Stars & Stripes Aquathlon 2009

Today Dave and I completed NYC Swim’s Aquathlon: Stars & Stripes - a 1.5k Hudson River swim followed by a 5k flat, paved run along the water. I felt really good about the swim portion, even if Dave beat me out of the water. Once I got past the starting-line kickstorm and passed the first buoy, I was motoring. It was definitely a confidence booster to swim an open event where I wasn’t one of the slowest swimmers (unlike the Liberty Island Swim, which I barely qualified for). I finished near the middle of the pack in 50:18 (23:35 swim, 26:52 transition + run).

I had some trouble at the start of the run when both of my calves locked up. This was the first time I’ve ever had crazy muscle cramps and it was awful. I stopped to try to stretch them out to no avail, tried running like a duck without bending my ankles, but after the first half mile or so they finally loosened up. I caught up to Dave right after the turnaround and ran the duration with him. The family that prays together stays together.