Nuclear swim

Two weeks ago was the last race in the FS Triangle Open Water Swim Series. As with last year, it was a very well run series of races, with chip timing, good post-race refreshments, and fast awards.

In this race, there was a $100 cash prize for the male and female overall winners, which made things a bit more competitive!

The guys started 10 min ahead of the ladies, which was good for Kevin, since he would not have the option of hanging back to draft off of me.

I won the ladies' race by the narrow margin of 1 second. Sheesh! Way too close for comfort. Here is a tape of the finish:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=438323353704&ref=mf

Kevin lost the guys' race by a heartbreaking 3 seconds (don't tell him, but I think the ladies finish was a lot scrappier)

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=438325513704&ref=mf


I also want to give a shout out to my friend Cynthia Aguilar, who attempted to break the world paddleboard record by paddleboarding 130 miles from Cuba to Key West. Here at Channel drop out, we are supportive of all those who attempt crazy endurance events, especially those that are water-based.




After spending 17 hours on the board in the middle if the ocean, Cynthia was pulled out of the water, short of her goal. Man of wars and hypothermia cut this attempt short, but Cynthia will be getting back on her board, giving it another try! To support her efforts and raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation, go to http://keeppaddlin.org/

Lake Gaston

Last weekend was the Lake Gaston Crossing, a wonderful community affair in which practically every lake resident crosses the 1 mi lake. Folks get to choose their preferred mode of transportation - some walk across the bridge, some cross in man-powered vessels. and the truly aquatic inclined swim across.


I was introduced as the "target" for swimmers to chase.

I felt a little silly, especially when a young kid zapped me with his evil eye. I joked that this was a perfect swim for a navigationally challenged gal like me, since we had a lane line to follow the whole time. It would be impossible for me to get lost - famous last words!

We then piled into a World War II era amphibious landing vessel, which added to the swim's bad-ass factor. The landing vessel took us past the rocky shoreline so that we could enter the water safely. Certainly, it's a privilege to use such a vessel voluntarily, for a recreational swim. I'm grateful to those who boarded the vessel under less desirable circumstances, protecting a way of life that makes swims such as these possible.



We dove into the water and hightailed it to the shoreline. Being a directional dufus, I started to swim on the wrong side of the C-shaped lane line, leading me off-track. But I was the swimming target, with a bulls-eye on my cap. So the rest of the swimmers followed me off course! We went the wrong way until the support crew intercepted me to tell me where to go. Sorry guys, my bad!


I was happy to be the first person out of the water, despite my directional snafu. Local newspapers covered the event and wrote some very nice articles:

http://www.rrdailyherald.com/articles/2010/08/16/feature/doc4c67478f90c88831785449.txt

http://www.rrdailyherald.com/articles/2010/08/14/sports/doc4c67442b44ff5535466211.txt

Little Uno and Big Deux!

This weekend was the Little Uno and the Big Deuce, 1 and 2 mile open water races put on by the FS series. My mom was in town for the weekend, and to avoid any family feuding, I opted to do the 2 mi, while she did the 1 mi.

My mama and Matt Davis before the 1 mi

The course was well marked and the field spread out quickly. I tried to draft off of my fast friend Kevin, but he didn't like that very much. So, in a very brilliant maneuver, he slowed down his own pace so he could draft off of me! That makes A LOT of sense. Of course, he could have pulled ahead easily, had he been willing to take the lead himself. But THAT would have been no fun! And truthfully, I really don't like swimming by myself, so I was happy for the company. Until, of course, Kevin and the superfast, crooked swimming overall winner took off at the end.


I ended up winning the women's race for the 2 mi and my mom won the women's 1 mi. Go Rices!

Me, looking scary after the Big Deux

I wasn't the only menacing creature looming in the lake this weekend.

::insert Halloween music::


While the scary music is playing, let's flash back to the Jordan Lake 1 mile swim, last month:

Here, my fast friend Kevin (the tall dude in the white cap) out-muscles a fiesty 13-yr-old (the little dude in the white cap) at the end of the 1 mi race.

Guess who took his revenge in the Little Uno? Guess who was the only one to beat my mama, whose accomplishments include swimming the 12.5 miles around Key West butterfly and being one of the fastest women to ever swim the English Channel?

This pint sized bad ass! The same pint sized bad ass who gave Kevin a run for his money at the Jordan Lake swim. Why don't you pick on someone your own size, son??



In other race news, my kickboxing friend Lizzie swam her 1st ever open water race AND won her age group. Way to go!

2 mi Cable Championships

Yesterday was the USMS national 2 mi cable Championships at Chris Greene Lake. Heidi and I drove up together and as soon as we got there, we saw a great omen.



Apparently, angel Yogi had summoned a local Newfoundland named Teddy to visit the lake with his humans. I told Teddy I thought he was handsome, Teddy gave me some kisses, and I knew it was going to be a great day.

Cable swims are a kind of hybrid between pool and open water swimming and always make for intense races. We would swim four laps around a quarter mile cable. There's not much sighting involved, but drafting and pack swimming are inevitable.

In the beginning, I focused on trying to cut the most direct course possible. I did this by drafting off of the leader and hugging the cable. A pack of about 6 of us stuck together and I kept getting slammed into the cable (that's me in the white cap below):





Yowza! That hurt

I began to realize that all this slamming was slowing me down. Then, I remembered from Marty Gaal's open water swim clinics that the most effective place to draft is actually beside a person's hip. So, I swam out a bit from the cable to swim on the other side of the lead swimmers. This made cutting tight turns around the buoys more difficult, but it was nice not to keep hitting the cable.

There were two heats, one starting at 8:30 and one starting at 10:30. Heidi and I swam in the 10:30 heat so that we could drive up that morning. I ended up getting 1st out of the ladies and 3rd overall out of the 10:30 heat. More people beat me from the 8:30 heat though, including 2 ladies. The first heat is usually a bit faster than the second, so I might try to get up super duper early next year.

Heidi and I won our age groups and got to add to our collection of national championship patches. Kacie Wallace placed in her age group as well.







It's clear that Teddy brought us some very good luck. Thanks for sending him, Yogi!

Jordan Lake Open Water Challenge

This weekend was the Jordan Lake 1 mi open water challenge. There were 150 swimmers and as usual, FS Series put on a very efficient and well-organized race. The race stared at 7:30 and we swam, got awards, ate Jimmy Johns sandwiches, and got home in time for third breakfast.

Keith, Kevin, and I after the race

Because of the large number of swimmers, they split us into 2 waves - the guys started in the 1st wave, and the ladies started 4 min later (and they subtracted 4 min from our clock time). This is something that I have grumbled about in the past because, in theory, it puts the fast ladies at a disadvantage. With the waves being only a few minutes apart, the faster ladies will inevitably pass a lot of the guys and waste time and energy going around them.

However, I have decided that I like the 2 wave system. It carries certain advantages for a sneaky, directionally challenged gal such as myself:

1) We get to learn from the fellas mistakes - In this case, the guys lined up in front of the second turn buoy, which put them in a disadvantageous position. Of course, girls are usually just a little bit smarter than boys are. I joined a group of ladies lined up in front on the first turn buoy, which gave us a more direct route.

2) It makes for an easier start - I usually waste a lot of energy at the start, trying to vie for position with sprinter dudes, who usually slow down within a few hundred yards. Because these sprinter dudes are big and strong, they can be hard to pass. In a ladies only heat, it is easier to establish a good position early on.

3) It's easy to keep track of where you place among the ladies - with full body suits, mandatory caps, and ubiquitous buff bods, we can easily morph into agendered blobs in an open water race. When the waves are divided by sexes, keeping track of who's who becomes much easier.

4) There are always plenty of people in front to help with sighting - my name is Kim and I am directionally challenged. I have no problem admitting that without my GPS, I would be constantly lost, chronically late for my therapy appointments, and would have been fired from my job long ago. Unfortunately, my Garmin is not water proof and is no help to me during open water swims. When half the field gets a head start, however, that does help. There are always people in front to show you which way to go.

5) You're racing against the clock - Since the guys have a 4 minute head start, to beat them you have to beat the clock, not them directly. If you come in 3 min behind the 1st guy, you still beat him by 1 min. You can see where the guys are but they can't see you. Certainly, there are guys who would pick up their game if they saw you chasing after them. But the benefit of this system is that they can't see! We can sneak up on them.


So, being split into 2 waves really is not so bad. It often works to my advantage and did in this case. I ended up getting first overall, after battling it out with a fast lady who finished only 4 sec behind me. In fact, in this race the first 4 finishers were ladies!

Way to go, girls!

Nationals, part Deux!

So the weekend after the USMS short course yards national championships was the 1 mi open water national championships in Huntersville, NC. As in the pool mile at nationals, I won my age group and got second overall out of the ladies. Now, there's nothing like a four day swim meet to remind me why open water swimming rocks so much more! Let's take a look.

	Pool swimming	Open water swimming
Duration	Nationals lasted four long, grueling days	Nationals lasted twenty minutes and change
Hydration	Important to balance water and electrolytes to avoid dehydration	Can have beer within minutes of finishing
Physical contact	Swimmers must stay in their own lanes or they get disqualified	While drowning people is frowned upon, kicking and elbows are common. It combines 2 favorite things – swimming and whooping folks
Bouts with the arch nemesis	Has a chance against Medendorp in very few pool events	Stands a much better chance of making Mark her bitch

So, while pool racing is tolerable now and again, it is open water swimming that totally rocks. Excited for this summer!

National Championships!

I ventured to Atlanta for my first USMS national championships. Pool swimming's not usually my bag, but Atlanta is so close and we had a fun group going, so I decided to give it a shot.



It was quite the experience! First, I finally met my imaginary boyfriend, Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones.


After which I crushed my arch nemesis Mark Medendorp in the 500 free.


Now, it may be worth noting that I've been taking a fiction writing class and am learning about different shades of truth. Granted, the above statements might not hold up in the "whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help me God" sense, but they do contain certain nuances of validity.

When I say that I met my imaginary boyfriend Cullen Jones, what I might mean is that I got to meet him vicariously through my friend Jessica. I might have gotten to hear from her all about how tall he is, how nice he is, how handsome he is, etc. This might have sent me into a jealous fit that had me erasing that other broad from the photo and pasting in my own mug. Just a slightly different version of the truth!


And when I say I crushed Medendorp, what I might mean is that he beat me by a solid 11 seconds in the 500, but that I searched his Facebook page for a photo of him looking crushed. See, same thing really!


What doesn't need multiple interpretations is the fact that we all had a very fun time.


As for my goal of getting a lifetime PR: I'm still a ways off from this in my good events (meaning, distance events). However...events that I have always sucked at, I now suck at a little less! Between states and nationals, I've gotten lifetime PRs in the 100 IM, 100 back, and 50 free. Take that, 16 -year-old Kim! Plus, I could totally take you in a cage fight.

Here are my results from the meet:
http://www.usms.org/comp/meets/meetsearch.php?c=267530&MeetID=20100520SCCH10Y