Wild Fish One Mile Swim - SwimOther


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Salem, Massachusetts
United States
B&S Fitness
Overcast
Total Time = 31m 28s
Overall Rank = 40/89
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Got slightly lost on the way to the race. As usual.
Event warmup:

Water was chilly and I got in and was intimidated by a sea of wet suits. Decided a nervous pace around the beach was a plenty good warm up for my very first open water swim. :)
Swim
  • 31m 28s
  • 1760 yards
  • 01m 47s / 100 yards
Comments:

Took almost a full minute and a half with an initial water panic. I hadn't even heard such a thing was common until after the race, and had never experienced that before. It was a combination of too many arms and legs flailing causing greater chop to the first buoy, getting kicked in the side early, and tasting (*yuk!*) salt water for the first time in years mixed with a little leftover petrol from the race volunteer jetskis.

After regrouping, I was able to pull through the pack and encounter enormous patches of seaweed that I wasn't sure if I should swim over or through or pick up and throw to the side. When I got some caught in my nose piece, I accidentally ripped my goggles off my face and had to tred to put them back on at which point they leaked for the second half of the race.

I was surprised to pass people, and it felt great to gain on the dolphin like wet suit folks who I feared would be blowing me by!

Rough start, but easy finish. Excited to do another!
What would you do differently?:

Taking a real warm up would have helped avoid the initial open-water panic and loosen up the muscles instead of doing it in the first couple hundred meters.

Better fit on goggles is also an essential for next time.
Post race
Warm down:

Guzzled two bottles of water then drove out to Salem Beer Works for a couple beers and to get out of my bathing suit. In the ladies room the amount of seaweed and twigs, etc. was comical, down to a tiny crab leg falling out of the top of my suit.

I'm still a little wary about wet suit swimming, but if it'll help keep out the sea gunk, I might want to look into that!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

First-timer anxiety. Unavoidable.

Event comments:

Great race - I'd do it again! Or perhaps even take on the double-loop for the two-miler next year.




Last updated: 2008-09-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:28 | 1760 yards | 01m 47s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/89
Performance: Good
Suit: TYR bathing suit, one-piece (no wet suit)
Course: Sea water with minimal chop, but more seaweed and branches stirred up from the last few days of storm than expected for a protected cove. To add to the challenge, race directors made the buoys the SAME FLUORESCENT ORANGE as the 2-miler swim caps which made for some navigation difficulty when goggles got foggy.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4