Monday, May 26, 2014

Race Report: MHM Swim Challenge #1

After struggling in the water a week earlier at the Summer Open Sprint, I was a bit concerned about an open water swim race of 2.5 miles. In addition to be the longest s swim I've ever done, it was also in water far colder than anything I to which I had been accustomed.

My brother joined me for this one after having ridden his bike from Pueblo to Parker the day before. I had a much shorter workout!

We arrived at Grant Ranch at 7:00 which gave us about 30 minutes to get settled in, into our suits and time to warm up.

I would not call the water temperature at the lake exactly warm, but it was clearly warmer than what I had experienced last week. Some time with my face in the water blowing bubbles accomplished just what it should; I was not hyperventilating and I could swim comfortably.

The field of participants doing the 2.5 mile swim was not especially large. In the end there were 48 finishers most of whom opted for a wet suit but a few who did not. Brrr!

This saved me from having quite the same crowd at the start and made it easier to get in the groove. That still proved to be a bit of a challenge and for the first half of the first lap (this was a five lap event in deference to safety) I struggled to breathe comfortably.

By the time I was approaching the end of that lap, however, I had relaxed a little and I was moving comfortably and my form was back to what it's been in the pool. The kick was a little weak, but at least I was kicking.

There's not a lot of a story to tell with a swim. The process is repetitive and the scenery really does not change. I will say that each lap seemed to be faster and easier than the on before it and I still had some matches to burn as I came around the last buoy for the finish.

Once I was out of the water it was a short rub up the grass where a timing chip captured my official finish time of 1:18:06 which was good for 22nd in the 2.5 mile division and 7th in the division of men over 36 with a wetsuit. It's not an epic result, but I was pleased with it and it bodes well for future open water swimming. If this were a full Ironman, I would be very happy with that swim split.



This was only the first event in which I was a participant this weekend, but more on that later.

Thanks for reading!

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