June 26, 2007 - Feet That Swim

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Motionbased Data

Feet that swim?!?! Waaahhhh? Yeah, I did the Dip and Dash. Weather wasn't the best, but really after getting in the water, it wasn't bad and the coolness was nice for the run. Thanks to Steve T for talking me into this and supplying me with eyewear, a head "balloon," and some pointers for going out. Thanks to Jay E for lending me a wetsuit.

I don't know what to say...don't have dongle to get data off watch, and the results haven't posted...but I'll tell you what I THINK of this event. Fun, PAINFUL, interesting, and quite the accomplishment!! I'm glad I did it. As I always say, ouch for the shin, but who cares, great fun. Do it again? Maybe... But hey, it's my first ever multi-sport event. Just for fun, like the last race, I'll post a few pics. Steve got two shots, pre-race and post-race on his cell phone, so I'll get those later, and here's my bib again. Sweet!

Here's the pre-race pic.
OK, looking good, goggles-check, wetsuit-check, shoes-check...

Next is the post-race pic.
Smiling, really? How can that be? Because I was WIPED OUT! Actually it was exhilerating.

Anyway, I felt like I was going to drown the first 100 yards of the swim. The goggles already started leaking, so I ripped them off. My heart was racing and I couldn't breathe...so, I kept my head above water...my neck is now sore, and I did a LOT of backstroking to catch my breath. I felt like my hips were falling deep into the water trying to do the crawl, but who really knows. 750 meters...1/2 mile. I know I've NEVER swam that far at once before, and probably approaches how far I've ever swam in my life all put together before this. :-)

So, then the transition...not much to say about that. Slowish, I'm sure, but again, my excuse is first time, and just catching my breath from the swim. Steve beat me by at least 6-10 minutes on the swim. We'll see when the results post.

Lastly the run. As I said, shin was sore, but I could ignore that mostly. Breathing wasn't too bad, it was a bit limiting, especially at first, but the most was my quads...they started burning. Partly the swim I'm sure, I'm not sure how much quads are used in swimming, but I'm sure it wasn't 0% usage. I think I was fairly even pace, just slowing a bit on the slight inclines and speeding up on the downgrades. I think I did a bit of a negative split, although not much. And the running portion was closer to 3.25 miles, than 3.07, which is a 5k. My time was ~7:20 pace and 23:24, I seem to recall. Not too bad for after that swim.

After: Well, I really started feeling the work in my triceps. Wow, haven't worked them like that, EVER, pulling arms through the water. Quads sore, but not too bad once stopped running. Neck is sore as ever, from a bit of slouching while running and from holding head up while swimming. I'm proud of myself for finishing and not turning back on the swim or drowning. I came out dead last for the men in the swim and many women passed me, but I caught one dude on the run and a bunch of the women. Yep, my strength is the running. Not sure if I care to make the swimming much better.

OK, that's enough chatter, I have to go eat now and reload some energy. I'll post Steve's pics of me and the data/results when they become available.

Whew, I did it!!!!