Question:
I hear the current is so swift that
many of the elite racers finish
the swim leg in under 10 minutes.
This is scary just to read, not
to mention the stories about the
end of the swim! I'd love to hear
about peoples' experiences who swam
in this or other open water swim
events in NYC.
Answer:
We walked out onto the barge - they
checked us off a list of names and
numbers as we got onto the barge.
The initial instructions were confusing
- the first one was to stay to the
right of the red buoys and the second
one was to stay to the left of the
buoys. I wasn't too confused. I
knew where to go and umed that the
first person had made a mistake.
I climbed down the ladder from the
barge to the platform at water level.
I sat down to slide into the water,
just like I do at the pool. Another
swimmer jumped in. By the time he
surfaced he was 50 yards down river!
And he had a hard time swimming
back to the barge.
I reminded
myself to stay off to the side of
the group. I wanted to be on the
river side (New Jersey), but there
were already a lot of people there,
so I positioned myself on the land
side (Manhattan). When I got into
the river I grabbed on to the edge
of the landing and held on tight.
The current was very strong. My
legs were pulled out from under
me and my body was stretched out
flat! There was a rope that we were
to hold onto, but it was useless
- the current was too strong and
the rope was stretched out in front
of us. I put my foot on the rope
so I wouldn't swim into it!
They gave
the command to go! And I began to
swim. In every triathlon I've done
I've had trouble with breathing
during the beginning of the swim.
And even though I was clear of all
the other swimmers, I was still
having trouble breathing. Then it
dawned on me. I wasn't exhaling
underwater. Duh! When I corrected
that I was relaxed and swimming
well. Well, swimming wasn't really
necessary. The current was so swift,
all you had to do was lie down,
move your arms a bit and navigate!
I swam right into a kayak. Good
thing, he was directing me away
from the sail boat that was moored
on the left of the course. I made
it past the sail boat and began
to sightsee. I couldn't make out
any of the buildings on the Westside
of Mahattan, but I
did notice the Soldiers Monument.
Hey! That's on 81st Street. I better
get ready to exit. The finish is
at 79th Street. Zoom, Zoom. I'm
at the barge at the finish area!
I notice
that the buoys are up against the
barge and so are a few swimmers.
I angle back up river a bit so as
to avoid getting into the crowd
at the barge. I'm in the sheltered
area now, I turn right and head
to the exit ramps. They're not really
deep enough to walk out of the water
on, first you have to climb up and
out. I'm out of the water and across
the timing mat. I check my watch
- 14:34!!! (Officially I did the
swim in 16:29,there must have been
another timing mat further up).
Down the dock on the land and through
the shower!
I didn't
find out about the problems others
in my wave and the few after me
had until I crossed the finish line.
