I wish I could have swum like Jake this morning. I did fine for the first half of the Donner Lake race, and then fell apart in the last mile. Perhaps next year I can improve that, and knock 30 minutes off my time so I can win a towel. :)
But all in all, we could not have asked for better conditions. Water temp: 71 degrees, air temp: 75 (with a forecast high of 89), and the water was calm until the water skiers came out en masse.
Originally posted by fatboy
A little more research shows that Jake's entry fee was waived by the promoters
www.south-end.org/.../jake-wiggle.shtml
awwwwwwwww! That's a great article!
Next time I sign up for a race, can I say I'm a dog??? :cool:
Originally posted by F'ueco
Looks like a fun time. Which race(s) did you do?
The thing with the DLS towels that makes them special is that they are the awards for the top 3 in each age group. But I can always use a new towel, after all, they are the most functional item in the universe. ;)
Was a lot of fun! I did the mile race...I'm not quite up to the longer distance o.w. races just now, but I'm happy to say that I beat my previous open water mile time by almost three minutes! (Still pretty slow, but getting there!) And although I finished second to last (caught the person just in front of me as we neared the end of the race), I won my a.g. by default...tough competition... moi, moi-meme, et je... but I prevailed. ;) (Good thing about being a 50something female in this area...sometimes our numbers are small enough so that an award occasionally comes my way...in both running and swimming). Got a coffee mug for my award, always a useful prize and it'll certainly come in handy...the towel was much prettier but I'm enough of a coffee drinker to always find uses for lidded mugs! :) Plus it says "first place" very prominently, so I can sip my java proudly.
Looks like a fun time. Which race(s) did you do?
The thing with the DLS towels that makes them special is that they are the awards for the top 3 in each age group. But I can always use a new towel, after all, they are the most functional item in the universe. ;)
Originally posted by FindingMyInnerFish
Was a lot of fun! I did the mile race...I'm not quite up to the longer distance o.w. races just now, but I'm happy to say that I beat my previous open water mile time by almost three minutes!
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Dropping three minutes from your mile is impressive! Congratulations!!
One advantage of the coffee mug is that it is alot easier to "casually" use it at work to brag a liitle about your race - tough to find a reason to bring a towel to the office
Originally posted by fatboy
Dropping three minutes from your mile is impressive! Congratulations!!
One advantage of the coffee mug is that it is alot easier to "casually" use it at work to brag a liitle about your race - tough to find a reason to bring a towel to the office
Thanks--yah, taking a beach towel to the office would have a strange and possibly chilling effect on conversation. ;) Coffee cups also are a bit lighter and more portable...AND ... hold coffee, an essential nutrient! ;)OTOH, the beach towel is nice for bragging rights at the pool!
Originally posted by F'ueco
I wish I could have swum like Jake this morning. I did fine for the first half of the Donner Lake race, and then fell apart in the last mile. Perhaps next year I can improve that, and knock 30 minutes off my time so I can win a towel. :)
But all in all, we could not have asked for better conditions. Water temp: 71 degrees, air temp: 75 (with a forecast high of 89), and the water was calm until the water skiers came out en masse.
It's a bit of a distance from you, but try this race I just did yesterday:
www.rainbowchannelchallenge.com/
EVERYONE gets a towel, and they're beautiful towels! Only you'd need to travel to NJ...
A couple I knew brought their Lab to the race, but they said the dog hadn't much liked swimming...then suddenly seemed to take to the saltwater (had been very skittish in fresh water). However, the dog showed no interest in entering the race, even though at 5 years old, she'd still be in the age range for the children's 1/4 mile. ;)
Should I just wear one of my Alcatraz finisher medals at work? :D
Actually I think leaving the competitor numbers on my arms is the way to go. People feel obligated to ask why the number 300 is written on my arm. Then I get to tell them about my slow swim over the weekend.
Speaking of OW mile times, my goal is just to get it down to where my pool mile time was when I was swimming in college. Only 4 minutes to go.
Originally posted by F'ueco
Should I just wear one of my Alcatraz finisher medals at work? :D
Actually I think leaving the competitor numbers on my arms is the way to go. People feel obligated to ask why the number 300 is written on my arm. Then I get to tell them about my slow swim over the weekend.
Speaking of OW mile times, my goal is just to get it down to where my pool mile time was when I was swimming in college. Only 4 minutes to go.
Oh yes, body markings are handy...altho I keep wondering if someone unfamiliar w/ open water swims will ask if I was in jail or some such ;) --altho. yesterday, I took a swim at my regular pool and had forgotten that my race no. still showed (more faintly but visible) on my arms. But by the time I finished swimming, no sign of it at all. So now I realize my pool is more effective than Lever2000 for erasing body markings.
As for your finisher's medal... you can take the medal to work--My strategy: to hang some of my favorites up in visible places (although not on myself as they tended not to go well with my outfit of choice). ;) A finisher's medal I got from Philly's Broad Street Run also had a key ring. That has given me an excuse to carry it everywhere (took ribbon off and use it now as a key ring).
