First Big Open Water Swim

 (this isn't me, but very similar to what my swim looked like!)

4am - Wake up

4:15 - Leave for Medford, NJ

5:10 - Call Frank because I am LOST! Stupid NJ jug handles..rrrrrr

5:30 - Start Swim!!!

When I first started my training back in December, I met two guys at LA Fitness who invited me to swim with their weekend group at a lake in Medford, NJ. It wasn't until Monday when I had a small freak-out about my training that I gave Frank a call. I was sure he had forgotten who I was, but lucky for me he hadn't and he told me about a group swim they were having this Wednesday morning at 5:15AM. Without the slightest hesitation I said yes.....WHAT... AM I CRAZY 5:15. Oh the things you will do for training.

I have not had ANY open water swims since I started. I don't really count the honeymoon swims. I have been swimming the distance in my training in the pool, but it is not the same thing. The water pool is clear, and the lake is brown. Huge difference. Plus you don't have the wall to kick off every 25 yards and you can't stand. You also have to do this thing called "spotting".

Spotting is what you do to make sure you are on the right path. So about every 8-10 strokes you will lift your head straight out of the water to see if you are on the right path. In most races they will have big blow-up pyramids that are a bright color along the course for spotting. For the swim I did today, we just followed the shore line.

The water wasn't too cold, but I did opt to wear my wetsuit for experience. It's a little restricting at first because your not used to being squeezed into something so tight, but it doesn't take long to get used to it. We swam .9miles out and .9miles back. I think I went further because I was not in a straight line and went further than the turn around point. No biggie. Because I had not done such a long swim in the open water before it took me awhile to find my rythem. Once I did i was cruising.

The only "problem" I had was with my massive amount of hair. My hair reaches halfway down my back and is really thick. I have to put it in a bun to keep in the swim cap. I can't put the bun to high because it interfers with the goggle strap, and with the bun low (like i usually have it) it kept creating problems with my spotting. I couldn't get my head high enough out of the water without coming to a stop. I now have a kink in my neck. I am thinking about cutting my hair shorter, but not crazy short, or experimenting with a differnt way of wearing the hair in the cap. This only seems to be a problem with the wetsuit on. Whats a girl to do.

All - in - All I had a GREAT swim. I loved swimming in the lake, even if it was so early. This has also been my longest swim thus far! As I was finishing the last leg, the sun was rising and I felt like I was in a movie, right before the giant shark came and ate the early morning swimmer!!!

(My coworkers keep teasing me that there are fish-snakes and sharks that will come get me...i'm not listening to them)

Looking forward to my next big open-water swim. This weekends lake swim will be really short at the race. I have deceided not to wear a wetsuit and brave the cold water for a few minutes. This will cut down on my transition times!!!

Talk to you soon!