On October 6, 2012, Wendy Jensen took
on Slam the Dam and here she recounts her experience...
"I think that this is one of my
favorite events of the year. Maybe because it's JUST a swim. Maybe because it's
October, cool mornings, warm afternoons. Maybe because the water temp is
"just right". Maybe because it's an 8am start. Maybe because, for me,
it's a low pressure event. My only goal...faster than last year. Oh...and
finish with a pace faster than 2:00min/100yrds...and...swim strong.....and
fast....and straight....
No Pressure.
While it may be an 8am start, I wake at
4am no matter what. Breakfast, pack, relax....okay it's 5am. Now What? The
perfect opportunity to watch the sun rise at the lake! BEAUTIFUL!
I guess the other advantage of this
race is the short race report. We lined up at 7:52 for the 7:45 race briefing.
(but who's keeping track of time) -Elfish- Elvis's brother from the Lake
welcomes us. It is Las Vegas after all. "You start here...blah blah
blah...turn blah blah blah...travel to that far bouy...holy crap...that's
really far away" Nothing like a little humor to get everyone fired up.
Generally I start in the back of the
pack, so as not to get trampled and abused by my fellow swimmers. My coach has
been on me to start farther in the front. In fact, he has also had me
practicing swim starts. While I obediently complete the practices, I know that
I will never start that way as it is not in my DNA. Today, for some reason I
find myself drawn to the front of the start pack.The horn goes off and I find
myself sprinting to the first bouy before falling into my "race
pace". I am amazed to find that I have avoided the melee that can be a
swim start. I'm not fighting to swim over others and have pretty much clear
sailing.Confidently I round the first bouy and immediately get kicked in the
eye. My goggles stayed on so I don't stop to assess any damage. Only upon
arriving home did I realize my eye was half swollen shut.
The rest of the swim was uneventful. I
concentrated on my form, pushing my pace and sighting.If I choose to believe
the GPS tracking of my Garmin, it appears as I get tired my sighting flat out
Sucks!
As I entered the final portion of the
race, and was sagging a little, I thought about how my coach has me finish many
workouts with fast 25's. I used that concept to push through the final portion
of the race.
All said and done. I finished with a
1:56 pace. 1 hour 22 minutes, and one swollen eye. Not a bad days work......
Oh wait, did I not mention that my
coach decided that this would be a good day to throw in a 2 hour bike AFTER my
swim???Time to break in a new bike...Just an "easy" ride. Ahh, the
burdens I bear in my quest to be an Ironman...Hahaha." - Wendy Jensen
PCG Coach: Randy Paar
