day and I finished delirious – but I finished happy and having fun!

Run safe, run happy!
-d