Splash & Dash

In July, Steve posted about an event he did called "Splash & Dash". It's a series of three sprint races, each consisting of a 200 meter lake swim, transition, and a 1 mile run. After the first swim and run, you take a little rest and do the whole thing over again. It's hosted by Gear West, our local Tri store, and it looked like a lot of fun. The first one of the series in June had been cancelled due to weather, and Steve had done the second one in July. The last one was last night. The location was 5 minutes from my house and the weather was perfect. No excuses!

Steve had linked to a video of the last event, so that helped me get mentally and physically prepared. I could see that no one was sitting down, putting on socks and tying shoes during the transition, so I put Yankz on my shoes so I wouldn't have to tie them. Steve said he was okay with the short run with no socks, so that alleviated some anxiety I had about that. Other than that, it looked like goggles, swim cap and shoes were all that was needed.

I could also see from the video and the results posted that everyone racing was pretty fast. They only had 7 participants for the July race, and the slowest mile recorded was an 8:44, with only one other time over 8 minutes. I knew that I would be the slowest person there. My daughter was going to the race with me, so as I was packing up I decided I better warn her. She's 13 and, although she still likes me, I'm sure I embarrass her on occasion. I told her that there were going to be some fun athletes to watch because they were so well trained and that she shouldn't be surprised if I was quite a bit behind the pack. She said, "Mom, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you are going and doing it." Now I was ready.

I saw Steve and met his wife, Sarah, right away. It was so great to meet them. Thanks to both of them for all of their warm smiles and encouragement! I got in the water and got acclimated while everyone got ready. There were 16 of us and it was very casual. I stayed back and got in the water last because I knew I would be slow. The water was pretty shallow so I actually walked out quite a bit. The transition for the run was fun because it was so quick. I rinsed my feet, pulled on my shoes and I was off. Before I knew it, the first heat was over with. Although I clocked the slowest run time with a 8:52 mile, I actually came in ahead of two other women. Of course, one woman had shown up late and got in the water after I had already completed a lap, and the other woman had never open water swam before. Still, I thought I did okay.

After a rest, it was back to the beach to do it all again. The new swimmer opted out of the swim, so this time I was the last person out of the water. I was 4 seconds slower than the first time but only 30 seconds behind the lead woman. I had purposely gone in the water last, so no surprise here. My second mile time was 8:45. I was pleased with that! Honestly, that is about as fast as I can go right now. I came across the line last, but there were lots of people there to greet me and I was happy.

They had hot dogs after the race and I had a chance to chat with the other racers. Triathletes are the nicest group of people. I love how they encourage each other and all different levels will share tips and stories with each other. I had lots of sand in my shoes, but other than that I was no worse for wear. It was a great evening. Here are a couple pictures:

Receiving instruction before the start. I'm in the yellow top.

Me in transition during the first heat. Look, no socks!

Me coming across the finish. Thanks to Steve for this picture!

Next year I'll put all three of these races on my calendar. It will be a fun way to check my progress during the season as well as a fun evening out.