Race Report: Emerald City Open Water Swim (8/15/08)

The best part about being a triathlete, in my opinion, is the ability to train and race as a pool swimmer, open water swimmer, cyclist, and runner. Though I greatly enjoy each of these pursuits, there's a special thrill and excitement inherent within open water swimming.

This excitement led me to register for the Emerald City Open Water Swim in Seattle, WA. Seward Park would host the swim and it served as a perfect venue for just such an event.

On the day of the race my Mom, Dad (who was also racing), and I arrived at the Park more than early enough to check-in and do a thorough warm up. After we were very efficiently processed, I retired to the park's spacious facilities to change into my Speedo FS1 speedsuit. Though not at this point a swimmer of the caliber that would require such apparel, I greatly enjoyed what I now considered the novelty of using the high-tech racing suit.

Checking the anti-fog in my goggles pre-race

Emerald City hosts 1/2 and 1 mile distance races, and I had signed up for the latter. Watching the former certainly made me excited, however, and an armada of lifeguards ensured that it went off without a hitch.

The 1 mile swim course is triangular and counter-clockwise as it navigates  the perimeter of the little Seward Park Bay. As I practiced my sight line warming up on the course, I noticed the surface movement of the water was perpendicular to the first buoy and directed to the right. I made sure to refine the proper amount of leftward compensation to correct the resulting drift.

Swimmers make their way to the deep water start

There was a floating dock alongside the deep-water start and I hopped up onto it in order to stretch as I waited for the countdown. The inevitable 'Kona-esque' creeping forward of the starting line was in full effect and I just went along with it. I placed myself in an aggressive position but a few rows back so as not to get swum over by those who take it out even faster than I unfortunately do. A quick count-down and we were off.

Amidst the chaos and rush of beginning the race, I was glad to have rehearsed sighting the first leg as I needed a majority of my attention to be directed at not swimming over or being swum over by my competitors. My triceps became tight with lactic acid surprisingly quickly, a likely by-product of going out too hard, and this reminded me to try and focus on maintaining proper technique for as long as possible.

Have you ever found it awkward to round turn buoys during a race? It's like drawing a curve with several straight lines. Either way, I found myself making the curve, however awkwardly, and was only then faced with the greatest sighting challenge of my short career.

Some genius had decided to make the swim caps the exact same color as the turn buoys. As I sighted ahead, there were now literally 2 dozen turn buoys of all sizes in front of me. I chose the center of the cluster to continue towards and found my way alongside and through a long section of boats. Some of which either unknowingly or inconsiderately running their diesel engines to our detriment in the water.

I reached the second turn buoy and now had the task to make the straight shot in. I tried to conserve on the previous section somewhat so that now I could build into an all out sprint to the finish. I focused on catching those within reach ahead of me and was able to use their slipstream to enhance the catch as I got closer.

I've always loved the sensation of coming back into shore from a swim; watching the bottom appear and grow closer. Once it was within reach I jumped out of the water and made the quick sprint to the finish.

I recovered my breath and spoke with those around me as we made our way through the long finishing chute. Then it was the matter of a nice cool down (which I didn't actually do), a shower, and back into fresh clothes for some excellent post-race food and company. My Dad had a great swim and all photos are courtesy of a most wonderful Mom.

During the presentation of awards, I was surprised to find that I'd taken third in the Men's 20-24 age group. This landed me an excellent mug customized with the race name and the Seattle Parks and Recreation logo. My time of 28:22 isn't as inspirational as the fact that I'm swimming in the 22min-24min range just a year later,  giving testimony to how quickly one can improve in a technique-based sport with some focused determination.

Overall, I had an excellent time at the open water swim race and couldn't recommend it more highly to the triathlete and adventurous swimmer. Check out the website here.