So had the 4.5 Mile River Rat Race in Chattanooga this morning. It was in the TN river and I would say the water temp was about 76 maybe, very nice. Weather was perfect, partly cloudy and a little windy. 75 total participants between the 4.5 mile and 1.2 mile swim with about an even split between the distances.
So we started at a boat launch up river with us just standing at the end of the ramp and had a whistle start. I was in the front pack of about 10 or so swimmers, but in the back. The kids at the front were high school USS swimmers. I really felt horrible for the first 30 minutes. My stomach was a bit tight, breathing and stroke off and a few folks pasted me. About 1/2 into it we came around a bend and straight into a solid wind. The wind hitting the river with a swift current caused the river to feel more like an ocean for the next 20-25 minutes. It was really rough with no regular pattern to the waves. I mixed in a little backstroke and even some dolphin kicking under the waves. However this was the time to power through it and I actually caught a few people that had passed me earlier. I pushed the last 1/2 mile to the finish and passed a few folks as well. By the end I felt decent, your spirits tend to lift when you see the finish in sight.
My unofficial time was 1 hr 03 min and 10 sec I think. I'll post the official when they get posted on the net. I was first place in my age group (30-39) and I'm not sure where I was overall, maybe 10th or so? I think the winning time last year was 1:18 or so, so you can see how fast the current was this year. The overall winning time was 58:24 this year. We were actually so fast that we passed the 1.2 mile swim group before they started....the organizers did figure that the current would be THAT fast. Anyway, great event, great location, and I was asked by the organizer about helping out next year. This COULD turn into a really big event if they wanted it to.
Next up.....GA Games 5K in Lake Acworth July 12 I think.
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