We start in water about waist deep. We follow the yellow buoys out and the orange buoys back. The 2.5k swimmers start first. Then it's our turn. We wade out to the starting buoys. This would have been the time to place our gatorade/juice/water on the little refueling raft. They didn't leave us to mill around in the water very long. As soon as everyone got up to the start chute they blew the siren to signal our start. From the mass start the group spreads out pretty quickly within a hundred yards or so I have all the room I want. I can still see swimmers out in front or me and off to either side. Pretty soon we start to overtake some of the 2.5k swimmers. They started only 5 minutes ahead.
The water is incredibly clear. The bottom is probably 30 feet away when I finally lose sight of it. On the way out I didn't notice much chop in the water but I was consistently drifting to my right. On the way back I was drifting left. My first loop seemed to take a very long time. I had to keep reminding myself that I should be expecting each loop to be 45 minutes at least. Just before the last buoy the bottom came back into view. Turns out that buoy is in only about 4 feet of water. I swam through the shallow water back to the start chute and the re-fueling raft.
The race provided some bottles of water and gatorade. I took a bottle of orange gatorade, drank most of it, and, following the advice of the lifeguard on the raft, placed it carefully so I would be able to find the same bottle my next loop around.
On my second loop I could feel a little bit of chop in the water. Not too bad but I wouldn't want it to keep getting more intense. I got a look at few other swimmers on my way out but no one very close. I actually overcompensated for the wind and went too far to the left before the turnaround buoy. On the way back I felt like the waves were pushing me along. I just had to make sure they didn't push me onto the wrong side of the buoys. When I got back around to the re-fueling raft I saw there were whole bunch of swimmers in red caps. It was the 5kers. I found the bottle of orange gatorade that I had left last time and drained it. The siren blew for the 5k swimmers and they took off in a mass.
I took off after them and soon I was right in the middle of the 5k pack. I got a new burst of energy from having so many swimmers around again. I also got a little help navigating. The 5k group opened up pretty quickly but I had red caps in sight all the way out. After the turnaround I felt fantastic. My stroke felt strong and smooth. The waves seemed to be pushing me along. Just before the last buoy I saw a woman fly by me. At that pace she must have been on her final loop.
As I turned the last buoy into the shallow water suddenly everything felt terrible. My stroke felt choppy, the waves were tossing me around instead of pushing me along. Everything was a mess.
I got to the re-fueling raft, and I was disappointed to find there was no more gatorade available. Note to self: next time be sure to bring my own supply to stage on the raft. I grabbed a bottle of water and drank about half of it. A guy in a red cap, wetsuit and beard popped up. He said "I've been stalking you the whole way back from the turnaround but I couldn't catch you"
This made me feel pretty good. I told him I'd see him at the finish, or maybe out in the middle and I took off. I felt like a mess. I was starting to get hungry. I could feel a little bit of chop in the water. I was still being pushed to the right. I was having a lot of trouble finding the buoys. I had to keep stopping and swimming breaststroke because I couldn't find to buoys with my normal spotting. The folks on the kayaks were very helpful, pointing me in the right direction. I swam and swam and swam and the buoys never seemed to move. And then I was passing one on my left. I never saw it until I was past it. Eventually, with a few more directions from the kayakers, I made it to the turnaround buoy. Heading back I felt much better. Not quite as fantastic as my last loop but better.
I overtook another swimmer on the way back. I didn't see the color of his cap but I figured considering how quickly I passed by he had another loop to go. I was trying to keep my stroke steady. My sighting was much more effective on the way back. I wanted to give a push to the finish but I was afraid if I tried to push too soon I would wind up finishing that much slower.
I caught up with another swimmer just before getting to the last buoy. I decided to go for it. I did my level best to pick up the pace. I couldn't see the difference but I think I passed one more person on the final swim into the finishing chute. The ground was just out of reach. And then the ground was in reach. Once my fingers were touching bottom I swam a few more strokes and then I finally stood up. The beach had a very gradual slope so it was still a long way into the finish line. Well I decided I was going to go for it right? I did a high-knee jog the rest of the way in and right up onto shore.
Someone read off my number and someone else handed me a finishers medal.
As soon as I got past the finishing chute I saw wifey on her way over. She had our little guy with her. Also she had a snickers bar for me. I sat down right there in the grass to eat it.
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