Kinetic Half AquaBike [Xena's first race & a new swim PR!]

It was about 4:00 when Deb picked me up and we were a little concerned with what traffic would be like on the drive down to Lake Anna at that hour.  Luckily, it wasn't too bad, and we got down to the park in time for packet pickup and the Team Z dinner.  Ed had the television set up and it was awesome to be able to catch the Caps game from the tailgate. 

Deb and I scoped out the lake to get a feel for temperature.  The water was warm!  I immediately started wondering if I would need to wear my wetsuit for the swim.  I am so much more comfortable without it, especially thinking back to last year's Kinetic sprint where I did the swim relay, and did not like the fit!  After that race, I bought a larger size wetsuit that I used throughout the season, but by the time I did the Tiki Swim, it was too big, so I was back to that smaller wetsuit (without trying it on).

Finally, we made our way to the campsite and it was time for bed.  With the sun rising and birds chirping, it wasn't hard to wake up for the early start, and we were back down at the race site around 6am.  Unfortunately, Deb's ankle, that she had hurt the previous week in soccer, was swollen and really painful, so she made the wise decision to sit this one out.  We have Eagleman in a month, so no point exacerbating an injury now that could sideline her for the majority of the summer.  Instead, she helped me carry my stuff over to transition where I quickly put everything together and gave Xena a kiss before her very first race.  Then we made our way to the Team Z tent for breakfast.  Toasted bagel with nutella..yum!

I was still having an internal debate about whether to wear a wetsuit or not.  I really wanted to swim without it, but at the end of the day, this was a practice race to make sure I had everything together for the rest of the summer.  Knowing if my wetsuit fit, and getting practice wearing it was part of that plan, so I ended up putting it on.  I hung out around the swim start with Jen G and we made our way to the water.  I wasn't super excited at the idea of racing, and was trying to view it as just another long training day; a brick workout.

The gun - or horn?  or just someone yelling "go"?  I really have no idea how we started.  Anyway, we were off.  I waded in a bit before diving in and starting my swim.  I never really got swum over or had too much contact with anyone.  The water was calm, and I knew there were four buoys before the first turn.  I found my sweet spot pretty quickly and was pleased that my wetsuit fit so well.  First buoy, second buoy.  I found myself going on the inside of a few of the buoys, and wasn't sure that was allowed, but realized it's OK as long as you go around the outside of the yellow turn buoys.  I think being on the inside helped me keep my path straight, as this is one of the most accurate swims I've done.

As I made my way around the first turn, I knew I was at least a third done, and was feeling good.  I started thinking about Ironman and how I'd have to do double this swim.  In the Choptank river.  Yikes!  But.. that is not today, so I kept swimming along, made the second turn and headed back towards shore.  I haven't done a swim of this distance in several years and was hoping that my time had improved.  I didn't want to look at my watch though and risk discouragement.  At some point though, somebody kicked my arm and I was worried that a button got pressed.  So, I glanced down to make sure the timer was still going and it said 45 minutes!  My previous best 1.2 mile swim time was 53 minutes, and I was less than 100 meters to shore... I knew I could do this!

Some people were already standing, but I know my swim is faster than my walk through water, so I kept going until I felt the bottom of the lake with my hand.  I stood up and started running to the timing mat.  I actually passed that guy behind me in the picture, and he must have thought I was nuts, but I wanted to get to that timing mat and get my time!  Official results, 46:53 for the swim, and a new personal best!  By over 5 minutes!

I walked most of the way into transition and took my time getting my bike stuff together.  Another Zer, a guy, thanked me for pacing him on the swim, and said that he was right next to me the whole way.  Funny, I had no idea he was there but glad to be of help.  The only men who were in my wave were clydesdales and novice athletes.  This guy was certainly not a clydesdale, so I was happy that maybe I helped someone on his first race.  I grabbed Xena and made my way to the bike start, dreading the initial hill out of the state park.

I knew this course was going to be challenging.  They posted it all over the race website, so I braced myself for the worst.  I got in my lowest gear and slowly made my way up that initial hill and out of the park.  After this, I had no idea where the hills or the hard parts were.  Maybe I should've driven the course.  It always takes awhile for me to settle down in the first part of the bike after swimming, so I took my time, sipped some water, and tried to envision what the next few hours were going to be like.  People were passing me. Lots of people were passing me.  I am never there to compare myself to other racers, but I did smile internally knowing that since I started in the last swim wave, I beat everyone out of the water who was passing me now.  It's the little things.

It took a while - a long while - for me to find my groove on the bike.  The miles seemed to come and go like molasses, one mile, three miles, holy cow, I've been out here forever and only gone five miles?!  My pace wasn't too far off of what I'd been doing in training, so it wasn't physically taking longer, but mentally it was draining.  The course was not closed to traffic, and there was a stretch from maybe mile 10 to mile 20 (give or take) that had heavy traffic and very small shoulders on the road.  There were several times I could've reached my arm out and hit the tractor trailer passing me.  It was hard to pass people on this stretch, and the few times that I was passed or <gasp> I actually passed someone else, we exchanged comments on how ridiculous it was. 

As I passed mile 20, I began wondering where the water stop was.  It was advertised that there would be 3 water bottle hand-offs on the course, and surely that meant the first one would be before mile 20??  I began to worry that I wouldn't have enough water for the duration.  I had 2 double concentrated Infinit bottles with me, and as such, needed water to wash that down.  My plan was to grab water from the stations and refill my aero-bottle and consistently sip on that through the bike.  Luckily, not too long after that, I came upon the first station.  It was seriously well managed with a couple kids out ahead of the station asking if I water or gatorade.  They screamed my response to the next group and they had a water bottle opened and ready for me to grab.  I slowed down and dumped the contents into my aero-bottle, discarded it and I was on my way again.

It still seemed like the miles just weren't coming and going fast enough.  As I came upon mile 25 my thoughts were "ohmigosh, I'm only at mile 25, I have more than double this distance to go".  I started to get discouraged and forced myself to look at the scenery and try to remember why I do this sport.  I enjoyed watching horses and cows and somehow got my mind back into the game.  Soon, I came upon the next aid station.  I wasn't anywhere near needing more water at this point, but decided to grab another bottle just in case.

On one of my training rides, a ride leader talked to me about my cycling technique and suggested that I keep myself in my small ring, even on flatter rides, because it would keep my cadence higher.  Fair enough, and I had been doing that, but this day it just seemed like I was spinning and spinning and not getting anywhere.  Around mile 30, I decided to give that big ring a try.  That's when I found my biking groove.  I started cruising and was loving cycling.  Don't get me wrong, my sit bones and I were ready for that ride to be over, but I really started feeling good.  Finally, the miles started ticking away.. mile 35... mile 40... only about an hour left!

There were definitely a few hills on the course, a few long ones that reminded me of the ride in Vegas (though certainly not as bad) and a few steep ones.  I came up to one of the biggest hills of the day and noticed a man stopped about a quarter way up.  As I approached him, I yelled out to ask if he was OK, and kind of wished he'd say no, that he needed some help, to give me an excuse to stop.  But, he was fine, just resting, as I have done so many times before on hills like that.  But not this hill.  Not this day.  I never stopped pedaling and I made it to the top.  My legs were burning and my muscles were screaming, but I made it.  I am getting better at hills!

One more aid station and I refilled my water supply for the last time and was definitely on the home stretch.  I came to the entrance to the park and knew that I only had a few miles left.  I also knew that once I got to the camp registration building it was all downhill.  I had made it.  I saw Deb in that final mile and she captured a few pictures, and then I coasted to the dismount line.  I hopped off and made my way down the transition path to the AquaBike finish line.  Bike time was 3:54:54, and technically this was an AquaBike PR for me (4:46:47), though I don't really keep track of that stat (hmm.. maybe I should?).

I got my medal, put Xena back on her rack and met up with Deb.  Time to get some lunch at the Team Z tent and cheer in the 70.3 finishers.  For my entire race, the sun had hidden behind clouds (and it had even started drizzling at one point), to the extent that my tinted goggles and dark sunglasses were a bit overkill.  Now the sun was burning down on us and I was more than happy I wasn't out there on the run course.  We didn't have any sunblock, and Deb had already been sitting around cheering for over 5 hours at this point, so we decided to go pack up our campsite and head home. Thanks, Deb, for taking all these photos!!

I have only done one other half Ironman AquaBike, and that was the summer before my first half Ironman.  I remember distinctly feeling like death and not knowing how I was possibly going to do a half marathon after that.  This time, while I was happy I did not have to run, I could have.  I am feeling better about upcoming Eagleman and the rest of the summer.  Definitely a good warm-up event!

Tour de Summerlin with a side of Vegas

When Paula sent out an email invitation for a girls weekend in Las Vegas, I thought there was absolutely no way I could make the trip in the middle of Ironman training with so little vacation days in my bank.  There was just no way.  But then things started falling into place.  I looked up bike rentals in Vegas, knowing I needed to get in 60 miles, and I stumbled upon an organized ride that offered exactly that mileage!  I also consulted my calendar and realized the weekend spanned two pay periods, meaning I could make up more of the hours by working a little extra.   Paula found some reasonably priced flights, and her friend Donna, who was out there for a work event, was able to get us a great discount on a hotel room! We were going to Vegas!

The combined weight of our luggage, just 2 pounds under the limit!

My alarm went off at 4:30am, per usual, and I headed to swim practice.  Then, I left work early so that I could get in a spin on my bike trainer before Tommy picked me up at 3:15pm.  After cutting it very close to making our flight, Paula and I arrived in Las Vegas around 9:30pm (after midnight east coast time).  A short cab ride to the Monte Carlos to check in, and a quick change of clothes and we were off to a VIP party at in Caesar's Palace with Donna and her work crew.  We were starving when we got back to our hotel at 2:30am, so we grabbed a couple slices of pizza from the food court and climbed into bed around 3am.  That's 6am east coast time and I'd been awake for over 25 hours!

On Friday, Paula woke me up and asked me what time I thought it was.  Since she was asking the question, I figured it was later than I actually thought, so I guessed noon.  It was 2pm!  Yikes!  We got dressed and headed down to pick up our rental car and go pick up our bikes and packets (and a stop at In-and-Out Burger).  We asked the lady at packet pickup to describe the course to us, and she reported that it was fairly easy, with a slight incline on the last little bit, and that any challenging hills would be on the first loop, but even those aren't so bad.  Awesome!  Once the bikes were safely in the hotel room, it was already time to head to downtown Vegas to the 51's baseball game with Donna and Bob.  Then it was back to bed to rest up for the bike ride!

We arrived at the bike start just as they were starting the 60 mile event (you can see the final rider heading out on the right side of the photo below).  We began our ride behind the SAG vehicle and immediately got lost.  I'm not entirely sure how many miles we added on, but it took us a few stops and checking maps to finally figure out where we were going.  Eventually a group of riders caught up to us and said they were doing the same event, so we had someone to follow.  We were about 5 miles in at this point and I made a comment to Paula that it concerned me how much downhill we were doing.  Sure enough, a couple turns later and we started climbing..... and climbing..... and climbing....

After a loooooong time made it to the first aid station.  I had 2 bottles of double concentrated Infinit on my bike (so basically half bottle per hour to give me the calories and nutrition I needed) plus I was wearing a hydration pack with water (to wash down the concentrated mix).  I noted that I was on track with the Infinit consumption and still had plenty of water, so I just grabbed 2 double stuffed oreos and was ready to hit the road again.  I still had a long day ahead of me.

The route took us on a bike path and I was hopeful this meant the terrain would flatten out.  Nope!  Within a mile we were on one of the most brutal hills of the whole ride!  I stopped about halfway up to wait for Paula and when she arrived she was in the middle of an asthma attack.  We both agreed that it would be best for her to coast back down the hill and back to the aid station for a ride back to the start/finish area.  She isn't training for anything and was a great sport for agreeing to this bike ride in the first place!  I did feel bad about the idea of her waiting around for 3+ hours for me to finish, but as a stay at home mom, she insisted that she was fine with the rare afternoon to herself.  She caught a movie, got some lunch and did a little shopping.

Meanwhile, I continued on... it just didn't get any better.  We kept going up and up.  The route was divided into three loops, which we were told were about 20 miles each.  It was disheartening knowing that I was still on the first loop.  Finally there was a downhill break, though it didn't last very long.    I completed that first loop and turned the corner heading into Red Rocks Canyon.  More climbing.  So much climbing.  The only positive about this loop was that it was an out and back which meant for all of the climbing I was doing on the first half, I'd be going down on the way back.

I will say that this loop was very scenic, though it was hard to enjoy as miserable as I was.  The problem was, I had no idea where the next aid station was!  My garmin was indicating that I was already 10 miles into this loop, so where was the turn around?!  More climbing... we were out of the national park at this point, and still going.  Finally some downhill.  I knew this meant I'd have to bike up that section on the way back, but it was a nice break in that moment.  I arrived at the 2nd aid station and sat down, so tired.  I was confused because my watch said I was at mile 35, but if this was a 20-mile loop, I should have only been at mile 30.  Hmm...  I was just so tired, and I remembered that the lady told us the only real incline was on the last part of that 3rd loop.  I had already been out in the hot sun for so long, and my watch was telling me the 2nd loop was closer to 30 miles.  I didn't have enough Infinit to last me for that third loop and so I decided to just ride back to the start/finish area.  Mind you, that was still about 15 miles away...

This aid station wasn't as fully stocked as the first one, but that was OK because I wasn't hungry anyway.  I grabbed 2 more double stuffed oreos and refilled my hydration pack with more water.  After a stop at the port-o-potty, I reluctantly climbed back on my bike.  I knew I had one or two climbs, and that once I got to the Red Rocks overlook, it would be all downhill.  I stopped to take a few photos on the way back, the final stop being at the overlook (top part of that picture).  Should be smooth sailing from here... I was so happy I'd decided not to do that third loop! 

When I made it back to the end of the 2nd loop, there were two nice men on bikes standing there, and while they weren't doing the same ride I was, they had a map and helped me figure out the best (shortest) way back to the end.  Still mostly downhill, I rolled into the finish area and parked my bike.  Just under 50 miles is good enough for me, especially for such a brutal ride!  I wolfed down the free sandwich I got and met Paula at the car who was just finishing up some shopping.  We had to hurry to return our bikes and get the car rental back so that we weren't charged another day.  We were finally ready to start our real Vegas vacation!

We enjoyed an afternoon at the pool (though a little disappointed in the lazy river) before heading over to the Cosmopolitan for a happy hour in Donna's suite - bottom right picture is the view from her balcony!  Then drinks at the Chandelier bar and dinner at Scarpetto.  The full day of sun and exercise was catching up to us and we headed home after that for a good night sleep.

Sunday started with brunch at the Wicked Spoon and walking around the strip and checking out a few stores.  We spent our last evening with a Mexican food dinner, a trip to the ice bar and some cocktails at one of the bars in the Monte Carlos.  In the end, we did not spend one dime in the casino!  A good trip, but we were exhausted and happy to be heading home on Monday.

We didn't get in any runs, but I'm OK with that.  Getting in a good bike workout during a girls weekend in Vegas is a pretty big feat.  I am also proud of myself for how I handled all the climbing of that route.  It wasn't until I got home and uploaded the data that I saw just how ridiculous that was.  The lady at packet pickup lied!!

I'm falling apart.. again!

It's been awhile since I've mentioned my injuries that have been haunting me for the past couple years.  There hasn't really been any change in status on my back.  It's not surgical, I've had 2 steroid injections (and don't want anymore), have gone through physical therapy (twice) and seen several chiropractors.  At this point it's more about managing pain, understanding there will be good days and bad days, and trying to avoid known triggers (i.e. long car rides, lying on my back on the floor, etc).

I've also started going to a chiropractor (yep, my third!) that is not associated with any sports rehab or physical therapy facility, but comes with a recommendation from a runner friend.  It's close to my house which is a huge plus, and I like being in and out without all the PT nonsense that did not work, not once.  We do stimulation and ultrasound and then he does a quick adjustment.

Then.. introducing a new issue:  my knee!  It's been hurting since an earlier ski trip to Wisp in early February. I went to see Dr. Davis, who you might remember rubbed me the wrong way a little after he kind of dismissed me when there was nothing more he could do for my back.  The thing is, it's easy to get an appointment with him, so I returned.  Given this is Ironman year, and wanting to be aggressive, he ordered an MRI.  I am happy to report that I have a healthy knee, structurally!  He did see a "change in signal" in some cartilage that he believes might be the source of my pain.  He prescribed some anti-inflammatory meds and physical therapy and wants to see me back an two weeks.  Hmm...

The thing is, I hated [with a passion] the physical therapy team associated with his office. I chatted with my chiropractor about this, and he believes that the stimulation and ultrasound could be beneficial to my knee, so I have been going in to see him for a double dose of treatments.  I have researched some physical therapy exercises and can do those on my own.  If it doesn't get better in a couple weeks, my next step will be a physical therapist or rehab facility that my team recommends, or perhaps the physical therapy office that I went to for my foot. The good news is that the MRI shows there is nothing seriously wrong; that's the important thing.

Oh, and speaking of my foot... I am hoping it's just the weather nuances, but my foot has been hurting a lot lately.  I've scheduled yet another appointment with Dr. Lutta, so stay tuned for an update on that.... //sigh//  

But.. I've still been plugging away, getting ready for the start of racing season!  Under 200 days!  Also, my friend, Paula, found out this week that she was accepted into the Marine Corps marathon (it's a lottery), so I'm thrilled to know I'll have a distance running buddy through the summer!  Now, if only the weather would get nice; there was freezing rain yesterday.....

Lucky Leprechaun 5K

A couple weeks ago, Joann sent me a link for a 5K to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  We love St. Patrick's day, so we both signed up.  It usually is the sign that spring is here.  Not so much on this day, and we were both woefully under-dressed for the 40 degrees (if that) and pouring rain (the weather forecast said 65 degrees!!!).  We settled for a "before" picture in the parking garage before Daz drove us over to the run start.

It was pouring rain.  It was freezing.  We huddled under one of the awnings in the Town Center until the very last minute.  When we saw people moving to start the race, we darted to the back of the line.  Immediately, we started brainstorming ways of cutting the race short...

We started off at a pretty good pace, and I was able to stick with Joann, who is often much faster than I am.  It was in my favor that she hasn't been running in awhile!  We were passing a bunch of people and I noticed at the first mile that we were doing about a 12.5 minute mile.  Not bad!

We took a few walk breaks, but not for very long and generally only on the uphills.  And yes, there were hills.  More than you'd think would exist around the Reston Town Center!  We kept passing people.  It's always such a weird concept to me to pass so many people as I'm generally the one getting passed.  Granted, we hopped into the starting corral at the very last minute and towards the end, so if people were seeding themselves correctly (which rarely ever happens), it stands to reason we were faster than the back of the line.

Oh, those hills!  And the rain.  It never stopped raining!  The only thing that kept us going was the thought of brunch and cider at the post-race party.  Joann had done this race before so she knew the course and kept me apprised of how many more turns there were and where the hills were.  Our pace was actually getting faster and I knew that if we kept it up, we could finish under a 12 min/mile pace.  I can't remember the last time I've done that!  We timed our last walk break so that we could finish strong on the last incline.

Finally, to the finish!  Still so very cold and wet, but with big smiles on our faces because we knew breakfast was nearby.  Once we were done, we grabbed some water and a banana and started making our way back to the parking garage.

And yes, we finished with the best 5K pace I've done in a long, long time.  A success all around!  Luckily, Joann had the brains to think to bring her old keyfob from when she lived in the town center, and we were able to dry off and change clothes in the condo building's lobby restroom.  She even brought a hair dryer which we used to dry out our shoes since neither of us had thought to bring a second pair. 

Cheers!  Good times at the post-party at World of Beer, sampling ciders and fueling up on breakfast tacos. Daz and Darcy came to join us for a bit as well.  Not quite the nice springtime weather we were hoping for, but a good day all around.  We do love our day drinking!

side note: official race results list us at 37:57 total time, and 12:15/mile.  You'll notice my garmin lists our distance a touch over 3.1 miles, which accounts for the discrepancy.  We placed 442 and 443 out of 642 female runners. 

Tiki Swim

Starting out with a small rant here, but WTF, Frontier Airlines?!!

So, you mean to tell me it costs more to carry on a bag than to check a bag?!  How does that make sense.  It also cost you $3-5 to reserve a seat, and then, it's another $1.99 if you'd like your "complimentary" in-flight beverage.  Nevermind getting any snack on the cross-country flight!  Mind you, their airfare prices are not so low to justify this nickel and diming.  But actually, that is not my biggest issue with them.  I paid good money for TSA pre-check, but Frontier does not recognize that... as though TSA is optional?!  So I had to stand in the regular security line with all the common-folk.. unimaginable!! :-)

 

But anyway, Erika and I arrived in San Diego safely, met Deb, and went straight to a local Mexican joint for margaritas (margarEEEtas)!  We visited with some seals of Oceanside, checked into the condo [which was really nice minus the train that ran just outside the window at frequent intervals all throughout the day and night!] and took a walk around town.

This picture just does not do the waves justice!

Friday morning, we decided to head down to the beach and see about this whole swimming in the ocean thing.  Getting out past the waves made us all a little nervous, and I think all three of us stood there about knee-deep in the water unsure of how to tackle this part of the swim.  Erika was asking about which point in the wave to start diving under, so in an effort to show her, I dove into one of the waves.  It actually wasn't so bad!  Now that I'd gotten started, I kept going and soon found myself past the worst of it.  I turned around and saw Erika was not too far behind me, so I waited, and the two of us swam out to almost the end of the pier.  Then we started wondering how safe it was for us to be out there alone (are there sharks in this water??), and decided to turn back.  The swim back into the shore was actually way worse, as we couldn't see the waves coming up on us, and we were both happy that the official swim would end in a harbor, so we wouldn't have to worry about that part again.

After a shower and breakfast, we spent the rest of the day exploring Lake Hodges.  We were hoping for a good hiking trail, but settled for a brief trek up to the top of a cliff, and then a walk part-way around the lake.  Then it was off to a winery for the rest of the evening, and a soak in the hot tub when we got back to the condo.  Saturday, we had to somewhat take it easy in preparation for the swim on Sunday morning, but did find some energy for testing out some of the demo Xterra SUP in the harbor at swim check-in, and a walk around the shore of Pacific Beach to watch the sunset. 

XTerra had demo SUP that we could use at the swim check-in...
Seals in La Jolla where we had delicious brunch, and then  dinner and sunset
at Pacific Beach.. and yes, that is a BEER!!  I ordered a BEER!! (strawberry ale)

Sunday morning.  Swim day!  Yikes.  Erika had been nervous about the event for most of the trip, and I think nervousness is contagious!  Deb decided to switch her registration to the 1.2 mile swim, and so now I was the only fool swimming 2.4 miles, and was wondering if I was making the right decision?  Our practice swim on Friday was hard, but I got through it, so I was determined to do the 2.4 miles as I'd planned, especially since I figured as long as I could get out to the first turn buoy, I'd be fine.  The three of us made our way down to the pier and said our goodbyes as Deb and Erika caught the shuttle down to the 1.2 mile start (different start points, but we would end in the same spot).  I put my wetsuit on, applied my trislide and sunblock, turned in my morning clothes bag (to be collected at the end) and, for better or worse, was ready to go.  My original goal for the swim was 1:40, but given the waves and the current, I had no idea what to expect.. maybe 2 hours?

I lined up on the beach with all the other swimmers, and let pretty much everyone run ahead of me when the horn (err.. ambulance siren) sounded.  Let me just say that the waves were nothing like they were during our practice swim!!  Not only were they much bigger, but they were much more frequent!  We never got a break, and I was getting pounded again and again [and again and again].  I was about a heartbeat away from flagging down a kayaker and throwing in the towel, but I didn't see any around me.  Swimming back to shore was even more terrifying, so I just kept side-stroking my way out.  I had to stop again at one point to fix my timing chip that I could feel coming off (tucked it into my wetsuit).  Finally, I got to that first buoy and I hit the lap button on my watch so I could later see just how long and pathetic that first section took me. 

Once I was around that first buoy, I figured things would get better, right?  Wrong.  The waves weren't breaking anymore, but they were just as big and frequent as ever.  I couldn't see any of the buoys and I was starting to get seasick from being tossed around so much.  I tried to swim as best I could, and at one point a kayaker cut me off and told me I was going way off course.  I must say that the volunteers were pretty incredible!  At some point, I stopped, and another kayaker asked if I wanted some water.  Considering all of the salt water I'd consumed on accident, water sounded great.  A lifeguard paddled over to me and let me hang on to her surfboard until another boat came over with some water.  Unfortunately, it wasn't water, but instead some hammer product that tasted disgusting, but at least it got rid of the salt water taste.  I checked my watch and was pleased to see that I was more than halfway.  OK, I can do this... I was off again, trying desperately to spot the buoys.  The volunteers kept trying to direct me, and it turned out I was further along than I thought... I was no longer looking for orange buoys.  I had made it to the green buoys, indicating we were close to the turn into the harbor.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this photo.. I kinda look how I felt :-)

Eventually, I found myself rounding the rocks into the harbor.  I really started to pick it up at this point and was cruising!  I was passing people handily and just swimming along.  Then, a freaking seal swam right under me, about 2-3 feet away!  It freaked me out for a second until I realized what it was, but how cool is that?!  It was going the opposite direction as me though, so I couldn't follow it.  My arms started getting tired at this point, but I was enjoying my pace and was able to keep it up until the end.  I was looking for the large blow-up rubber ducky that I thought was supposed to signal the finish, but never saw it.  Instead, there were a ton of people yelling and cheering and I found myself at the boat launch.

They gave out burritos at the end... also, note the distance recorded!!

I swam as far as I could b/c I hate touching the bottom of bodies of water and wanted to be sure I didn't have to walk too far.  Suddenly, I found a hand in front of my face and I happily let the volunteer help me to my feet and direct me to the timing mats about 15 feet away.  1:47 was the time on my garmin (official time listed as 1:47:01), and under the circumstances, I'll take it! It was a strong finish and also a personal best for me at the distance!

We all finished!!!

It took a minute to get myself oriented as I walked through the finisher chute, and I had to hold onto the railing as a volunteer removed my chip.  It took forever to find some water -- not sure why they didn't think finishers would want water right away?  Then I found Deb and found out that she and Erika had only finished 10 minutes earlier, so I was happy I didn't make them wait for too long for me.  We took a finisher photo, and decided to buy t-shirts to commemorate the occasion.  From there, it was a relaxing day of brunch and sitting at the pool, before going out to dinner with my family who lives in San Diego.  It was great to see them and a wonderful finish to the weekend!

Note the baby sitting right across from me!!!  Though, with the one stroke of luck
on this trip, the baby was really, really good and pretty much slept the whole time.
Oh.. and that top right photo?  They wouldn't even let us watch the tv's while we were waiting!

Then.. traveling home was the worst nightmare ever.  When we booked our flights, [I thought] Deb was scheduled for a flight that left after mine and Erika's, but something must have happened because, Deb said her flight was now at 11:15, which meant we had to get to the airport at 9am.  This was a full 3.5 hours before our scheduled flight, which was already delayed thanks to many flights needing to be re-routed to avoid Chicago air space (thanks, jackass).  So, we had to wait until 10:40 until we could even check in, and then another few hours until our flight to Denver finally took off around 1:30.  When we landed in Denver, we raced to the food court to grab a snack for the flight (heath bar crunch cookie!) and made it back just in time for boarding, only to find out our captain and first officer had timed out.  We had to get off the plane again while they found a new crew. 
     Then they had to re-route us again to avoid weather in parts of the country. 
          Then there was too much fuel on the plane. 
               Then the new captain timed out. 
                    Then... we finally pull back from the gate as though we're leaving, but takeoff is aborted halfway down the runway due to a flight control malfunction. 
It was literally one thing after another, and we didn't end up landing in DC until 5:30am, a full 7.5 hours late (not sure why they didn't just cancel the flight?) and over 18 hours of travel for me and Erika.  Thanks to Jon, my hero, for tracking the flight and still picking me up when I finally made it.  Never again, Frontier airlines, never again.

When I got home and uploaded my data, I found the most shocking thing.  That first segment out through the waves to the first buoy that I was just sure took forever was actually faster than the rest?  I'm confused.  Really confused.
Oh, and not to forget the injury report!  I came home with 2 souvenirs...

Blister on the top of my foot from our inadvertent long walk around town the first night...
Chaffing on my shoulder from my wetsuit.. I swear, I use body glide, but every single time the wetsuit gets me!

All in all, this was a successful weekend.  I now know that I can swim this distance, even in poor circumstances.  I am now officially in my off-season, and getting ready to head south to Key West this weekend!  I already promised Jon that I am not taking any athletic equipment, no running shoes, no goggles, no garmin.. this will be a purely relaxing weekend, and I cannot wait!

---

I stumbled upon another race report from someone who has done this swim for the past couple years, and described it as the hardest OWS he's ever done, with "a lot more swells and chop than the previous two years."  It makes me feel much better that this was so hard for me.  Seems like conditions were much worse than they have been in years past.  His garmin also measured 2.6 miles, so maybe I didn't swim as far off course as I thought; the course was just long.

Ragnar Relay - Round 3

Haven't read round 2 yet? Go back!

Dan had only a short 2 mile run, so we went directly to the next exchange.  Ingrid was running Dan S' next leg and so we got to see Van #2 after missing them at the previous major exchange (thanks, exchange 18) but then had enough time to run to a coffee house before heading out to cheer on Ingrid and get Dan C ready for his 4th and final leg.  I still didn't eat anything since I knew my run was coming up and I still wasn't sure how my body was going to survive another 3+ miles.

Leg 28 - 3.3 Miles - Easy

Yeah, this probably would've been easy had it not started pouring rain again not too long after Dan C started out.  This was another short run for him so I knew it wouldn't be long until I was out on the course.  There's really just not much to say about this run.  Very wet, and up a slight incline but overall not so bad (well, except for that pouring rain part).  I stopped to take a picture of myself at the "one more mile" marker and couldn't believe I was almost done one of the hardest events I've done in my life.

You might not be able to tell but it is literally pouring rain!

Of course that last mile was the worst hill I had yet encountered, up and over a bridge... but then it was down that same incline, around a corner and up one last hill before I handed off the bracelet one last time.  I was D-U-N-Done!

Last few meters!!

Holy crap, I was done.  I decided against changing this time... I was wet, but not too sweaty... so I just wrapped my blanket around me and scarfed down the 2 PB&J sandwiches that Joann made for me -- I was starving by now, how come I didn't eat anything since before my 8 miler the night before?!  Just two exchanges to go as we cheered on Heidi's finish and then Misha who really cranked it out on her last leg.  Before we knew it, van #1 was done.  We said hello to van #2 at the exchange and then headed to our hotel for a quick shower (and beverage) before heading to the finish line.  I couldn't believe it, we were going to finish this thing!

Fastest leg yet, still 2:2 run to walk!

That stupid finish line... we were looking forward to wine tastings and relaxing except the only area with tables was in a 21 and over restricted area... and Paula had the baby, and they counted that... WHA????  Well, we weren't going to leave her alone so we settled for a spot outside the restricted area and had to sneak our drinks.  Knowing Rachael would be coming along also, we squashed our plans of hanging out at the finish line area and started making dinner plans.  Before we knew it, time to go cheer for Rachael and run across the finish line as a team.

Misha, Rachael, Dan C, Heidi, Deb, Cindy, Ingrid, Cori, Jen, Tommy, Nina, Dan S & Joann (not in pic)

11 runners (Heidi, Dan C, Jen, Misha, Cindy, Ingrid, Cori, Nina, Tommy, Rachael), 2 injured runners (Joann and Dan S were super sports for coming along for the ride anyway), and the support of our friends and family (Paula, Jon, Marcello, Vlad)... 197 miles.  Completed.

And don't worry.... we did get our wine tastings :-)