OK folks. Let's do this thing.
I signed up for this event in the beginning of the summer mainly because I wanted an excuse to go to Vegas and get out of town for a weekend. The Slam the Dam event is at Lake Mead which is the back of Hoover Dam. They have 3 different races going on: an 8k, 1.2, and 2.4 mile swim. For people wanting to up their distance they could do the Super Slam which s the 1.2 and 2.4 mile swim, or the grand slam which is the 8k plus 1.2 mile swim. I knew I had to justify this race by signing up for a distance out of my comfort zone. The 8k did not seem like a realistic goal, so I thought, let's do the 3.6. Why the heck not, right?
My two friends and I met at SFO on Friday to fly out together. Our flight was supposed to leave at 9:30 but got delayed to 12:30. That wouldn't have been that bad if we were at the cool section of SFO. Oh well. We had a short flight to Vegas, got a rental car and drove about 20 miles to Boulder City.
We stayed at the Hacienda Inn, which was...um, how shall I put this delicately. It is what you would expect for a $50 a night hotel next to a major tourist attraction. They did boast 99 cent shrimp cocktail on their marquee. I decided that probably would not be a good choice for dinner, so we drove to the town and had dinner at a brewery.
We woke up at 4am(!) and headed to the start of the race. Did I mention there was lightning the night before? It was 5:45 when we arrived at the beach and they were still setting up the race. It was so dark, I could not see the lake. Finally the sun rose and this enormous lake was in front of me.
My friend was signed up for the 8k and unfortunately hurt her ankle earlier in the week. She took a shuttle with our other friend who was her kayaker to the start for that event. She texted me they may cancel the 8k because a thunderstorm was coming. They ended up not canceling, but she decided to do the 2.4 as it would be tough to swim in choppy water with an injury.
There was a delay at the start time, so we probably started the 2.4 mile race at 8:15 instead of 8.
I don't really know how to write about swimming. The 2.4 felt long, and choppy. My mind wandered a little. The last 1/4 of the swim I was getting nervous. I didn't have a watch on and was not sure if I would make it to the cut off time to start the 1.2. Fortunately, I did! I waited around about 20 minutes to start the 1.2. At first I was thinking it would be tough to swim again after a break, but I was thankful for the break because I got to eat a banana, drink some water, and reapply sunscreen.
The 1.2 race started and I was off again. It is interesting comparing the two races. The 2.4 had less people, and felt more mellow (or at least the fast hardcore people were way ahead of me, so I dd not feel the intensity). The 1.2 had more people and had a lot of people stopping in the middle of the water, doing breaststroke, etc. At one point I was stuck behind 3 people swimming next to one another. I decided to go for it and pass them. And something funny happened. I felt stronger on the 1.2 mile swim, then the 2.4. The only issue I had was my left shoulder was acting up, but other than that I felt great. And I finished! Whoo hoo! I had never swam that far in the open water before. The thing that amazed me is that the past 3 weeks my swim training has decreased significantly, and yet I was still able to finish. Still waiting for race results to post. I seriously have NO IDEA what my time was.
My friends and I packed up and headed to the strip. It was a great weekend filled with yummy food, a massage, and Jabberwockeez--- an awesome vegas show!
Next up: The Golden State Triathlon this Sunday! A sprint tri with a 9:20 am wave start. YAY!
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