July 6, 2011 – Splash and Dash, Marlton Lakes, NJ
On July 6, 2011, I went with 2 friends (Polly Jansen and Chris Verry) to participate in a Splash and Dash. The race, held on a Wednesday evening, was a ¼ mile swim followed by a 3.1 mile run. Chris and Polly had done the race a few years before and their description of it made it sound like fun. So we made our way down to the race after work. During the day I couldn’t figure out what and when to eat. Even though I typically work-out after work, this was a little later in the evening and I was guessing it would be at a higher intensity then some of my workouts. I didn’t want to be hungry but I also wanted to avoid stomach issues. So I tried to eat similar foods to my usual race morning breakfast and just spread it out through the afternoon.
On the way to the race, Chris casually pointed out that we were going to spend more time in the car pre and post-race than what we would actually be racing. His estimate – max 30 minutes of racing. Although I knew it wouldn’t be a long race, I hadn’t thought about how short it would actually be. Putting it in that perspective, I was hoping the fun factor would be really big! Upon arrival, we scoped out the site, picked our transition spots, went out for warm-up jog, and then waited. Despite this being a casual event, and nothing more than a good workout, I got a case of the butterflies as we sat around. But after hearing the best pre-race quote ever from the youngest (10 years old) racer, how could I have nerves?? After being tested by her father on her ability to quickly put a race belt on, she asked, “Can I go over and swing now?” She was clearly not feeling any pre-race apprehension!
As Chris, Polly, and I made our way around the lake to the swim start, we laughed at the two men we saw wearing wetsuits. Not only had the race director clearly stated wetsuits were not permitted, the lake temperature was nearing hot-tub temps at 85 degrees, the air temperature (in the mid-90’s) was even warmer, and the swim was only a ¼ mile. The men went off 3 minutes before the ladies and I found myself catching some of them about ¾ of the way through the swim. This is also about the same time that the water got particularly nasty as it was black from the stir-up of sediment, mud, sand, and underwater vegetation. I noticed many men around me standing and walking in; I stood up also but realized that with the distance still to cover to the exit, it was quicker to swim. The remainder of the swim required a lot of dodging since there was no visibility and men were swimming and standing all around me.
Up in transition, I spent a few extra seconds to spray all of the sand off my feet. It wasn’t wasted time to me as I had no desire to deal with blisters from sand in my shoes! The run was a nice flat, out and back loop through neighborhood streets. But it sure seemed like a long mile and a half out to the turn-around! My breathing rate never had a chance to slow down after the swim so my lungs were working hard to keep up with my legs. I kept hoping around every bend that I’d see the men coming back which would signal the turn-around not too much further. Just before the turn-around, Chris and I passed each other on opposite sides of the road and I tried, with the little breath I had, to cheer him on. Shortly after the turn-around, I saw Polly and let her know that the next female wasn’t too far ahead of her. (Polly was running strong and by the finish, not only had she passed the girl, she’d put a nice gap between them!) The way back was mentally easier because I knew the route and where the turns were. At one point, I ended up directly behind a guy wearing nothing but a Speedo. It was not a welcome sight and I used my ‘desire’ to not be looking at him as motivation to keep the pace going hard. With almost exactly even splits on the run, I crossed the finish line in a total time of 26:37, good enough for 1st Female and 2nd OA. Polly and Chris, who somehow managed to clock the exact same run time, finished strong also. Polly (28:43) took 2nd Female (4th OA) and Chris (28:49) won his Age Group (6th OA). We all had a fun time and doing the event added some nice variety for an intense swimming and running workout. However, in the car ride home, we all agreed that we’d forgotten how much something that short could hurt!
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