Dear reader(s), you know if you’ve read my infrequent blog posts this summer, that I’ve not had a successful swim season. From lack of preparedness to real life interfering with my swim schedule, I’ve not had much luck this year. In fact, until today, every race I entered I DNF’d. That’s not good.

But today I took part in the Swim for the Potomac. This swim is put on by WaveOne Swimming, a group of OW lovers who years ago decided to bring OW swimming to the National Capital Region. Besides the Atlantic Ocean, there was nowhere legal to swim OW in the DC area. They went through the pain of getting permissions for swims in the Potomac, and are trying to bring awareness to OW swimming in this area, especially in the Potomac. Denis Crean is the mastermind behind this organization, and no slouch himself. He’s also the OW chair of my local masters swimming committee.

Alert readers will by now have figured out that this was the swim last year that I didn’t finish, the 10K that became a 8.75K. So this year I decided to go for something I knew I could finish. No, not the 5K. Even that I wasn’t sure of, after my pathetic attempts this year (DNFs in Tampa Bay and Ocean City) and what with my practically zero swimming all summer. (I only swam 58.6 miles between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and most of that was in June and the first half of July. Yes I know that sucks.) So I signed up for the 3K. I had swum that much in practice a week or so ago, so I figured I’d just swim it slowly and finish. Plus, my girls were doing the 500m, so I definitely wanted to finish for them.

Wow was I wrong. I felt so good, I should have done the 5K. The 3K flew by, except for the middle of the second lap, which I’ll explain in a minute. Anyway, I felt great and was really able to put the pedal to the metal, sts. I’d love to give you a map of my swim from my Garmin, which I did remember to bring and did remember to start and even press laps. But for some reason, our new Windows 8 computer is not cooperating with the Garmin, so the map will have to wait.

So, I let all the giggling high school and middle school kids clog the start area while me and the rest of the adults hung out to the sides and back. The gun went off and boom, we swam. Wasn’t long before the kids sprinted forward, but I must say I held my own with some wetsuit-clad (don’t judge them! the water was only 76 degrees) men, even bumping one particular guy who couldn’t swim straight. And yes, dear reader(s), I actually swam pretty straight. Little to no correction needed between sightings. I was so proud. (Another reason I’d like to get the map uploaded.)

Lap one of three finished, I pressed the lap button and started stretching out and getting into my groove. On leg 2 of lap 2 I started picking up the pace, realizing that I’m doing just fine and have no reason to save anything for later. In the middle of leg 3 I noticed whom I thought was one of the high school girls just treading water with her goggles off. Then I heard, “Dad!” There was my 10-year old, way off course from the 500 she was doing, wondering where she was. Poor thing finished her first 250m lap and then started following other green-cap clad swimmers until she realized she was doing the 1000m loop that we 3K swimmers were doing! She was freaking out a little, not knowing how to get back. I pointed her to the end of the pier and told her to swim there until she got to the finish line. Thankfully, a volunteer kayaker (thank you all!) came by and said he’d escort back to her course. I wish I had a GPS on her, because she did a full 250m loop then almost an entire 1000m loop, and she only signed up for the 500m race! Poor thing came in last, but she did do more than twice what all her competitors did. At the end I asked her why she didn’t just follow her sister, my almost-14-year old. “She was going too slowly, Dad!”  Sure enough, the older daughter told me, “We got in the water and started and boom, Lucy was gone!”

So I finished lap 2 and then decided to pick it up for lap 3. I wish I could tell you the time. Maybe when Garmin Support responds to my email. Regardless, lap 3 felt great and again I was navigating way better than I normally do. Around buoy 2 I started picking up the pace, and around 3 heading home I put my head down (sts) and really pushed. As I got to the pier a bunch of people, non-family people even!, were cheering loudly for me to swim faster. Then three of those 5K kids swam by me. Oh! That explains it. Well, it helped me nonetheless. I pulled in and turned the Garmin off.

So, my final time of 58 minutes and some change includes a few minutes calming my daughter down, which is okay with me. I felt so bad for her; she said she doesn’t want to swim this race next year! So, I have a year to change your mind, is what you’re telling me?  (The girl just started competitive swimming summer of 2012. Within a couple swim meets, she’s started destroying me. Her LCM 50 back is :41.78; 50 fly 41:98; 100 free 1:16.98!)