Sharkfest 2012

Sharkfest 2012 was challenging but fun. I wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be, mainly because I went climbing when I should have been in the pool (Sidebar: I climbed a 5.10 c. Go me!).

So, a few days before the race, I got an email that said: "The water temp on the course is approximately ~62-64° F. Please send us an email to let us know if this update has made you want to change categories from non-wetsuit to wetsuit or vice versa."

I thought, "Maybe I should rent a wetsuit," but decided against it. That was a mistake.

The course differed from past courses because it was a straight line. This meant that maintaining your line of vision was critical, but difficult to do in foggy weather. Here's the map:

  
The morning of the race was foggy and slightly raining. It was a beautiful gray morning, the kind I often saw during the winters in PV (Maggie, you will appreciate these photos):

The racers first gathered at the finish line, and then water taxis took us across the harbor to the starting line:

Rebecca and I met up at 7:45 am. I wore a long sleeve shirt, a hoodie, and sandals. Rebecca wore every piece of clothing she owned.

Here is a picture of us before the race:

               (Me, Rebecca, her brother Ben, and his friend Hannah)

The finish line is the shorter rectangular building above Hannah's head.

Of the 300 swimmers that day, my crew and I were the some of the brave few that wore swimsuits, not wetsuits.

So, running in 64 degree weather is very different from swimming in 64 degree water. Running races in 64 degree weather is nice because you don't get overheated. The same principle goes with swimming - swimming in warm water gets uncomfortably hot, so it's better to swim in water that is a little colder.
For some reason, cold ocean water is more brutal than cold pool water. I jumped in and felt cold. I swam really fast and still felt cold. There was no way to get around the cold, so I just kept swimming.

Then, towards the end of the race, the water didn't feel cold anymore. I pulled myself onto the dock and met up with other friends who watched the race. They asked me if I was cold. I said no. They grabbed my arm and thought otherwise. They were right - after washing off and changing into warm clothes, I could feel my fingers and toes again. Turns out, I was so cold that I didn't realize that I was cold anymore. I don't like thinking about what would have happened if I stayed in the water a little longer.

Rebecca, Ben, and Hannah also made it across safely.

And in case anyone was wondering, there were NO sharks. But, apparently Boston Harbor has a lot of jellyfish this time of year. I saw several floating at the start, and I could feel them in the water as I swam. They are slimy and strange. I was really scared of one going down my swimsuit, but luckily, that did NOT happen.

*Afterthought- Open water Olympian Alex Meyer swam the race with us. I definitely did not swim as fast as he did, but it's still cool to say that you swam a race with an Olympic athlete.