Race day!

Don't really know how I got into open water swimming, but am so glad I did. What a fun and exhilirating way to get in some good exercise, have some healthy competition, and make perfect excuses to travel to beautiful destinations. I started ow swimming in the chilly waters of the San Francisco bay and wasn't quite prepared for the warm and clear waters of Hawaii. The temperature was easily in the upper 70s, warmer then my home town community pool. Though an easy entry into the water, after swimming just a few yards, it became almost too warm. The biggest bonus by far is the clarity of the water. For the most part, the course had us swimming over various coral reefs of all different depths. Saw a multitude of fish, tons of different types of corals, and most thrilling, at about half way through, a large sea turtle glided below me. I contemplated actually stopping to hang out with it! Clearly I was distracted and not exactly trying to break any records, but knew I could come back later in the day. The swim went well and finished with a respectful 14th place (of 36) in my age group. Something I was happy about, having just spent over a week out of the water and still nursing my ears back to health. And gives me a reason to come back next year to break my record.