The race was supposed to start at 6:30, which is a good thing, because lately the sun isn't even coming up until then (hello Fall)! I got to the reservoir around 6 and it was still really dark out. AND COLD!! In the last couple of days, we've had a "cold" front move in which has dropped our daytime temps into the 80s. It's awesome during the day, but Saturday morning it was in the 50s and there was a crazy WIND that made it feel even colder. The water temp. was in the 70s, so it was actually nicer to be in the water then out of it! :)
Here's a map of the race course. It was this huge rectangle that pretty much spanned the entire reservoir. It is 1.2M, so for the 2.4M swim, we did two laps. I thought the buoys looked really FAR away and got a little panicked about the distance.
As I was putting on my wetsuit, someone behind asked, "Is that Aimee from I Tri To Be Me?" I was really surprised as I turned around and said, "Yes.." It ended up being a guy named Steve (hi Steve!) that said he recognized me from my blog! I was a little embarrassed, but we got to talking and he was super nice! He helped keep my nerves at bay before we started! We went down to the start together, then I lost track of him as we were warming up. He was doing the 1.2M swim, so I hope he had a good swim! :)
Before I knew it, it was time to start! We started on the beach, but the water level has dropped so much that I'd say the first 50ft. was only up to my knees/thighs. The timing mat was on the beach, but honestly I didn't even start swimming for awhile, so I started my watch as I was walking through the water.
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The mass start wasn't bad at all and I had almost no contact, which was great! BUT, the one bad thing about the race starting right when the sun was coming up was that we were swimming right INTO it! Seriously, I could NOT see a thing! I got off course so many times it was insane! At one point I went to sight and was swimming diagonally into the wrong direction and I almost ran into a boat! OOPS!!
Other than the sun, the first lap went pretty well, but it felt really LONG! I just kept seeing buoy after buoy and I was glad to finally go around the final turn back to the start. I came to the end of the first lap and had to walk through the water again in order to start my second lap. I'm not going to lie, it was a nice little break! :)
Again, on the 2nd lap it was into the sun...ugh! It was soooo hard to see the buoy and it was really frustrating. AND, again, I kept getting off course. It was a little choppy, so I don't know if it was the waves, or not being able to see the buoy, but I just COULD NOT get my bearings and swim straight for the life of me. Seriously, I think I added another couple 100 yards to my total swim distance! Ugh!
But, as I was swimming and swimming the whole time I was thinking, I CAN DO THIS! Then, as I got closer to the finish, it was I'M DOING IT! All I could think about was how awesome I felt knowing that I can swim the distance at IMAZ and it just made me sooo happy!
I got out of the water, happy as can be, and headed towards the bathrooms to change. As I was getting my stuff, a girl asked, "Are you Aimee from I Tri To Be Me?" I said, "Yeah!" and she said, "I follow your blog!" It was so cool! Her name was Jennifer (Hi Jennifer!) and we started talking all about the swim. She was super nice too!
Anyways, according to my watch, I did the 2.4M swim in 1:28!! Now, I know I am NOT a fast swimmer, but considering the walking and swimming off course a ton, I didn't think that time was too bad! At least it's good enough to make the swim cut-off time at IMAZ. :) And, I still have 2 1/2months of training left!
* Next up...a 10M race tomorrow! Woohoo!! :)
I hope you are all having a great Labor Day weekend!
23 comments:
Awesome! That is sooo far! I have an Oly tri coming up and I'm scared of the 1.5km swim...can't imagine swimming 2.4 miles! Way to go!
Congrats on a great swim! I haven't done a tonne of OWS, but I always think it looks really far, when it's actually an attainable distance. It must feel great to have accomplished that with lots of time still to train!
Congratulations Aimee! It must feel so great to know you can do that distance. It was a cold windy morning yesterday. Julie and I thought of you while we were riding. I went to Grant Ranch today to get one final swim in and was surprised to see how much the water level had dropped.
Good luck tomorrow. You are on a role :)
What a great confidence builder! Now you know you can do it. I'm really shortsighted so I typically don't try to sight the buoys. They're much too small. I just follow the main body of splash. One swimmer might go astray, but the whole herd typically doesn't. It works for going right into the sun as well. Good luck at IMAZ!
Oh, got here from SUAR. And don't sweat your IM time, that's perfectly respectable. Better to get out of the water a bit slow, and ready to bike, than to be fast, and all dizzy and confused because your heart rate is through the roof.
Wow, that's SMOKIN fast to me!!! You will have no problem at AZ. You are right, doing these practice swims really helps the race day confidence, I wish I had another beyond the one I did in July!
Wow girl, that's a great time considering the sun and choppy water. I swam a mile at the pool the other day and it was like 48 minutes (I did stop a lot though))...I kept thinking I'd never make the cut-off for an IM (NOT THAT I'M CONSIDERING THAT - I don't think ;)). Very nice!!
I was working packet pick-up today for the Park to Park tomorrow...hope I didn't miss you if you picked up your packet today!! That'd been like 3 blogger meet ups this weekend (how are those other two's blogs, btw?). Good luck with the race, it is going to be a gorgeous day!!!!
Its a small blogger world after all. Thats cool that you get to meet people who know you online first. From a swim perspective I can relate to the sun issues. It seems like every race I've done is either early or late in the day and I was surprised how much it blocks your sight. At that point the buoys could be the size of a cruise ship and I still wouldn't see them.
great job !!! love that people recognize you
There was a doubt that you could do it? Not here! I knew you could! that sun can be a killer out there at the Rez.
Good luck tomorrow at the Park to Park!
That’s awesome!! Way to go, girl!
That is really good, well done! Lots of respect for you.
Awesome job Aimee!! Doing that boosts your confidence up a few more notches. You did it and your time was perfect! I'm so proud of you b/c i know how tough the swim can be mentally and you totally conquered it. Have a great 10k race!
Oops, i meant have a great 10 mile (not km) race!
Congrats on a great race! It's amazing how much doing a certain distance will boost your confidence. YOU are going to be SO ready for IMAZ!!
You're apparently a local celeb! Glad you got the swim in--what a confidence builder for your IM.
And on my "heart attack" post the other day--yes, much of that info came from the China study. Tough, but sounds very worthwhile for some.
YES!! It has been so cold, especialy Sat. morning. You were brave to get in the water and get it done!!
Hey Aimee, it was great meeting you on Saturday. I am happy to know that I can complete the distance, too. I went 1:25, so no speedster here, either. I am doing Arizona too, so we should meet up there. I have a 4 and 6 year old - our kids could hang out. Where are you staying?
nice swim!
you ARE doing it:)
It was nice meeting you. I had a good swim (49 min for the 1.2M) for my longest swim to date. Good luck with your IMAZ training.
Nice job on the swim. Tremendous confidence booster.
You ARE doing it and WILL do it in November.
Psyched for you.
Awesome job! Nice to get the full distance out of the way now. One less thing to have to worry about or IMAZ.
Good luck with your training!
Great job, girl!! We had very similar swim times from my 2.4 back in June. That first loop seemed like forever to me, too. I was happy when it was done and I could focus on the homestretch.
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