Megan Nechanicky

78th La Jolla Rough Water Swim
September 7th, 2008

I signed up for the 1 mile La Jolla Rough Water swim race after hearing about the event this summer during my visit to the East Coast. I figured my first week back in San Diego prior to the start of fall semester would allow me to get settled and provide plenty of race preparation time—maybe I could even squeeze in a swim practice or two. My good friend Richard also registered for the race.  Both of us opted for the 1 mile swim; the 3 mile Gatorman race was another option.

My wave went off at 11:00 am, a perfect San Diego start time. I was able to sleep in, eat breakfast, and even had time for my morning Starbucks routine—a Chai Tea Latte and newspaper.  The weather was perfect—sunny, mild and clear. Richard and I arrived at La Jolla Cove for pre-race registration and body marking. We decided to venture out in the ocean for a little warm-up. Since the event was non-wetsuit, the Pacific Ocean really woke us up when we dove in!  I couldn’t help but notice the brightly-colored fish swimming right below us—it was amazing.  We did a short warm-up and headed for the staging area.

I followed the women aged 18-39 down to the Cove and lined up for the start. There were about 200 women anxiously waiting, full of great energy and excitement for the race. A rescue boat showed us the course and we heard the announcer say “take your mark.” We were off! The start was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It was a sea of flailing arms and legs, aggressively sprinting for the first buoy. I have done many open water swims in triathlons, but have never been a part of a start so intense. It took about 500 meters for the group to eventually spread out.  Once it did, the swim went very well.

The course was very easy to navigate—only two turns, each one marked by large balloons.  I was able to site off the girls swimming out in front and stayed straight the entire time. When I rounded the last balloons, shore was straight ahead of me. With about 500 meters to go, I put my head down and swam hard into the beach. About 100 meters offshore, I swam through huge kelp beds, which made my sprint a little harder. Once on land, I was about 50 feet from the finish line and needed to do some beach running to officially cross the finish line.  My final time was 24:51.

Following the women’s one mile was the men’s. Richard did an awesome job with a time of 23:56—especially since the only swimming he does these days is with a surfboard. The event was a unique experience and a definite “must-do” for next year.