the weather was fabulous. the lake was calmer than we had seen it all week. the sun was up already at 4am. Something we are not used to. It made setting up in transition great -- no need to wear a head lamp to see what you are doing. Susie Q gave us a ride to transition which was super nice. We immediately found IronGreg's parents who were ready to cheer on all the Richmonders.
Lynnie Lou and I walked to the swim start together. We found Tyler along the way. this was a major cluster. The walkway to the water is narrow and it's filled with over 2,400 racers and their supporters. And one random idiot on a bike.
the calm before the storm
the pros started 25 minutes ahead. this way they would be on the second lap before the age groupers began. This makes total sense, right?! Keeps us out of their way since this is their income after all. However, because of this you were not allowed in the water to warm up. you could walk in up to your knees, but that's it. boo. So no warm up. We were all shaking a bit. It was a little chilly and nerves were high. I stood on the beach where i seemed to be right in the middle. not to one side, not to the front or back. Right in the middle. sure I may get hit more, but time wise this was where I needed to be.
the pros are off!
The gun went off and everyone rushed the water! I had practiced dolphin diving but with people all up in my biz, I couldn't do that, so I just ran until i couldn't run and dove right on in. Whew - that'll wake you up! the water was a balmy 55 degrees. Luckily, I was so focused on getting my rhythm I didn't have time to be concerned about the temperature...or lack thereof. I had told myself that IMAZ was 62 and I survived that and this wasn't that much colder, right?! anyways, I swam along thinking about Dory and Nemo, my trusty swimming imaginary friends. I got hit a few times. And I had to elbow one chick b/c she was she plain annoying. the first loop wasn't so bad. I could hear the volunteer yelling times - 42:30. That works for me! Ya know, thinking back - that may have been my fastest 1.2 time! score!
The second loop wasn't as good. Sure things thinned out, but the waves picked up some. People wore booties on their feet. I hated finding those people. If you hit their foot your hand went right across the grippies on their booties - owie. I figured when I got out of the swim my knuckles would be nice and exfoliated! As we rounded the buoys they were just as congested as the first. Almost more so. there was no swimming - you waded around and the group would pull you around. the second turn buoy was the PITS! A good size wave came as were wading around it knocking us all over the place. One man yelled out "Tsunami!!!!" we all got a good laugh and kept on swimming.
I did not negative split the swim, but from what I hear, no one did so that makes me feel better.
Goal Time - 1:30
Swim time - 1:28
1 comment:
Heck yeah! You beat your goal! That's awesome! Way to go. I can't wait to read the rest of your race.
Post a Comment