Jumping right in

I competed in my first swim race today. It was a 4 x 400 relay with my team at the multisport expo. I don't remember being this nervous for a race since my first half ironman. I was swimming the second leg behind my coach, Christina.

Going in, I started getting worried that all of the other competitors would be former collegiate swimmer, with their diving starts from the blocks, their flip turns, their completely shaved bodies.

Watching the first leg, I felt a little better, there were a variety of levels present, and our lane actually looked pretty competitive. My turn. Oh, I don't dive in. I'm not a swimmer... I'm a triathlete.

This sort of swimming is almost serene relative to tri swimming. No one swimming into me, over me, through me, no one even in my lane. And no one to pace off of. It's hard to see the people in the next lane. I knew there was a girl about a half a length ahead of me from the start, but I quickly lost track of her. No sounds from the pool penetrate, just the sounds of my breathing.

But it goes fast. 4 laps to go, 3, 2. Oh, there's that girl who was half a lap ahead of me. She looks, closer. Last lap, push it. I come into the far wall, just as she's leaving. I'm gaining. Sprint, Sprint, SPRINT! Catch her!... Got her! Right on the wall. Hell, yeah.

I finished in 6:02. That's 1:30s per 100. Faster than my previous 200s pace by 4 seconds. Our team came in 2nd in our heat, and 4th overall, we think. Not bad for our first showing.