I just had the opportunity to run a weekly race in
a) a 5k running race
b) a 1k ocean swim race
c) the "biathlon" - 1k ocean swim & 5k running race
For $25, you are given a t-shirt, a barbecue after, and free beer until the kegs run out.
I decided to take my chances with the biathlon.
The water was a balmy 63 degrees, but today the temperature in
As I stood on the shoreline waiting for the lifeguards to get us started, they made an announcement that one of the buoy markers on the swim course had been dragged off course by some seaweed. They were warning us not to swim to this particular buoy - which, of course, looking out into the water, is indistinguishable from any OTHER buoy out there... Every one of us started looking at each other, asking "do you know which buoy they are talking about? Nope... Uh-uh... That one? No, I think it's THAT one..." you get the point.
So the gun goes off, and we run from the beach to the ocean. Most of us are in wetsuits, with a few folks going sans... I imagine they are the hardcore "open water swim"-types who loathe us wimpy wetsuit folk. As I ran into the ocean, a 4 foot wave came crashing down in front of me. The best thing to do was stand there and take it before trying to dive in.
Eventually, I dove in. Welcome to my first open water swim of the year!
As usual, a mass swim start presents its own list of issues, with people bumping each other for position, especially as we swim out to that first buoy. In this swim, however, everybody seemed much more polite. I was not smacked once and I was even given the right of way as I started to pass a couple of people. Of course, since more people were passing me, I offered the same courtesy.
Coming to the first buoy, I turned right.... Directly into the sun. It's 6:30pm and the sun is starting to set... in front of me. Now, not only was I trying to ascertain which buoy NOT to swim towards, but I couldn't see them anyway! So, I took the most prudent course, and just tried to keep an eye on those people beside me and make sure I was parallel to them. The waves were steep, and on a few occasions I found myself lifting my left arm out of the water, only to bring it down about 3 feet lower than my body. I've never contended with this before... It was quite exciting, actually, aside from the fact that I was feeling a little seasick.
It turned out my strategy of following others paid off, and I blindly made it to the turnaround buoy without straying off course towards the "forbidden off course buoy" that had been mentioned. I honestly have no idea where I was going but apparently it was correct.
I headed towards shore, believing myself to be in the middle of the pack, or at the worst, just back of the middle. I got behind someone's feet and drafted in the whole way, figuring that I wasn't here to win the swim. My strength, hopefully, would come out on the run.
I exited the water in 17 1/2 minutes. I'll admit not a fast 1k swim time, but adequate enough. The transition area to change into my runners was, really, just a patch of grass set up by the running path. Not terribly sophisticated, but it's a fun run so I'm not going to complain. I thought about throwing my socks on, but I decided against it and just through the running shoes on, my running shirt, and took my sunglasses. I had the biggest "air bubble" in my lungs after that swim, and I hoped that the start of the run would allow me to burp it out, so I brought along some water to help "speed the process".
The run is an out and back 5k, and the first half is straight up, the second half straight down. I realized this about a mile into the race, as there seemed to be no "level" ground and no end to this hill we were climbing. Slowly, I was picking off some of the runners in front, either other biathlon participants or some of the 5k run-only runners (that race started about 10 minutes after ours). I got to the turnaround and still hadn't worked out this bubble. I was in a bit of pain...
Coming on the downhill, I was able to finally get out a very rude, but satisfying, air "belch". I know this isn't exactly endearing talk, but believe me, nothing feels better than clearing your stomach for a final push to the finish…
So, I raced downhill towards the finish, and crossed the line with a crowd-pleasing 24 minute 5k. Taking into account about a 2 minute transition I’ll shave that down to 22 minutes.
Afterwards, everybody hung around the beach while a local band cued up some cover tunes, and the beer garden opened up as well. A local microbrew is one of the series sponsors, so they were supplying the beer. Did I mention that it was free???? Needless to say, a $25 entry fee went a LONG way towards the beginning of my vacation!
Anyway I highly recommend checking this race out if you’re ever in
A short little “C” race for the season, but a great way to kick things off!
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