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Harbor Springs Coastal Crawl - SwimOther


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Harbor Springs, Michigan
United States
Hammerhead Swim Team
73F / 23C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 05m 6s
Overall Rank = 4/4
Age Group = Wetsuit - F
Age Group Rank = 2/2
Pre-race routine:

Mike and I spent a nice, romantic, relaxing weekend in the Petoskey/Harbor Springs area. We walked around the farmers market and sidewalk sales, did some wine tasting and had a couple nice dinners. This race was an excuse for a nice weekend away.
Event warmup:

Stretched and applied some body glide (not enough, I learned)

This event offers 1, 2 and 3 mile races. If you wear a wetsuit, you are placed in a separate division and do not compete against those in your age-group. All male wetsuits and all female wetsuits are lumped together. There were 49 total participants in the 3 mile race and only 4 of us elected to wear wetsuits (2 men and 2 women).


Swim
  • 2h 05m 6s
  • 4800 meters
  • 02m 37s / 100 meters
Comments:

I started to the left and in the middle. When the horn went off, I found a guy the draft off of and I stayed with him for the first half-mile. At that point, we had passed the 2nd bouy and I decided to give him some space since I'd smacked him a good half-dozen times and felt kind of bad. This turned out to be a horrible idea because I was having a really tough time sighting. I tried to keep the guy in sight on my right and a gal that was near in sight on my left.

When I got to the point (1 mile into the swim), I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't pay attention during the pre-race meeting, so I wasn't sure if I had to round the bouy or not. To be on the safe side, I did...which ended up adding a ton of distance to my swim because I wasn't supposed to round it! I should have hugged the shore when making the right turn at the point. Ah well...I learned the hard way.

About 100 to 200 meters before I hit that bouy (the one I didn't need to round), it got very wavy. And it only got worse when I went right and was heading towards the 1.5 mile turn-around. The entire way to the turn-around I had to fight big waves and a strong current. It was hard! I just kept plowing through it, but I didn't feel like I was making much progress.

Finally, I got to the turn-around and made my way back. I was hoping the current would push me and make the trip back a little easier, but I still felt like I was crawling. I wonder now if I had gotten too close to shore and into too shallow of water...which could have take away any advantage I would have gotten from the current. And this is when I started feeling like I was going to puke! I'm sure it was a combination of the waves, swallowing water and swimming hard. My head was spinning.

I finally rounded the corner of the point (rather than the bouy this time) and made my way back into the bay where it was smooth. I was SURE that I would feel better once I got out of the rough waters, but I didn't. I still felt like I might throw-up. I said to myself I would never do this again.

I kept chugging along and finally got within half a mile of the finish. I tried to pick it up and when I finally crossed the finish line, I couldn't have been happier. Mike was there on the beach and he gave me a big hug.
What would you do differently?:

First, I should pay attention to the pre-race meetings so I know the course and don't make a mistake like I did here.

Second, I should have stuck with that guy that I was drafting off of at the beginning. It would have helped me to push my pace and it would have kept me on course.
Post race
Warm down:

I sat for a little while to rest my stomach/head...I still felt kind of woozy. After, I had some food and we watched the awards. I got 2nd place! Ah...2nd place out of 2 women. Ah well. I finished and that was a hard freakin swim! I will take it.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Sighting was difficult. The bouys were placed VERY far apart and the volunteer kayaker's and boaters would sometime block them, making it hard for us to figure out what the heck to sight off of.

My wetsuit must be a little snug, because when I took it off, I had some MAJOR chaffing on my arms...the under-arm area (back, front and under-arms). It still hurts! Ouch!

Event comments:

This is a fun little event and a beautiful venue. I only wish there were more bouys and less non-swimming traffic on the course. It made it difficult to sight. Overall, a fun swim event and I'll be doing it again next year. Yep, the 3 mile race. I know I said to myself I would never do it again, but I have to improve on that time!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2010-05-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
02:05:06 | 4800 meters | 02m 37s / 100meters
Age Group: 2/2
Overall: 4/4
Performance: Average
Suit: Full blue-seventy
Course: Starts on the beach in Harbor Springs. Swim 1 mile up the coast until you hit the point. Here, we go right into the big waves for half a mile before the turn-around, then back.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 73F / 23C Current: High
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Below average
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2010-08-09 11:36 AM

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