Skip to main content

Cedar Island 5K Swim in Avalon, N.J.

The water was cold and choppy, I swallowed gallons of saltwater and I got kicked & kicked others in the face, but on Aug. 25 I swam my longest open water race yet, the Cedar Island 5K Swim in Avalon, N.J.  The goal of the race organizers is to raise awareness and provide support to the troops and honor members of the military.
     On the morning of the race, mom, Kevin and I headed down to enjoy a nice day at the beach before the 4 p.m. race. Unfortunately, the weather was cool, cloudy and very windy which made for a poor beach day. So instead we enjoyed a long lunch (cheesesteaks, soda and French fries) and made our way to the start at the Avalon Yacht Club. There I met up with nine of my fellow members of the Rocky Run YMCA Creek Rats, a group of open water swimmers who joined over 200 other brave souls in the bay. They have all swam long-distance races, so knowing that they would be at this race eased my nerves.
     After checking in and receiving my chip timing band to wear around my ankle, I put on my orange swim cap and imagined that the water would be nice and warm. One by one, as we slowly walked down the floating dock, we jumped into the rough water. After about a minute of treading water, the buzzer went off and the churning of water began as swimmers sliced through the wake. The course takes you around Cedar Island, a square-shape marsh in Avalon's back bay, and is designed to go with the tide throughout the event. My heart was beating fast as I navigated through the sea of swimmers pulling and kicking towards the first buoy. Because the waves were so high, I tried breathing every four strokes and popping my head up every three cycles. But I swallowed so much water that my throat began to hurt.
     Navigating my way around the buoys was challenging to see, but as long as I saw a few other orange swim caps nearby I felt at ease. Swimming alongside the docks, I could definitely smell the gasoline from the boats as I maneuvered around straw and seaweed. I had no idea where the finish was, but I knew I had to reach it eventually and kept thinking to myself, "Just keep swimming" from "Nemo." Never have I swam so long in open water that I started to feel cold & that my underarms started to chafe, so I tried kicking harder to help distract me from the stinging salt.
     Finally, I could see swimmers climbing up onto the floating dock & knew the end was near. With wobbly legs, I pulled myself up the ladder & onto the dock & walked to the finish line with a time of 1:19:12. Unbeknownst to me while swimming, I finished within a second or two fellow Creek Rats! As I reached land, my wonderful mom was there with a beach towel to warm me up.
     After inhaling a donut, lemon water ice (great for my sore throat) and a slice of pizza, I felt good & very proud of myself. At a post-race party at Creek Rat Pete's family beachfront house, we enjoyed some hoagies and beverages and chatted with his very welcoming family. 
     This was a challenging, well-organized and rewarding race. The registration cost was reasonable ($55 for early birds) & benefited charity & each swimmer received a T-shirt, socks (different & awesome), an orange swim cap, a nylon drawstring backpack & a hand towel. I would definitely swim this again, and hopefully, the weather is sunny & warm next year. Thanks to Kevin & my mom for all their support & to my fellow Rocky Run YMCA Creek Rats.






Labels:
Location: 704 7th St, Avalon, NJ 08202, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kevin Cain Make My Day 5K in Havertown - race #1

      My goal is to run a 5K race each weekend in Delaware County (and one 10-miler in Philadelphia) for the next six weeks.  They're fun, a goal I can work toward each week & they're almost all in a five-mile radius of my house.  The races are usually $20, I get a T-shirt I can brag about & the money raised always go to a good cause.  Back in 2008, my New Year's resolution was to run a 5K, and since then I've done 14 races.  That year I started with the Kevin Cain Make My Day 5K in Havertown.  (See photos & video of the race at http://tinyurl.com/6kfhcyb ).       Being in good shape, I thought I could translate my swimmer's endurance from the pool to the pavement.  It was a little bit tougher than that, and the Kevin Cain race is one of the more challenging 5K routes I've done.  After taking off from it last year, I was back to race it last Sunday, April 3.  It's a huge party, wi...
1 comment
Read more

Forty Foot in Dublin Bay, Ireland

I love to mix a race with a vacation.  When I ran a half-marathon in Arizona for my 40th birthday, we stayed for few days longer & visited the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Navajo National Monument, Antelope Canyon & Horseshoe Bend.  Running & swimming are such great ways to experience a new environment. So when Kevin & I were planning our long-planned vacation to Ireland, I tried to find out if there were any open water swim races and/or groups I could join for a quick dip. I learned about the Dunmurry Dippers , a group that swims everyday at the Colin River in Northern Ireland, & the Walrus Winter Swimming Group , who jump into the Dublin Bay at Forty Foot. Logistically we could not meet up with the Dippers, so we set our sights on the Walruses. After picking up our rental car, which Kevin did an amazing job driving on the left side of the road, we headed to Forty Foot  at the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove.  If you don't have a car, F...
Post a Comment
Read more

Swimming on in honor of Coach Rick Field

I thought of swimming as a solitary activity. The rhythmic breathing, 18-20 strokes to the wall, flip turn, repeat, blocking out all sound and sights and just following the black line. Other than being a part of my high school swim team, which I had joined because my friend Tara encouraged me, I’ve been swimming laps by myself for more than 20 years.  Coach Rick I was in the pool at Rocky Run Y several years ago, when Rick Field walked over and told me my right hand was entering the water too far to the side. I had met Rick in 2011, when he first started as a swim coach and teacher at the Y. I didn’t know what to make of him at first, he seemed loud and maybe a bit pushy, but he grew on me and I saw how much he cared for his swimmers to succeed. The Cedar Island 5K So in November 2019, after many years of asking me to join his swim workouts, I broke away from the solitary swim life to be part of a team again. Every Sunday from 7-8:30 a.m., our swim group would try our best follow...
Post a Comment
Read more