Lake Harriet Open Water 1 Mile Race Report
Open water. Every Wednesday morning, on my early bike ride, I notice a group of swimmers crossing Lake Harriet. This always catches my attention, because I would love to incorporate group open water swimming with my current training.
Last week, I decided to try to learn more about this group of swimmers. How? Google, of course!
I did not find any information about this swimming group on Google, but I did find a posting by MN Masters Swimming announcing an open water race this last Saturday, right on Lake Harriet (2 blocks from my house). Now that screams "perfect"! What an awesome opportunity! I can actually get some open water swimming practice into my weekend. That does not happen to often.
Eager, I called my training buddy Derek, and asked if he was interested. "Of course, I'll skip the cabin trip this weekend and join ya" was his immediate response.
Derek and I signed up at 6:30 the morning of the race. It was at this time that we realized we were amongst some pretty hard core swimmers. A group of them were training at the uptown YMCA for a Channel Swim later this summer (ya, that channel. The one that goes from England to France). Derek and I were starting to have second thoughts.
Derek and I hung out and waited for the first race to begin (the 2 mile race).
Promptly, at 9:30, the gun went off and the two mile swimmers started out in a maddening display of total chaos. Wow, these guys are FAST! The first man out of the water did it in well under 50 minutes (closer to 45 I believe). Luckily, this guy went home immediately after, so Derek and I did not have to worry about him during the one mile race! The first woman came out right around 50 minutes, damn, that is very impressive!
An hour after the two mile race started, we lined up for our little one mile race. Again, the gun went off, only this time I was no longer an observer, safe on the beach. I was smack dab in the middle of all this chaos. Bodies jocking for position, people kicking and slapping the water with their hands and feet. It was surreal.
After about five minutes of getting adjusted to all this chaos, and finally finding some clean open water, I noticed that I did not feel right. Whats wrong, I asked myself?
I felt totally vulnerable. Why did I feel so...so naked? No wetsuit. This was my first open water swim without my beloved wetsuit. Swimming without a wetsuit, especially in chaos, is a completely different experience than swimming with one.
Every time I would look up to sight, my legs would sink. Normally my wetsuit helps keep my legs buoyant, even when I am sighting. This sinking of the legs produces a lot of drag and a funny feeling of "I am not inevitable out here..I could really drown." And "damn, how did I manage to get myself out in the middle of this lake?"
After what seemed like an eternity of swimming in a dark algae infested cesspool, I made it to buoy number one. "Cool, only 3 more buoys to go," I said to myself. "I can do this. I just need to find my rhythm."
Sadly, the rhythm went something like this: Stroke, stroke, stroke. Stop. Look up. Legs sink. Lift legs up. Repeat. It took all I had to swim 10 strokes without stopping to sight. I was keeping a pretty straight line, and did not need to look so much, but felt like I was constantly off track in this dark murky water.
Rounding the last buoy, I was the last in a group of about 10 people. Discouraged, I vowed I would not be the last out of the water. I did all I could, and finally climbed up on shore.
After a high five with Derek (he beat my by a little over a minute), we stuck around to cheer on the winners of the Age group categories.
Derek Hansen, you have won the 30-34 age group! What!? How could that have happened? Awesome! Well, we looked around, and noticed that we were probably the only two guys in our age group. That means I probably took second place! Or, last place. It depends on how you look at it:-)
After leaving the race, I reflected on this whole experience. I am normally a pretty competitive guy. I have always considered myself an athlete. In high school (15 years ago) I was captain of the wrestling team, starting center in football and I even boxed for a while in college. This slow finish should have crushed my ego. But it did not. It made me eager to do it again next year.
Why is that, no crushed ego? I think it has to do with the fact that I am getting older. With age comes the realization that my times mean nothing. The fact that I show up and give it my all is what matters. I am not at home, sitting on the couch (as my wife so eloquently put it), which is more than 90% of the married guys my age. I am outside, meeting other athletes and actually living life, not watching it on the tube (or from the beach).
I am eagerly looking forward to the next race. Who knows, maybe next time I'll move a little closer to the middle of the pack!
posted by George | 10:05 AM
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