Reston 3 Mile Swim + 1 Mile

Finish Line! Lake Audubon

Goal:   Make the 2:15 Cut Off 

Actual: 2:06

Look how calm the water is! The conditions for the Reston 5K swim in Lake Audubon were about as good as it gets. The water temp was 76 degrees, the air temp was in the 70's, and there was no wind or chop to screw things up for us. Added bonus:  the water didn't smell like diesel this year. Yes! 

This was another test swim for me. I wanted to see how fast I could swim without fighting a current. The Nanticoke River Swim gave me a taste of what swimming with a current is like....now I wanted to see how fast I could go in perfect conditions. 

It took me the entire first loop to warm up. From then on I was pretty much in the groove and keeping an eye on the clock to make sure I'd make the cutoffs. Each loop was a mile plus a few extra yards for a total of 3.1 miles. Here's how it went:

The 5K Course

First Loop:  39 minutes

Second Loop: 42 minutes

Third Loop:  45 minutes

Total Time:  2:06

I placed 3rd in my age group ---woohooo---but it looks there were only 3 swimmers in my age group. I was 5 minutes behind the 2nd place finisher. The woman who won our age group swam it in 1:18!! That is some serious bidness!

After the 5K, I dashed back to the Team Z tent, refueled, then headed back into the water for the 1 mile practice swim. My arms started feeling it on this loop. My goggles fogged up, but I was too lazy to stop and clear them. That made sighting a bit more challenging. It was annoying and I was ready to be done. I'm guessing that will be my mood during the final mile of the Bay Swim! 

Total Mileage:  4.1.  I beat my time in last year's 2 miler on this same course by 9 minutes. Bring on the Bay!