Thetis Lake 5K Swim for MS

I think that somewhere along the line I forgot that I can't do things. I don't mean of course that I feel I could be a surgeon or scale Mt Everest any time soon, but there is little distinction in my mind between say biking 10km or biking 100km. As with all challenging endeavors the original motivation amounts to nothing standing at the edge of a lukewarm lake at 8am in the morning. Ahead of us the course marshel is going over the buoy placement as I tug an ill fitting swim cap over my GPS. Did I start the darn thing this time? Water creeps up my bare calves as I wade in with the small huddle of people lining the lake shore. The realisation that this is the last I will feel of terra firma for a while is slowly infiltrating my still dozing brain. Goggles are on; did I spit in them? Considering for a second what I was about to do I accepted that I was woefully under prepared. A whistle blows somewhere behind us and the front wave of athletes dashes further into the now roiling waters. Behind them I take my time, it's easy to not be competitive when you know your not going to win!

But I digress; several months prior to this point my girlfriend had mentioned a 3k swim race she had just registered in, idly mentioning that there was also a 5k option. Unfortunately for both of us my brain quickly made the following three connections: 5k > 3k, if she can do it so can I, and the ever fatal "how hard can it be?" So as she counted down the days to the event, keeping up her time in the pool I wisely devoted my time to biking. Now before you leap to condem this training strategy one must realize that these two events have something in common chiefly 'doing the same thing for a really long time!' So mental training [check] physical training [not so much]. In a last ditch effort, more to prove to myself that I wouldn't drown I paddled up and down Jerico beach at sunset avoiding several pods of people and an aggressive kayak. All there was to do now was to try and add a few pounds of blubber before the race for extra buoyancy!

The course itself as I discovered was 3 1.5k loops + a mini 500m bonus lap around the perimeter of the lake. While usually I begrudge looped swim courses as the aquatic equivalent of track running the scenery that surrounded the course was more than enough to distract me from the monotony. Sighting out towards the end of the lake revealed shear granite walls plunge down into the murky depths all the while you inch closer to the forested island at the centre of the lake. Rounding this untouched wilderness gem isolated as it is from the world by a channel only perhaps a dozen meters wide causes your head to linger above the surface trying to probe the depths of such an enchanted grove.

Two laps down 3500m, this feels good! Rounding the buoy by the beach for the final time I am sure now that i'm going to finish. The girlfriend is continuing to inch away a hundred of so meters ahead, somewhere in the back of my mind I assume I can still out sprint her. This feeling of euphoria lasts about 700m. As I kick to steer around the first marker buoy I feel my calf twitch. Ignoring it I push on towards a pair of girls I can see ahead of me. Urk! The pain rockets up my leg, my muscles snap shut like a sprung trap. Glancing hurriedly around for a boat I spot none; strange I was sure one had been tailing me for the last lap? Perhaps a premonition. Treading water with my hands I will my legs to lossen, deep breathing! All I can do is watch as my prey splashes away around the back side of the island. It's working, my calf groans as a I straighten my leg out. Every kick is another opportunity for it to cramp again, why did this have to happen now? Rounding the island for the last time though erased my pain, up ahead the finish line gleamed in the crisp dawn light. Nearing the finish line a wet suited racer from an earlier race motored past me; digging deep into my reserves and gave chase, the next thing I know my palms are slapping against the ground. Doing my best to stay vertical I lurch towards the finish line my blood experiencing a near 90 degree shift. Looking up at the timer I grin 1:33:20 minutes of front crawl and 36 seconds of treading water and i'm done!

I urge anyone considering doing a swim race next year to check out the HtO Thetis Lake Swim for MS; impeccably run, fantastic course, and wonderful volunteers!