2nd

The last of the North Shore Swim Series races took place this morning. We started at Pipeline and swam 2.3 miles down the coast and ended in Waimea Bay. This is my favorite of the 4 races, probably because it's the longest, but I also think the scenery along the bottom is prettiest in this one. I had a decent but uneventful swim. Hard to start, found some feet, got on the train, got bored, put it into overdrive to bridge the gap and get on another train, etc. I felt strong, was able to cruise when I was on someone's feet but also had the power to surge when I wanted to as well.

The good thing about this swim is that we started men and women all together, which was awesome because it meant more people swimming the same speed so it was easier to swim in a pack. It also meant that we didn't catch any slower swimmers who would have started ahead of us if there were wave starts so it was all clear water once the horn sounded.

Like I said, I had a decent day. I think I'm not more excited about it because my time was kind of slow. 57:49. That might not sound all that slow, but last year I did this race when I was 7 months pregnant and swam 57:21.

I shouldn't get down on myself though. The currents this year were different than the currents last year and most people were 5-7 minutes slower this year as compared to last year. I had to look all this up to make myself feel better... last year 146 people came in under 1 hour. This year, only 61 people did.

So today I was 48th overall, 11th female, and 2nd in my age group. Miki won again, as she always does (though this year it took her 6 minutes longer this year- darn those currents!). I got 2nd to her in W35-39 in all 4 races this summer. I'm used to being 2nd now. The good news for me is that Miki is 39. I'm looking forward to Miki's next birthday. :)

They also give awards at the end of the series for combined total time for all 4 races. The fun news here is that Miki was the second fastest female overall for all the races combined, which left me in first place for 35-39. :) I was actually 4th overall for the series which is kind of cool, considering that first and third were these crazy fast little high school girls... and Miki and I are mixing it up with them. Well, Miki was anyway. I was trailing a bit behind. But A for effort. Ha!

Anyway, Scott and Moana came up this morning too (with the dog!). Moana has such a blast at these events. She's really quite the social little thing and loves being around lots of people. She also loves being at the beach and playing in the sand and water.
The water at Pipeline was a little too rough for babies to play in but it was calm like a lake at the finish in Waimea so she got to play in the water there.

After the swim we hung out at the beach there for a while, then I got some heat training in... meaning, I'm a triathlete, not just a swimmer, so I still had my run to do. It was good to get to practice running at 2:00 in the afternoon when the sun is blasting down in full force. Part of me felt like I was in hell, melting in my own skin... but part of me felt like I was in heaven. I love being a triathlete and am just thoroughly enjoying all this training right now!