Swim Report – HarborFest Swim

As if a hilly 66 mile ride wasn’t enough, Sunday morning I did the Wave One HarborFest Swim at National Harbor.

Yes, I paid money to jump into the Potomac.  But it wasn’t as gross as I feared.  Just kind of stinky.

The race offered a bunch of distances – 750m, 1.2 miles, 2.4 miles, and the absolutely insane 5K.  Clearly, I went for the 1.2 mile swim.  While I wasn’t looking forward to a second early morning and missing Iron Girl volunteering for a jump into the Potomac, I was looking forward to trying out the race distance.

Of course, it wasn’t going to be much of a predictor for Augusta since the conditions are completely different, but it’s never bad to cover the distance.

The event was low key and well organized.  Before the swim, the race director offered various tips for the swim, knowing that a lot of people were using this as a triathlon open water swim practice. It definitely made for a positive atmosphere.  Plus it was fun to hang out with Liz and finally meet Laura in person.

The waves went off beginning with the longest distance, so we could watch people start the swim but also be reassured that we wouldn’t be the last out (I assume that honor went to one of the amazing 5K swimmers).  When it was time for the 1.2, I jumped right in.   Water wasn’t as horrible as I feared.  When the swim started, I was definitely trapped in a pack and had issues with other swimmers a couple of times during the swim.  Just a crowded event.  No real problems, just a little annoying.

For the 1.2, we had a two loop course.  Nice because it was a good opportunity to practice sighting and turn buoys.  I knew by the first loop that I was a little slower than I wanted to be.  But I still felt comfortable, so I decided to just push a bit harder.

I managed to get passed twice by one of the 5K swimmers.  So that was fun.  I also kept touching someone’s foot that was the grossest foot I have ever touched.  ICK.

I finished the swim in just under 53 minutes.  I was hoping for more in the 40’s.  But I’ll take it.  I was coming in fatigued from the day before, plus Augusta will be wetsuit legal and with the current, so I’ve got a good shot at getting closer to the 45 that I want.

All in all, not a bad event.  Then I had to go for a 10 mile run.  That was… less fun.  And took way more than 53 minutes.

Oh, and I thought this was cool.  After the run, I was walking back through National Harbor and everyone was standing around staring at something.  When I got closer I realized what it was.

The Olympics up on the big screen.  Taking advantage of a beautiful day and getting outside and still managing to watch Team USA.  Seems like a win all around.

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