The key to get to the podium at events? Do events where there are only three people in your age group. Yup---at yesterday's SwimOutlet.com Open Water Swim I somehow managed to get 1st place for non-wetsuit females in my age group. ME? First place? At something related to swimming? Hilarious!
I giddily accepted the bottle of Two Buck Chuck wine as my prize (seriously, how awesome is that? I may have to put that in my wine cellar to commemorate this victory. Hah! Like I have a wine cellar). The woman who got 3rd place posed with me for a picture. She was super cute because she was just as surprised as I was for placing. Her eyes got all big as she said, "Oh my gosh I wasn't even going to swim today!"
Honestly though, I didn't sign up for non-wetsuit because I thought I would increase my odds of placing. I plan to do the Slam the Dam 3.6 mile swim in October without a wetsuit because the temperature is supposed to be pretty warm, so figured I should see what it is like. I was actually a little nervous about the swim since the longest I have swam in open water was probably 1.5 miles.
Swimming without a wetsuit was AMAZING! I just loved that each stroke felt natural, I could breathe normally, and I didn't have the sore shoulder issues I have been having in my wetsuit.
I was super scared of swimming without a wetsuit mainly because of the other swimmers. For some reason the wetsuit makes me feel like I have some protection. I have a fear of someone doing breaststroke and kicking me so my knee dislocates and then I will flail around and a lifeguard will come rescue me and then I will have to go to the ER.
In my head, the wetsuit would protect me from dislocations.
Fortunately, no injuries like that. However, I didn't anticipate scratching. In the open water it is pure aquatic Armageddon and everyone gets all up in your business. I literally felt someone scratch their claws in me as they were attempting to do a freestyle stroke. "Ow," I thought to myself, "That's going to leave a mark."
The swim was two loops in the Stevens Creek Reservoir. The first mile loop was ok. I still haven't figured out how to swim faster in the open water. About halfway through the second loop the strangest thing happened. I got totally disoriented. The reservoir is surrounded by trees and everything looks the same, and all of the sudden I had a, "Where the heck am I?" kind of feeling. I can't explain it. I can only compare it to those times where you are driving home and you can't remember driving to a certain point. Minds are weird.
Of course what makes these events so great is getting to do them with my peeps. Some of my workout buddies did it, along with one of my friends whom I did Seattle to Portland with last year. Her and I actually decided to do an easy ride after the race. I forgot how hardcore she is, so our definition of "easy" differed. To me, "easy" was a 5 mile ride. To her, "easy" was 25 or 30 miles. We did 22, and kicked up the pace the last half. It was awesome to be able to push one another.
It was great to have a successful event coming from the heels of another fun event (last week's International Triathlon). 2009 and 2010 were a little lackluster in terms of my enjoyment of events. I think I was trying desperately to get back that feeling I had the first couple of years of tris. But with anything in life, trying to replicate something in the past will only set you up for disappointment in the present. I think I was way hard on myself the past couple of years thinking that success was defined by a time. I may never do a half marathon in under two hours. Does that mean it isn't worth it to do these things? Last week was the slowest I have ever done that distance in, but it still felt fantastic. It feels great to know that I can move past literally crying on the track two weeks ago to having fun at events again.
So the goal for the rest of the year? Brace yourself because it is going to sound way hippie and new agey. I just want to, like, live in the moment man. Take the water in. See the world from the seat of a bicycle. Feel myself connecting with the trail.
Oh goodness gracious. Where did THAT come from? Did I mention I have been without cable tv for 6 weeks? Perhaps my lack of reality television viewing has chipped away some of my cynicism? If I start wearing Patchouli oil, please please please have an intervention. Yikes.
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