Swim the Suck 2018 race report

Swim the Suck - 10.3 miles down the Tennessee River near Chattanooga. I was really concerned that the race could be affected by Hurricane Michael (high water or contamination), but nothing could be further from the truth. As it turned out, a cool front went through Chattanooga the day before the race, cooling only the air, but the water was still very warm and, frankly, perfect for my racing, probably around 79 degrees (too hot for many). One of my best buds from the Air Force, Tina, and her husband, Randy, drove up from Atlanta to join in on the fun. She was more nervous about the race than I was so we had to keep her focused on her role. Navigate down the river, stay where i can see the boat, feed me every 30 minutes and don't let me run into anything. She succeeded on all counts. Randy paddled alongside her as well, helping to read the river. They did a great job. The paddlers headed out to their pre-planned buoys and then the race went off at 9:35 to the usual scuffle and jockeying for position. I'd asked Tina and Randy to be just past the last buoy so I could find them. There was a bit of a struggle as I was sort of expecting them more in center, but they were off to the side. We got that figured out and just started going. Note for future: meet them at a nearer buoy. A lot of people had the same idea. Feeds: The hardest part was when Tina would give me a signal that a feed was coming up in 5 minutes. Those last 5 minute always felt longer than the previous 25. I rotated between water and Tailwind for the liquids every 30 minutes. At 90 minutes and every hour after that, I did a quick Huma Gel for some additional nutrition and boost. Both products settled well on the tum and I wouldn't change anything. Note for future: Tina observed that many people stopped every 30 minutes and that, in many cases, we'd pass them because of short feeds. She suggested that, if I do this again, to do the first feed at 25 minutes, then every 30 after that. There's a mental boost to passing people when they're stopped. Pre-race, I had 2 PB&J's for breakfast. It's a nice constant for my swims. The race: The first 5 miles felt like they flew by and they did with a little current. I mainly breathe right where Tina's boat was planted, so I couldn't get a good gauge of speed by looking at the mountains (which all look alike!). Occasionally, I'd take a breath or two to the left to get a sense of speed and see if anyone was around me. I felt good for most of the race; able to pull long strong strokes. We had a pack of about five of us who jockeyed position for most of the race. About mile 8, I was just bored and tired; I think I lost a bit of time here. We hit the concrete plant which takes forever to get past (flashbacks to getting parallel to the Key West airport at mile 10 there!). Took a gel there for the last push to the end. I'd asked Tina to give me a signal when she saw the finish buoy in the distance, then to give me another signal when she saw a small marker buoy that was about 100yds from the finish. She did both well. When I spotted the bright red finish buoy, it was probably just over 1/2 mile out so I started kicking it in. She said I looked as strong then as at the beginning of the race ( yay!). I was like an old, barn sour horse heading to the stables as fast as I could. The last 100 yards or so I sprinted with everything left (after a near face-plant with a rock - Tina guided me around that). Goal time was 4:00, give or take 10 minutes. Success - finished in 3:56, in 22nd overall out of 100. And the pack of us that were together most of the race finished all within about 3 minutes of each other. I can see where I'd make some minor tweaks for next time, but they're minor. This went as well as it could have and I'm very happy with the finish. Beer and burritos greeted us. And the finishers "medals" were some beautiful, hand made pottery mugs for both the swimmers and paddlers. Kara and the COWS tribe put on a very well-run race. Kudos to the work that goes into it.