Ok so I have swum my last swim before my first ever OW event on Saturday, and now the panic is really setting in. I tested the goggles/contact lens combination this morning and that works :). I still need to get the logisitcs clear....return home from dance lessons with kids at 10.40, get them changed and get bigger kid ready for birthday party.
Get me changed and make sure I have everything. Drive 1.5 miles down the road and try to find somewhere to park that is closer to the lake than than my house and pick up the swim packet between 11 and 12. This includes the chip - what do I do with the chip? does it go round your wrist or ankle or somewhere else :afraid:?
Warm-up is at 12-12.20. Should I do a 750m lap or just paddle around?
Apparently the water at entry is deep - its an in-water start and the jetty you jump of is all slimy - ewww.
So what if I get a case of the "eww its a lake" and freak out because the water is all brown, or I can't cope without a black line? Do I just go and find a kayak to rescue me?
And then once I'm racing, what happens if I end up on my own with no-one close to follow and get way off course? Do the kayakers herd you closer in to the buoys, or can you actually get lost?
And how do you finish? Will there be pads in the water or will we need to climb out and run under a finish line on the jetty?
So I think I'm done panicking - feel free to respond or not!
Parents
Former Member
Congratulations! So, what was your race strategy.. did you take it out fast and win from the front? Draft behind someone then sprint ahead at the end? Start slow and leap from pack to pack?
Once I'd eyed up the competition I figured I'd need to stay at the front and draft it I could. It was a small group - only 25 or so. I ended up going out alone, although I did have to shake off a drafter. Kept it steady on the first lap then picked up the second lap. However the lake exit seemed an awful long way from the turn buoy!
Congratulations! So, what was your race strategy.. did you take it out fast and win from the front? Draft behind someone then sprint ahead at the end? Start slow and leap from pack to pack?
Once I'd eyed up the competition I figured I'd need to stay at the front and draft it I could. It was a small group - only 25 or so. I ended up going out alone, although I did have to shake off a drafter. Kept it steady on the first lap then picked up the second lap. However the lake exit seemed an awful long way from the turn buoy!
