Kamakura 5k Swim

I swam well at the Kamakura 5k Rough Water Swim this past weekend. My stroke felt stronger and I finished a surprising 21st place out of some 170 finishers. I am astonished to place so high -- I would never dare to even call myself a "swimmer" The swim has been something I simply tried to survive and make it to the bike and run. Now I have visions of entering more swim events.

My time (1:33:30) is 3 minutes slower than last year. However it would seem that in open water swimming, comparing times from event to event is not meaningful.

My teammate, Motozo, who I used to swim head to head with blows me away by some 4 minutes and wins the age division. Whereas I gingerly wade out into the water when the starting gun goes off, Motozo aggressively porpoises through the first shallow 100 meters and builds a 2 minute lead on me after the first of 3 loops.

I made a concerted effort to start slowly and smoothly, and I presume that I will overtake other swimmers toward the end. In fact I find myself tiring toward on the final loop and I am passed by several competitors. Oddly enough it my legs that feel most tired toward the end.