Big Shoulders 5K Swim: “Yes We Can”

We just got back in from Chicago where I did the Big Shoulders 5K swim. Official results were not up as of the last time I checked but I’ll give my personal report:

Update: Official results are available. Overall I finished 304 out of 367, or 54 out of 64 in my division. Still not great, but better than I’ve done before.

Time: 1:36:34 (my first lap was about 45:40). What happened on lap 2? Well, part of the slow down was that one started at the first buoy and when one finished, one had to swim to shore (about 90 seconds, maybe longer for me, and then run out and through the chute. The other part is that I didn’t have all of the fast swimmers to draft off of (and sight off of). And part of the issue is that I was just plain excited when I was on my first loop.

The course and the race The course is two laps around the triangular course that you see up above. The swim started in waves: at 8 am, the 34 year olds and under (green caps) went. At 8:05, the 35-44 year olds went (blue caps) and at 8:10 the 45 and ups (grey caps; irony noted) went. That was my wave. At 8:15, the orange caps (wet suits, race day entrants) went, then at 8:20 the under 44 year old 2.5 km (one lap) went and then at 8:25, the 45 and older 2.5 km swimmers went.

The day was perfect; it could not have been better. There was virtually no chop on the water and the water was about 73 F. It was very different from my 2006 race.

I started out near the right wing (ironic, I know) and made a bee line for the first buoy. There was a bit of jostling at first, but nothing serious; it seemed as if we were all enjoying ourselves.

The first buoy appeared rather quickly and I made up time on those who didn’t swim a line.

The next turn had us heading toward the Chicago skyline; some of the life boats were obscuring the turn buoy which I didn’t see until I was rather close. Here, an orange cap or two caught me, and I started to catch the tail end of the blue cap wave.

We then turned toward the beach and I could more or less follow the splashes. This was a nice leg and I made up some time and was feeling good (for a swim race); I noticed that the prior waves were NOT catching up on me (other than a rare orange cap). That was excellent news.

I finished the first lap in just over 45:40 and felt great; back in 2001 my first lap time was about 5 minutes slower! In 2006 I was almost 13 minutes slower (in horrible chop).

But still it was rather clear and when I headed out on lap two, I had to do more “sighting”; there weren’t as many swimmers to pick from.

Still that leg was fine (though a bit slower) and went quickly.

The next turn was a bit tougher; here I swam between two orange cap wave swimmers that I had re-caught. One got me back. I had a hard time seeing the second turn buoy as a life guard boat was obscuring it a bit.

Still I was able to aim for a building and not be too far off.

I passed some blue cap swimmers and a few green caps (first wave).

On the last leg I didn’t pick it up as I thought that I would, though I did chase another gray cap person (I didn’t catch him). Then I made a mistake; I aimed for the last buoy which was a bit to the left of the finish; I probably cost myself about 30 seconds there. I did run down a few blue caps on this stretch.

Still I made it in ok; my Raynaud’s in my foot was acting up a bit. As I crossed, Barbara was there with a towel; that was so sweet.

Though I was a tiny bit bummed that my second lap was slower than my first, I was still pleased with my new open water PR and was pleased that I didn’t finish alone.

Update The ironic thing is that my half way split (45:40) would have placed me in the upper half of the short (one 2.5 km loop) race; this means that the 5K attracted a more competitive crowd (in general). Of course, the faster swimmers in the 2.5 km race are still wicked fast.

“Yes We Can”

Check out the official race t-shirt! Yes, that is who you think it is, in swim goggles!

This is the finisher’s medal:

Now before you start screaming “favoritism” remember:

1. Barack Obama is from Chicago and
2. I once did a running race in Eureka, Illinois that featured Ronald Reagan on the shirt (called the “Do Two”) and I didn’t complain about that.

And yes, if I went to an Arizona running race that had McCain on one of it’s t-shirts, I’d still wear it.
——————-
Update: a note from the race:

The committee has certainly heard from you about the race. We appreciate the compliments and take seriously the criticisms.
A few of our participants have expressed concern that this year’s logo was a political endorsement of a presidential candidate. This is not the case. The logo, which was donated, is a spoof, a caricature of a topical figure – nothing more. The Big Shoulders Committee was greatly heartened by the many glowing praises of the shirt and medal from participants on both sides of the political spectrum. Nevertheless, to those who took this logo to be some form of political endorsement, we apologize. Neither Big Shoulders nor Chicago Masters takes a position on any political candidate, and we agree with those who suggest it would be inappropriate to do so.
—————————————-
After the race, we drove to Starved Rock State Park and climbed a couple of the bluffs. Barbara was a real trooper on the steps (yes, the park was HER idea). We then took the paddle boat tour and saw some cool wildlife, especially blue herons.

Note on the 2006 race (reposted from my old blog)

Saturday: Big Shoulders 5K swim and 40 miles on the LakeFront Bike Path
I did the Big Shoulders 5K. Well, I finished; that was about it. In 2001, I focused on this event for 3.5 months, doing repeat 500’s, thousands, intervals and the like. My training got me 1:43 for the 5K, or 149/178 (overall), or 113/132 among the men. My laps were 50 and 53 minutes. No, not great, but I was ready.

In 2006, I started to train for this event in July, when it became apparent that a fall ultra wasn’t going to happen. But then my yoga teacher talked me into doing partner yoga with her, and our workshop was to be yesterday. But that schedule got changed on 22 August, after I had slacked on my swim training and had missed a week. So this time I went in with only a handful of 4000 yard workouts, and nothing like the intensity that I had before.

The result: this time I was 327 out of 336, and almost dead last in my age group (one guy came out of the water when I did and sprinted ahead of me, just like in 2001). My time was a ghastly 2:03, my laps being 58 minutes and 1:05. I’ll let the race director describe the conditions:

BIG SHOULDERS 2006: A View From the Beach

We all knew it had to happen…after several years of relatively calm waters, Lake Michigan had to rear her head and show some teeth! Big Shoulders swimmers got it right in the teeth this year as a northeasterly wind brought chop to every stroke of the race. How many went home with a few souvenir gulps of Lake Michigan water in their bellies? It’s a safe bet that all 650 plus participants took at least a sip, severely depleting the water level of our favorite swimming hole this Saturday morning.

In retrospect, it was lucky the race was even completed. An ominous forecast suggested cool temps, howling winds and possible thunderstorms. Race Director Chris Sheean stayed hopeful and refused to allow anyone to utter words like “postpone” or “lightening”. How on earth does one postpone a race with 600 plus participants and a bad weekend forecast? And it’s a USMS 5K Championship swim, no less. But why dwell on what wasn’t, when we all had a great adventure. In fact, getting thrown around on those choppy, wall-bounced waves was a bit like a perpetual, stomach-churning rollercoaster ride at Six Flags.

[...]

What was the result of Big Shoulders 16? Every swimmer could compare finishing order to others if they wished, keeping track of who they passed in lap one or two. Many swimmers could compare their times to previous years. The simple fact remains that everyone who dared set foot into Saturday morning’s choppy soup performed some measure of self-testing that they’d never dare on an ordinary day. For this, every participant can be awarded not only one of those stylish bronze medallions but also the satisfaction of having swum a personal best.

Of course, this has nothing to do with my horrible place; the chop was the same for everyone, including the leaders of the 5K who actually did the whole 5K faster than I did the first 2.5K lap! I just didn’t put in the training yards, and it showed. But the conditions were a bit weird. It was so choppy that you had trouble even seeing a few feet in front of you, never mind the turn buoys. That is why so many of the faster 2.5 K swimmers (who started 5 minutes and 10 minutes ahead of my wave) kept bumping into me. You’d lift your head to “sight” and all you’d see is wave. The second and third buoys weren’t that difficult to swim to, as, once you spotted them, you could make a note of the building from the Chicago skyline that was behind them, and then you could swim towards the building.

I admit to getting discouraged in the first lap; my hands went numb and I was hoping that bad weather would force them to stop the race! No such luck though; as I finally made my way to the end of the first lap I had thoughts of packing it in. I was at 58 minutes. But I couldn’t bear the shame of telling folks that I quit, so I went after those who were still out there, toughing it out. Another wierd thing: on the last lap, I felt that I was going faster, and the swim felt easier. I even passed 3-4 swimmers during the final stretch. But my time was about 7 minutes slower! I think part of it was that the faster swimmers sucked me along when they blew past me, and part of the reason the last lap felt easier was because I was going slower. Duh. Finally, when I got to the beach, I suffered my final indignity when I ran across the beach to the finish line: my fat was jiggling all over the place.

Update Here is my 2001 race report

Today: Big Shoulders 5K swim.

Time: 1:43:21 (50:47 at the half-way)
Place: ??? Approximately 22X out of 27X overall.

It might seem strange that I am not upset about such a
low place (even in my 1/2 marathon disaster I was
61/130) but swimming is very different from running.
No such thing as a “run/walk” here.

We spent 2 nights in Chicago and on Saturday we
visited the science/industry museum. On the lawn,
they were setting up for the Chicago half-marathon on
Sunday; it felt strange not to be running it.

There was some worry about storms on race day, but the
day was actually pretty good. Not totally calm, but
*much* calmer than it was for Mrs. T’s when Mawk and
Dave were here (1999). I started dead last and pretty
much stayed that way until the first turn bouy. From
then on, I only got passed by the quicker 2.5 K types
(this was a two loop course for the 5K) and by one guy
at the very, very end.

I stayed in contact with the “rear pack” for the next
couple of turns and we headed back to Navy Pier.
Damn, in swimming, the land marks NEVER seem to get
any closer! Yet I was doing ok when I rounded the
bouy at the end of the first loop; I was at 50:47. I
hoped to “negative split” it and break 1:40.

But, it wasn’t to be. On the second lap, we were just
too strung out and there was no drafting to be done.
In fact, it looked as if I were the last place person
as I went to the first bouy (second lap) but I found a
couple of ladies to chase.

I got both of them on the next stretch, as well as a
half dozen more who had wandered off course! All that
Barton Springs swimming really helped.

Then came the last LONG stretch back towards Navy
Pier. I just pulled as hard as I could (maybe 1000
yds?) and ran down 5-6 more folks along the way,
including one lady in the last 100 yds. But as I got
out of the water and tried to make it to the beach, a
guy that I had passed used his long legs to start
running earlier than I could. I joking yelled
“unfair” at him and we both crossed the finish line
laughing.

Anyway, I had a blast, and discovered that I should
have started my finishing kick about 1000 yds earlier.

This is still a PR, and faster than I had ever done 3
miles, much less 3.1 miles. They said that they had
GPS measured the course for accuracy.