LATE BREAKING NEWS ---- I FINISHED 7th IN MY AGE GROUP AND 4th IN MY AGE GROUP AMONG THE WETSUIT GROUP. HOLY COW!!!!!!!!!
Again, thank goodness I came out yesterday for the clinic and practice swim. Getting a preview of the course and a feel for the water was definitely a confidence builder.
Luckily I was able to hook up with a handful of the other Snapple trainees and even Coach M. We were all geared-out in our Snapple tri suits. Check us out.
Before we knew it we were lining up to hear the pre-race information session and then were lining up into our waves. Again, since I was clueless about my speed, I seeded myself to finish in 50 minutes. That meant that I was in the third to the last wave. When you're back with the normal folks it's actually a good time. Everyone is chatty and just hoping to finish. No drama in the fun zone.
We were all zipped into our wet suits, had out timing chips attached to our ankles, yellow swim caps on our heads and goggles securely attached. Note to self --- these wetsuits are hot and zipping in too earlier and sitting in the blazing sun is not a good idea.
As each wave entered the water for the in-water start, we all advanced forward a foot toward the water. I'll admit it, I started getting butterflies. I haven't swam in a real race since high school!
Before I was able to move into full panic-mode, we were in the water and getting ready to start. Me and about 15-20 of my new best buddies (that's about how many folks were in each wave) were treading water waiting for the word to go. Surprisingly the water was very warm --- in the 70's. That's a bonus for me since I don't do well in colder water. Once I hit water in the 60's it's not pretty.
In short order we were off! It was a bit odd to start swimming from a treading water position. Luckily, I positioned myself off to the side and did not experience the crush of people pushing forward. I realized pretty quickly that I screwed up my seeding, which may have meant that I didn't experience the pushing and shoving of the initial few hundred meters. As I turned into the dog-leg I realized I was catching and passing the wave in front of me. Sorry guys! This dog-leg was hard yesterday and it was hard again. First, it's longer than you think. Second, we were warned that the first 200 meters of any swim are hard as the body adjusts to the swim. Below is the course map.
Just like yesterday, wearing the sleeved wet suit was kinda gross. It felt hot and I felt like it made my arms feel heavy. Heavy is not good.
I was much better at sighting this time vs yesterday. I will say that that's the hardest part. It's one thing to put your head down and just stroke it out. When you have to sight it messes with your rhythm. Bi-lateral breathing was definitely a bonus in this situation. This time I cut the buoys tighter and hoped I was swimming much straighter. I also made sure to not follow the leader and instead rely on my own navigational skills.
There were definitely a few times I felt tired or needed to take a better looks around. At those moments, I swam a few strokes of breaststroke, which by the way, isn't that easy when wearing a wet suit! There were also moments that I got out of the groove or just felt off. Mostly, I felt my technique deteriorating for whatever reason. Likely it was because I was anxious. At those moments I forced myself to relax and revert back to thinking about my technique vs just trying to swim fast. Being more efficient is always smarter. I found this approach to really work for me.
I also really focused on kicking more consistently. Yesterday I seemed to pull more than I kicked which is a bit nutty since I got tired early. I forced myself to focus on kicking throughout the swim.
During yesterday's swim I think I focused too much on being overwhelmed by the distance and how long the distance seemed once it was in front of me. Today, I focused on cutting the swim into more attainable segments. That approach was much better and I felt more confident.
I continued passing a few people after the turnaround point. My goal was very simple --- finish this damn thing with some pride.
The return back to shore is basically a long straightaway. It can be intimidating. It just seems long, but you feel energized since you are almost done. The entire time I kept hearing that phrase from the movie Finding Nemo -- "just keep swimming." I know. I'm a loser.
As I saw the last buoy marking the final turn I decided that this was the time to turn on the jets and just go for it. I cut the corner tight --- actually tighter than I thought because I was fighting for position next to this guy who was also cutting it tight too. I probably should have done a better job bilateral breathing around this corner so that I moved more efficiently around the corner and into the straightaway.
Once I made the final turn, I basically put my head down and swam hard into the finish. I knew I'd have a little bit of energy to surge forward, but then would fall apart. I was kicking and pulling for dear life. I just wanted to crush this guy next to me...which I did. Ha ha!
As I made it to the boat ramp I was preparing myself for the next challenge --- standing up, having the blood rush to my extremities and run across the finish line. I definitely felt the wobble that folks describe once I stood up and started running. All I was thinking was that I had to keep pushing forward because my time included this mini-run.
I'm still not sure what my time ultimately was, but it definitely was better than 50 minutes. More importantly, I completed two swims at distances slighter greater than what I need to do during my upcoming race.
I "think" I'm ready for the swim leg.
No comments:
Post a Comment