Monday, April 5, 2010

Splash & Dash Race Report

I signed up for this race because for some stupid reason, I wanted to swim in open water and try out my new wetsuit. The race is a 1000 meter swim in Tempe Town Lake and a 3k(1.86 mile) run. Usually I do these races when the water is warmer. Tempe Town Lake is at 62 degrees. Water from the Salt River is still flowing over the dam from the snow melt up north. Consequently there is a current in the "Lake".

I figured that 62 degrees would be no big deal. I swam 2.4 miles in that water temperature last fall. I got hypothermia and I nearly couldn't finish the swim, but what is 1000 meters? A piece of cake.

As it turned out, the swim wasn't that bad, but it wasn't enjoyable. I was recovering from a cold and my ribs still hurt from a fall three weeks ago. The cold water made it hard to breath and I felt like I had a band around my chest. It took me a few minutes to get my head in the water. I started in the back because my swimming is slow, but I still had to navigate around people back-stroking and having panic attacks. I had to stop and catch my breath a lot, but I didn't feel panicky. I was berating myself for starting so slow. One of these days I will feel like I am actually racing in open water, rather than just surviving.

I rounded the first buoy and I turned east. Swimming east, the sun is in your eyes and you can't see the buoys. I followed the other bodies hoping that they were swimming straight, then I relied on sighting a distant building. At this point, I was swimming against the current, although I kept telling myself that I was making forward progress. The middle buoy WAS getting closer. The water was also choppy. Maybe all the swimmers ahead of me stirring up the water. You had to watch it if you stopped to rest. Breathing hard and swallowing water is not a pleasant combination.

My mental state was not the best. I kept telling myself how much I hate swimming, how much I suck at swimming, how much I hate swimming in Tempe Town Lake, how much I hate swimming in cold water. I wondered how the hell I swam 2.4 miles in this cold of water. At least I wasn't at the state of mind where I didn't think I could make it and where was the damn kayak to rescue me anyway. Being in this crappy algae infested water was manageable even though I was kind of tired.

Finally, I hit the last buoy. It seemed much easier swimming downstream when you knew the unpleasantness is almost over. Usually, I perk up when I know I am almost done. (Except for Ironman Arizona where I WAS done before I was done. I got done in 31 minutes. This below average for most swimmers, but about normal for me.

I got on my feet and found out that they were numb. It hurt to run to transition, and I had to fumble to get my wetsuit off and my shoes on. The new wetsuit came off a lot easier than my old wetsuit. The breeze felt chilly on my wet arms.

I started running and my numb feet hurt. My brain was telling my legs to move, but my feet felt kind of out of sync. I wanted to run hard and I was trying to, but my heart rate wasn't going up much. Usually when I do the swim runs, the water is warm enough that when I get to the run, my legs magically go really fast, as if the swimming complements the running. Not so much today.

I hit the turn-around and pushed the pace more. My legs seemed to move faster even though my feet still hurt. I finished in about 16:34, which was about a 8:54 minute per mile pace. It's hardly enough time it even warm up. It certainly didn't warm my feet up much. By this time, almost everyone else had finished. The race is basically a training event anyway, so it didn't really matter. This race gets anyone from beginners to pros. It saves me the hassle of driving 45 minutes to go out to the outlying lakes, paying $6 and wondering how far I am REALLY swimming. The down side is that I get to look at the ugly concrete walls, relive past miserable swims in this lake and wonder how the hell I can be so slow. Twenty five swims in this lake, including four ironman swims and two half irons and counting. Maybe some day I will learn to like it and stop being so negative. Chances are I will keep swimming in it as long as there are races.

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