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 Swim
Comments: I don't know why I thought I could keep up with the lifeguard team of swimmers, but I tried. And I did for the first 200 yards or so, until we hit the deep water where the waves just seemed to sharply rise and the swells were rough and whitecapped. At that point, a definite "oh crap" shock hit. And let me put this into context -- I grew up on this lake. I've swam in it 100 times? 500 times? I've swam in from Alcatraz, and across the Chesapeake Bay. I've been in two oceans and the Mediteranean Sea. But here I was in Lake Erie, 300 yards from shore, battling waves and thinking to myself, "I don't want to do this." And then I passed the first buoy and told myself to get my butt back to shore. I blame it on the lack of morning caffeine. From now on, I'm packing a coffee maker with my wetsuit. Interestingly, my sighting was dead on. I guess I need to always swim in stormy conditions. I saw a number of swimmers bashed against the breakwall, and a few waiting for kayaks to tow them to shore. What would you do differently?: Eat right. Sleep at home. Do more OWS. Every time I thought about driving up for the day, I always seemed to find something else to do: mow the lawn, do some errands, nap. There just is nothing like swimming in a lake. Nothing. And I should practice it more.  Transition 1
Comments: Found my teammate, who was waiting at the transition area anxious to head out, and passed along the chip. And I was just truly happy that my race was over. That was a weird feeling. I've always liked racing, doing the whole event, practicing all 3 disciplines. It was a totally strange, but contented, feeling to put on dry clothes and be done with the whole thing. Again, I blame the lack of caffeine.  Bike
Transition 2
 Run
Post race
Event comments: Good race. I'd do it again. Last updated: 2008-07-13 12:00 AM
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United States
Highmark Insurance
63F / 17C
Precipitation
Overall Rank = /300
Age Group = Team
Age Group Rank = 12/17
Stumbled in the dark looking for coffee. And there was none.
Then foraged for oatmeal. Which I found, but it just wasn't that good. Plus, there is indeed a difference between generic honey and the brand name. But as I was a guest, who am I to critique another's bee nectar choice?
Then looked out at Lake Erie, noted the white caps and the dark blustering sky, and realized that this wasn't going to be as easy a swim as I'd anticipated.
About 15 minutes before the race start, the race organizer paged me. "Since you're now going to swim for a team, we're going to re-issue your individual chip to someone else. Is that ok?"
"Sure," I said. "No problem."
For the record, he still raced under my name. And since this wasn't an USAT-sanctioned event, who cared. But man, how come he had to place so low in my age group?
Quick dive into the lake. Water was brisk but nice, so no wetsuit. Waves continued to swell. Felt like I was in the ocean.
I hadn't planned on it only being in the low 60s and raining on race morning. Sweats would have been nice.