Anyway, I got on the road and headed out to Reston. When I got to the lake, the DC Tri tent was up and filled with peppy swimmers. Okay, that might be a stretch, but it was filled with people who were about to swim.I sandbagged my time a bit, so I was starting in the third to last swim wave. I knew I would be tired from the day before and it was a technical course - multiple turns, only 1 straight away, so I knew my time wouldn't be great.
We all lined up, say our good lucks and each wave started to go off. Karen and I headed into the water, I went to fix my wetsuit on my neck and off went the whistle. No count down, no warning - just off. So, I took off. Here was the other problem with putting down a slower seat time - no one to draft off of!! I took a few strokes, looked around, and I was leading the wave! Dang it!!
The first lap was pretty uneventful. A few kicks here, hits there. I also took mental notes to have a better and more efficient line for lap two. I was getting frustrated with people hitting my feet and not knowing how to draft properly, but I think that was just because I couldn't find anyone to draft off of.
Lap two started after 32 minutes. I worked on having a better line and more efficient stroke. At one of the turns, I saw a guy cut across me, and cut the buoy. About 100 meters later, he cut the next turn buoy. Stupid guy. I don't know how he lives with himself...
Anyway, I finished the race as strong as I could - 1 hour 4 minutes flat. A perfect split. Not too bad. 7 out of 12 in my division, I'll take it! Only 1 minute and 8 seconds slower than when I did the race in 2008 - when I was in better shape and training for the Bay swim.
After the race was the best part. Hugh's sister and brother-in-law live on the lake and opened their home to us for a BBQ. YUM!! Nothing says happy 2 mile swim like a cheeseburger. Delish!
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