Freeman Lake - Longest OWS (1.33 miles)

This morning marked my longest open water swim (OWS) to date.

I had signed up just this past week for the 2k OWS at Freeman Lake in Etown after giving some thought to the fact that everything I’ve done thus far has been in the pool. A tri friend I had ridden with about a month ago asked if I wanted to drive down together, and we met at my place at 6:30 a.m. to make the 45 minute trek in preparation for an 8:00 swim start.

My nerves really didn’t hit until we were on the dock, and about to plunge into the water. I had already made contact with many Landsharks prior to the race, some of which were doing the 4k swim – good for them. I myself had initially told one of the swim coaches that I was thinking about doing that distance as well. You know, to get my mind prepared for Ironman – psyching myself out to know that if I can do the 4k now, then 2.4 miles in 4 ½ months will be a piece of cake. His response: “I’m not trying to talk you out of it, but….” Hence, I signed up for the 2k and here I was – about to go off on this long, continuous swim.

We got in the water 5 minutes after the 4k group went off, and 5 minutes before the 1k group. Only a few minutes in the water to make our way to the start, they sound the horn and off we went. I hit the Garmin so that I would know exactly how long this little swim session would take me, and shortly thereafter hit a pretty good groove.

Most of the race is a bit of a blur, since there’s not much to see or hear or even think about while swimming through murky, deep water. I do remember getting into a rhythm and deciding that sighting every 4th breath is what was going to work best for me. The course was made up of a rectangle-shaped course that the 2k group had to complete twice. I finished up the first course and started in on the second, feeling fairly confident about my form and overall swim, even though I was dead last of the 2k group (a 1k swimmer had even passed me at one point during my first lap around, and by the time I was a little ways into the second lap, I began getting passed by the 4k group. Still, I know that I’m a slow swimmer so this snail-like pace did not dissuade me).

Rounding the next-to-last buoy, a 4k swimmer passed me on the right, throwing up a wave of water that I promptly took into my mouth and down my throat. After getting that initial choking sensation over with, I found myself unable to breath and was gasping for air. Thank goodness I decided on wearing my wetsuit, as I literally bounced there in the water trying to catch my breath. After the 3rd or 4th time trying to get air back into my lungs, I began to panic a bit and the wetsuit started to feel like a boa constrictor around my throat. I decided to lay on my back, floating for a minute or so while physically holding the collar away from my neck in order to try to get some air in and calm my nerves. By that point a kayaker had come over and began asking if I was okay. I was still having some trouble breathing, but managed to nod my head indicating that I would be. And then….. the water-works came.

Looking back I’m not sure why I had this reaction. Typically I don’t break down unless I’m feeling really overwhelmed, which I wasn’t at this point. In fact, one more turn and I was in the home stretch and about to be done with this race. I can only imagine that it was due to the anxiety and fear I had when I was unable to catch my breath. In those first few moments I was looking around for a kayak to hang on to just in case, but there weren’t any close by. I remember thinking, “If I can’t catch my breath, I could actually die out here.” A little melodramatic looking back at it, but in those scary few seconds it felt totally logical.

As I began to make my way forward once again, I starting to wonder what I would do if this happened during IMLOU, and if I would let it get to me the way it just had. Those thoughts only lasted a few minutes however, as I was back into my groove in no time and, again, sighting those buoys every fourth breath.

Near the end of the course I wasn’t quite sure which direction to head. A kayaker kindly showed me the way, and I was guided around one more buoy before hanging a right to make my way to the boat ramp and onto shore. Luckily, I had remembered to wear my earplugs so vertigo wasn’t a problem as I stood up out of the water. I felt only slightly disoriented and slipped only once before finally making my way out of the water. I hit the Garmin’s STOP button to see that I had finished in just over 56 minutes (after uploading the data from the Garmin, my official “moving” time was just over 54 minutes for 1.33 miles, which converts to 2:21/100m – a 1 hr. and 31 minute IMLOU finishing time).

Overall, I’d say this was a fairly decent race. Yes, I was slow, but as I’ve told the swim coach before, I feel like when I get into a good groove I can go at it all day. I just may not go at it as fast as others. I never got winded or felt tired. I never got mentally overwhelmed. In fact, I really do think I could have gone the entire 4k. If I would have made the cutoff or not – eh, that’s another question.