saturday was the 2009 splash and dash race at the naval base.  it was a 1/4 mile swim and 5k run.  i had planned on doing it with my hubby but since i twisted my knee by tripping over the ladder when i was painting the week before, i didn’t register to race for fear of reinjury.  i had really wanted to…  i’m glad i didn’t.  while i am certain that i could have totally done the quarter mile swim and 5k run, i’m also aware that i would have been slow.  and these people were ATHLETES.  as in… my poor boy, who is totally in shape and athletic, was near the back of the pack.  the awards ceremony would have been over and everyone gone home by the time i would have finished.  to say i was intimidated by this crowd would be an understatement. 

however, this post is not about me.  it’s about my awesome husband and what a terrific job he did on his first swim/run race. 

numbered up and ready to race

getting in the mental game in his yellow head-c0nd0m

faith, hubby, and scooter waiting for the start

 it was a mass start meaning approximately one hundred racers got in the water and treaded in the middle of the channel until the whistle blew.  suddenly, it was just arms everywhere! 

sea of arms

this is the first race he’s done that included a transition of any kind so there was definitely a learning curve.  his official time was 42:10, which includes the transition.  i timed him myself so that i could tell him his swim time and figure out his transition time.  his swim was 10:10:72 which was significantly faster than the training he’d been doing at home.  his transition was just over three minutes so there is room for improvement there now that he knows how it’s done (not to mention that he cut his foot open on a shell getting out of the water).

fish outta water

transitioning

running off

even though the swim was faster than his training, hubby was a bit discouraged to be so close to the back when he got out of the water.  however, his run made him feel much better as he was able to pass several people on his legs. 

here comes hubby!

this was a great thumbs-up pic but for my phone's delayed response

he finished 80 overall.  considering these were military folks and serious athletes and that this was hubby’s first transition race, i think he did super!  and, more importantly, he had fun. 

and, even more importantly than that, i got the wicked cool shirt because he ordered too small!!!