Big Shoulders 5k Swim Lake Michigan

After fracturing my hip on May 10th I made it a priority to have a goal for this season to help me with motivation during my recovery.  Since running and biking were out for some time I was able to lift weights and swim.  The Big Shoulders open water swim 5k has always been on my bucket list of races to complete.  During my time at Grant Ranch I have had the pleasure of getting to know some of Colorado's top open water swimmers such as Sarah Thomas, Ken Classen, Craig Lenning and Cliff Crozier.  This group has accomplished some 'real" open water swims i.e. English Channel, solo efforts across Lake Tahoe, Manhattan, Tsugaru to name a few.  I'm quite sure they don't even look at my race (especially since I wore a wet suit) as anything more than cool down swim.   However, they have inspired me and swimming 5k in Lake Michigan was only .7 miles more than an Ironman swim so I figured it was a good goal with a broken hip and would stretch me during my recovery.

With Ross and Marion Hauser. I've known Ross since the 2nd grade. He has finished this race twice. I couldn't have asked for more gracious hosts and sherpas!! Thank You!!

I began swimming two days after fracturing my hip. I had been swimming masters 3x a week since November so I had a good foundation.  My routine was swim one day lift the next.  I eventually built up my pull sessions to 4k. After about 8 weeks I could do flip turns but still no kicking.  Nine weeks post accident I went back to masters but had to move down a few lanes because I still couldn't kick and my flip turns didn't produce much of a push off the wall.  The following week I moved back to my original lane and added two weekend open water swims at Grant Ranch.  I didn't officially track yardage but I was putting in between 14 and 17k each week.  My longest open water effort in training was just over 3 miles and my time was 1:28.  The lake I practice in is always flat and rarely are we dealing with any elements.  In the back of my mind I was a little concerned about the conditions in Lake Michigan, mainly waves and cold water.  I had been swimming in water which was high 70's most of the summer.

Packet pickup. It was cold !!

Ross pointed out to me where the course would go. I was starting to get a little nervous as some of the waves were 3-4 feet and it was windy.

Ross and Marion got me down to the lake early and that was good as the registration lines were long.  I was glad to get through the lines early so I could study the course, ease my mind and prepare for the swim.  I ran into Scott Reeves who is the registrar for Big Shoulders.  Scott and I went to high school together and back in the day he was "the man" when it came to swimming.  Scott's daughter Haley would be doing her first open water swim and both were swimming the 2.5 k loop without wet suits. Scott repeatedly tried to get me to shed the wet suit but I declined.  I also ran into Kim Katz who I coached for a few Ironmans a few years back and it is always good to see her smiling face.  Her aura is just infectious and helped calm me down.

 The wind was quite strong and it was cold so my mind told me the water would be cold.  I opted to not do a warm up as did most of the 1200.  The race was delayed as there the PA system had not arrived and the Life Guards had no oars for the boats.  The race director went over some race day logistics, the original race director was recognized and the obligatory triathlete jokes (why can't we all just respect that we each swim.  Never can understand why people in the same class have to make fun of each other). Eventually we started to line up in our waves which would go off in 3 minute increments.  I was in wave 5 and eventually said good bye to Ross and Marion and heading off to the start. 

As I headed out to the start I noticed that there were very few people actually moving to the start line.  Everyone was hanging back.  I ended up front row and off to the right.  It was difficult to site the buoys because the waves were forcing you to bounce up and down.  I had opted to wear two caps (because I thought the water was cold), ear plugs because I've had recurring ear infections this summer and because my silicone cap covered my ears. As I swam out to the start buoy I couldn't help but notice the water was VERY WARM. The gun went off and I started swimming.  I noticed because of the swells I wasn't moving through the water as quickly as I normally do. I knew the first leg would be the hardest as the waves were coming straight in.  About 400 yards in I started to have some breathing difficult and had to breast stroke for about 30 seconds.  I started swimming again and felt better immediately.  Because of the chop I started using more of a delayed stroke up front, almost a catch up stroke. This seemed to help me get through the water better.  Sighting remained a challenge so I tried to site off the arms and legs in front of me the best I could. An issue I soon found out was that a number of the life guards were wearing orange jackets which made them look like buoys.  They were not stationary so I found myself chasing a moving buoy until I figured this out.

Wave 5 start.  I am the first white cap to the right of outside buoy

I made my way the to the first buoy and was relieved to have a little calmer water.  Each leg of the swim was a 1/2 mile.  I started to catch some of the swimmers in front of me and sighting was easier with all the skyscrapers in the horizon.  I felt strong in the water and continued to focus on form and breathing.  I was surprised at how much of the swim I was by myself but that is how things work out sometimes.  Perhaps this is normal in open water swim races?

The third leg of the of first lap was the easiest as we now had the waves behind us and could feel an occasional surge forward.  I made the turn in 41 minutes and headed out for lap number 2 (there is no getting out of the water, just a loop). The 4th leg of this race was a bitch.  I found myself struggling a little and it seemed like I was swimming all over the place.  One second the buoy would be just to my left and then I would take 5 strokes and I would be completely on the other side of the buoy. Other than this leg I had no issues with swimming straight so I can only attribute this to the waves moving us around.  It seemed like this leg was taking the longest.  I was starting to get a headache from being over heated and I wanted to rip off my caps but I didn't (not yet).  I eventually made it to the turn and noticed that I continued to pick off some slower swimmers.  I had no idea where I was position wise but I knew I surely wasn't up front.  Without being able to see much I just focused on trying to swim straight and catching a glimpse of the next buoy.

One of the other white caps in the background chasing me to the finish.

As I made the turn for the last buoy I was passed by two white caps wearing wet suits.  I was really get lethargic and my head was pounding.  I finally ripped off my top cap and slowed things down a little to see if I could regain my form which was getting a little sloppy.  I kept thinking "tempo and arm speed".  I could see the two white caps swimming about 10-15 yards ahead of me and I picked up my pace in an attempt to try and catch them.  At first I made no ground up and even found myself going off line a little to my left.  I corrected some technique issues, focused on tempo, arm speed and staying long and strong.  I eventually caught up to them but couldn't pull away.  I was getting tired and my head and stomach were not happy. I felt like throwing up and was getting really warm.  I won't go as far as saying I should have listened to Scott but it would have been nice to not be in a full sleeve wet suit!  I found a last surge and eventually pulled past both of the other white caps, made my way to shore and headed to the finishers shoot.

The first thing I did when I stood up was rip my last cap off. The cooler air felt much better. I saw Ross and Marion, waved and ran over the finish line. I got out of my wet suit as quickly as possible. Spent some time with Ross and Marion at the finish line.  Met Scott's daughter as well as the race director and then we headed home for some food and rest.   I later found out I was 8th in the wet suit division BUT of all the swimmers in the 5k division I was in the lower 40% overall. The majority of "real" swimmers don't don wet suits.  My finish time was 1:29 which was exactly what I was doing in my training swims.  I didn't really have a time goal but thought I would come in somewhere around 1:25-1:30. Given the conditions I was happy with my time.  Mission accomplished!! This was a very well organized event with some very fast swimmers.  I look forward to going back in the future and some day to do this event with my daughter and wife!! A huge thank you to Ross and Marion for your hospitality.  It is ALWAYS good to see you two and as always, I wish we lived closer!!

Finished.. Can I get out of this wet suit PLEASE??