First Open-Water Swim

Saturday July 5, 2008

We knew we had to do it sometime. Although the weather was overcast and windy and the water looked choppy, we bit the bullet and donned our matching wetsuits for a parking-lot photo op. The poor guys who took our photos are still in shock - not exactly what they thought they would find at the beach on a Saturday morning in summer.

So, I'm not a bad swimmer - infact I think I'm quite a good swimmer. I go to the pool about twice a week and can swim the requisite half mile with no problem, so all along I was wondering why everyone I talk to about the Triathlon has said "if it weren't for the swimming, I'd do it." After our photo op, we headed for the water (some of us stepping on the rocks more gingerly than others with our princess feet). Brooke suggested we head for the third buoy in the distance and off we went. About three strokes into the swim, I began to hyperventilate and felt a wave of immense panic wash over me. I told the others I'd wait for them on shore and headed back to the beach. This was not quite the way the morning was supposed to go. When you swim in open water, there's no concept of distance and time - you're just out there bobbing around like a little cork (hopefully) with no railing to reach for or bottom to put your feet down on. It's eerie. The wetsuit felt great and although everyone says it adds buoyancy, I did not feel any sense of security out in American Lake.

Brooke and Laurie very graciously came back to shore and gently coaxed me back in suggesting a swim along the ropes of the marked swimming area where we could touch the bottom if we needed to or grab onto the rope in a moment of panic.

This time it went much better... one length of the rope in breast stroke. Then one back partially doing the crawl. Then another doing full crawl, head in the water and all. Eventually we figured we had completed about 800 meters by swimming back and forth along the rope without drowning. The best part of the whole thing was the three bald eagles circling above and sitting on snags as we swam. Perhaps they were hoping for a little washed up triathlete to snack on.

After the swim, we got on our bikes and rode about six miles then finished up with a twenty-minute run (followed by lots of food - this training makes me hungry.)