I'm Alive!!

So, this triathlon SEEMED like a good idea even up to this point (leaving the spectator area to head down to the 'transition area' (where you keep your bike and other gear))...look at us so happy and naive. I think that line up of ambulances that went all the way down the road (in the background) should have been our first clue...but it wasn't.

We were at Camp Pendleton. My brother was stationed here for a while so I thought he might like a couple pics...plus, I thought the hover crafts were awesome!

My cousin, K, is the guy that did this with me.  K's girlfriend had to stand on a hill very far away from us so the pics are pretty grainy, but I thought she did a great job, so thanks girl! If you look carefully right at the center of the photo below, you can see two people looking at the camera...that is me and my cousin again.

Do you see that I have a wet suit on? No, that is not mine. Clue number two that this was a bad idea was when the lady across from me saw my swimsuit and asked where my wet suit was. When I told her I didn't have one, she informed me the water was 60 degrees and kindly offered me her spare. Spare? Yes, I would discover that although I thought I was prepared, ill-prepared just doesn't cut how little I knew.

As we got our stuff ready, I would learn from the two Ironman (2.4mi swim, 112mi bike, 26.2mi run) triathletes to my left that my bike that I was so proud of was not the best and that the swim here was the worst they had done.  AND that if I completed the swim here, I could do any swim, anywhere.  Clue number three.  I am not a good swimmer, so you would think I would reconsider at this point, but I did not.

We all collected on the beach and they let us go by age/gender group, every five minutes.  This is my cousin's group leaving the beach. Now you have to realize that the idea was to swim through the breakers, out to a buoy, across to another buoy and back into the beach (making a 'U' shape). My cousin did this very well (the punk used to be a lifeguard).

What they didn't tell you (until moments before you raced) was that there was a very strong current pushing you parallel to the beach. So, you had to run down the beach several hundred meters before getting in the water or you would be swept right past the buoy.

This pic shows everyone on the beach (1500 participants).  The two yellow triangles are the buoys.  Our swim was supposedly only 500m.

This is my group and the two after me. As you can see, we were last to get in the water. Clue number four: standing on the beach for an hour before starting, all the while realizing that not only are these waves very large, but never in the entirety of my life have I tried to swim PAST the beakers. I mean, WHY would anyone do that? I spent the hour getting tips from women on how to get through the waves in one piece...never even thinking about coming back in.  Yes, that's a jet ski in the water...these waves were no joke.

When the race finally began, I ran into the water with the confidence of a seasoned veteran. After all, I had just gotten enough advice to win this race! When the first wave smashed into me and I went backwards while swallowing salt water, I held my cool by convincing myself crying would only make things worse.

I dove through wave after wave, not sure if I was getting anywhere, and when I looked up, I had already drifted past the first buoy (in the wrong direction). Trying to swim against the current and the waves to get back around the buoy proved to be a daunting task. I swam and swam yet neither I nor the buoy appeared to be moving. I took one look at the jet ski nearby, contemplated quitting and swore I was not riding that today. Soon, the group that started 5 minutes behind me caught me. :) Now with someone to follow, I made it around the first buoy and to the second buoy and headed toward shore.

At this point, I was sure I was home free...I mean, after all, don't waves push you in to shore? The short answer to that is NO!! I learned Saturday that after a wave pushes you in and moves past you, it pulls you right back out again. How crazy! Now sure that I was about to be sucked back out to sea, I fought the mental battle to 'just keep swimming' (as Dory would say).

 I was tired but calm when I heard, "Wave!!!" (the lifeguards-of which there were over a hundred-were kind enough to scream and let you know when a wave was about to kill you). And smash, I was under water in a torrent of craziness, with no idea which way was up. Normally I would just hold my breath until I came up but since I had been swimming for over 20 minutes by this point, I was tired and I knew I didn't have much time to get up, so I swam what I thought was up and I got lucky. I popped up, sucked air (and more sea water), when somewhere in the back reaches of my mind I recollect hearing, "Wave!!" yet again.

Under water again, I started to panic a little. I was tired and I could suddenly feel it. I popped up and yelled something at the nearest lifeguard. He started toward me and I whipped off my goggles. Suddenly able to see, I realized I didn't have that far to go. With the break between sets of waves, I collected my nerve and by the time the lifeguard got to me and asked if I needed help (if they touch you, your race is over), I looked around and said, "No." I must have looked pretty bad cause the next thing out his mouth was, "Are you sure?" I looked away, said, "No," and took off swimming.

By the time I could stand, I had been pushed so far down the beach by the current that I had to get out and run back up the beach to the starting line just to get to my bike. All I remember was the sweet feel of the sand under my feet the first time I touched ground and then running by a complete stranger on the beach and yelling, "I'm ALIVE!! Thank God, I'm alive!!"

I was still shaking when I got on the bike but I used the adrenalin rush to push hard on the bike portion.

This is hard to see, but to show you how far apart we were, the biker in the middle of the picture is my cousin...already done biking...and the lady putting on her pink helmet to the top left of the picture is me...just starting my bike. The bike portion was 19 miles, so the gap was huge. He started almost an hour ahead of me but at this point I was just jealous he was almost done!

My cousin running.

As you can see, by the time I left the bike area to start my bike, I was pretty far behind...all those empty racks are the people ahead of me!

Look how pretty the ocean looks now! Based on the number of bikes in the transition area, I am guessing, I was finishing the bike.

Yep, there I am.

Finally off for my run. PTL!!  I got a side ache by then but being a runner, I can run through those. It felt good to do something I could shut my brain off for. My legs were tired but I enjoyed feeling good about something! :)

I was a little disappointed in my time, but then again, I didn't expect to nearly drown and spend almost half an hour in the water. That said, I was quite pleased with my bike and run. I know I said I just wanted to finish, but I wanted to come in with a reasonable time too. Oh well. I guess that is for next time.

By the way, yes, I plan to do more races.  But, NO, I do not plan to do another ocean swim like that again. I believe calm waters are in order for me...maybe a lake...but until I learn to really swim, the ocean is out.  I have always respected the power of the ocean, now I just have a little more fear mixed in with that respect.  It's kind of like God.  We know He is powerful, but until we experience it first hand, we don't respect Him like we should.

No, we did not get any of these but they looked cool so I included the pic.

Well, I hope you all had a great weekend!  I will work on the rest of the pics tomorrow.  I need some sleep tonight!  God Bless!!