Purling Sprite

Top of Utah Half Marathon Race recap edition

The details:

Total time: 1:41:25

A new PR for me by about 1:42 seconds

• 16th in my Age Group
• 48 in the womens division
• 155 overall

This is the race that almost didn't happen. I was so exhausted at 5:30am when hubby woke me up that I was ready to crawl under the covers and say "no, I cannot race today". Last week,  I started my new job as  a PE specialist at an Elementary school and that was kicking my butt (learning all the stuff that I needed to do) then I added the pressure of my RPM certification video and my stress levels went through the roof! I think I averaged that week about 20 hrs of sleep the entire week! I was sleeping poorly for the previous 4 days and I could feel it in my body. My legs were achy from the cycling and my body felt tired, my head was full of cotton and any noise just hurt.

As we boarded the bus at 6:15am, I knew that my legs were not going to show up to the party. I was tired, so I decided in the bus to just make it to the finish line in 2hrs. With hubby next to me, we got to chatting about the race and our previous races. I looked at my garmin's history for last years' splits for this race and I knew that I couldn't have the heart for it this time. The times just seem way too fast. I was cold--true sign that my body was tired--and I didn't want to eat my oatmeal that hubby prepared for me (a ritual before race). I decided to just forgo my oatmeal and instead swallowed a Hammer Gel.

The gun went off a few minutes past 7am and I waved my hubby goodbye. I knew that he had the legs to go faster this time so I let him go... if my legs hadn't been so tired I could have been next to him.  That was the last I saw of him until the finish line. He really took off and had a fantastic race. Me on the other hand, I wanted to quit from the get go. At mile 3, I was huffing and puffing trying to match my times from the previous year and my legs were screaming with each step. I tried to find a good pace for me and each time I told myself not to worry about last year's time, I couldn't! My head will scream, you cannot go slower than last year--you were fatter and slower last year, you must do the same or better!

At mile 8, I was tired, the downhill was basically done and I was on the flats, I kept trying to run under 8min miles and it was hurting--my lungs were fine, it was my legs that were in pain, my quads and my hammies were on fire! I wanted to walk but I knew that if I walked that I would stop so instead I focused on something else around me, then at that point a song came on my iPod (it was a song that I put in my iPod by mistake "Cinderella by Steven Chapman*) that coupled with my pain almost brought tears down my face. I could feel them building and I could feel the ache within my throat that meant--crocodile tears are on their way. So instead, I focused on the people ahead, I picked a target and made myself run faster to catch them, btw, I also changed the song as I knew that I couldn't handle it.

Shortly after my almost-tears episode, I found a gal that was running at my pace and I stayed next to her. After a few minutes together, we started talking. We found that we had one more thing other than running in common--she was an instructor at the Gold's Gym (the one in Ogden). After chatting for a bit, she told me her goal for the half and I told her to go, put the shoulder to the wheel and just go for it. I told her to run ahead and try to get it. I stayed behind and saw her take off. At the next aid station, I stopped and got a drink of Gatorade and simply walked through and grabbed an orange. It felt great just stopping for a little bit but I started back again after about 30 seconds. At this point is where a lot of the residents in the area come out to cheer people and they were my saving grace. I was so grateful for their cheers. Seeing the little children's faces and giving them fives made the next couple of miles go a bit faster.

After mile 10, I knew what was coming, many runners start walking at this time, a slight incline, not much but enough to make the tired legs feel it and bring us down. I ran, I ran a little faster. Making sure to land on my toes and simply go! At the last aid station, as I stopped to get a drink, the young woman looked directly into my eyes and said "you can do it Isela, you are doing great!" I didn't recognize her but she recognized me and hearing my name just sent chills down my back. So I smiled and I said thank you and took off. Later on, I found out that it was my friend's daughter. She will never know the impact of hearing my name had in me at that point.

The last few miles are in my turf, I run it all the time. I know the roads. I know where it gets hard and where I can give it a little more gas. The last little molehill saw a lot of walkers but I dug in and gritting my teeth I went up it, turned into the main road and knew that I was on the home stretch with less than 2 miles to go.

As I crossed mile 12, I passed the gal from Golds Gym, she cheered me on and I continued on. I felt a twinge of guilt as I ran away from her. She had a goal of 7:25 mile pace and I know it is hard to see a goal get away.

Then, as we descended into the finish area, I could see the finish line. I knew I could do it. I had done what I thought couldn't be done that day. I was almost going to match last years time...even if I ran a 10minute mile for the last mile, I could get the same time so I closed my eyes for a second and prayed for strength and I gave it all I had til the end.

As I crossed the finish line, I read 1:41:24...I had done. I had ran just fast enough to beat last year's time.  I was exhausted. My legs hurt. I had definitely worked for this time and my heart was telling me. My hubby came right away to see me and then I spotted my children with my niece.

My darling hubby finished in 1:36! He had a nice race he says. Great pace for him, leisure run! So since he was feeling fine, I told him to carry me :).

Thoughts that were in my head when running: would I ever be able to run the race without trying to beat last year's time? Can I do that? It seems that I just keep putting more and more pressure on myself. Next year, would I try to run faster than a 1:41 or would I be okay to just run and have fun.

*Song: Cinderella. This song always makes me cry. My daughter loves it and each time she hears it at home, she asks her daddy to dance with her. As I listen to the lyrics, it always brings tears to my eyes because one day, she will leave to live with her prince charming. The night before the race as I was prepping my shuffle for the race and I was adding songs, I guess I accidentally put that one in there.

St. George Marathon Bound!

I am St. George Marathon bound!!! Oct. 2nd 2010, marks my 1st St. George Marathon.

An amazing thing happened to me yesterday. The day before, Clif Bar on Facebook was asking for one word to describe their bars. I eat this stuff all the time when I am training and racing so I have many words to describe it, choosing just one was a bit tricksy but at the end I just chose the most basic: Fuel. I consider it my fuel during my training. Some days, I am out there 4 or 5 hours just training. Their products are my energy, the extra that keeps me going, the fuel that allows my body to keep going for that extra hour or two.

Anyways, my entry of Fuel got me an entry into one of the most sought after marathons in Utah--the St. George Marathon!!! After the folks at Clif Bar told me, I didn't have to think much about my decision, St. George Marathon, of course I will do it. No, it doesn't matter that I have a marathon just 2 weeks before, my body would already be trained so no extra training needed. I am just so thrilled about it! It will be my birthday present in October :).  Thank you Clif Bar!!!

I cannot conclude my post without sharing about some of my favorite products from Clif Bar that I use all the time. I am serious, if I take a picture of my pantry, you will find at this moment 2 boxes full of this stuff--except for the Clif Shot Blocks which I finished on last week's long run.  Some of my favorite and regular stuff I consume are the regular Clif Bar, Builders, and the Clif Shots Blocks.

I have the regular Clif Bars what I consider my cookies that I like to warm up and eat for breakfast. They are good just right out of the bag but putting them in the microwave just makes them nice and soft and warm. Perfect with a glass of milk. My favorite are the Raisin Oatmeal followed by Banana Nut Bread. They have these in regular size and mini-size. I found the mini-size perfect for my kids.

Next in my ever favorite list is the Builders bars with 20 grams of protein that taste amazing. I take 2 of these bars on my cycling trips, anything less than 25 miles I eat one. Anything above 50 miles, I have 2. 80+ miles and I eat 3. (Just wondering where I store all these stuff, I put them in a small bento box that sits on my top tube on my bike). Before I continue, let me tell you about the Builders bars. They taste like a candy bar, they truly do, especially the Peanut Butter chocolate. When I first got them, my kids were sneaking them as plain candy. I had to explain to them that they could just eat them all just like candy. Now when they want one, they ask me and I cut it into 4 pieces, they can have 1 piece ever 2 hours or so. Bryant likes the PBC flavor and Nyah likes the Chocolate.

Next up, what I can't live without during my long runs, the Clif Shots Blocks for my electrolytes. These little blocks are awesome. They taste great, my favorite flavors are the Lemon Lime, Margarita and Orange (just be sure to chug some water after chewing one down).

By the way, if you are on Facebook be sure to follow Clif Bar, I saw that they will be having giveaways :).

Blue Seventy Helix WetSuit aka Dream WetSuit

In my dream, the swim portion was the last part of the triathlon. I had already ran, biked and I was onto the last portion, the swim. I felt confident that I could do it, not fast but I could definitely finish it. Then, I looked in my gear bag and I couldn't find my wetsuit. I ran to the car trying to find it and nothing. I looked around thinking that I was going to get a DNF just because I didn't have my wetsuit. I thought maybe I can borrow someone else's if they are already done, but who would lend me their wetsuit. Would it fit me? Would I drown if I went without one? I had this dream often after signing up for Boise 70.3. I knew I was having a panic attack due to the fact that I didn't own a wetsuit. I grew up in the ocean and I know how to swim more or less in open water but I have not done it in awhile (25+ years) and never in cold temperatures. I knew that I needed a good wetsuit, one of the best ones in the market to offset my crappy/sloppy swimming technique.

The answer to my nightmarish dream was to find a good wetsuit. I read the reviews of different ones and to be truthful I read what the pro triathletes were wearing and it came down to one: Blue Seventy Helix!  I thought that if I had IT that it would give me the confidence to get into that cold water and swim like a PRO, it felt to me like the feather felt to little Dumbo.

Knowing full well that the Helix was the one I wanted, I dropped the folks at Blue Seventy an email and talked to them about my passion for fitness and my desire to climb the next step in the triathlon world-doing a Half IronMan.  The email may have included something about the fact that I was part of the couch-potato-anonymous group and I was now trying to reform myself. They helped me with sizing, according to my weight and height and gave me recommendations. They were super helpful and helped me out tremendously to get my "dream wetsuit".

When it got home, I took it out and tried it on. My children said that I looked like a superhero! I felt like a superhero, a hot one at that! I liked the feel too! It is the closest that I will ever get to an all "black" tight outfit here in mormonville Utah--think Black-Leather-skin-tight except rubber--nice looking seal for sure! Hey, I think I looked hot...perhaps I should wear it tonight....anyways, back to the review. I could move my arms, my neck, my legs. It didn't rub the wrong way in any place.  So far so good. I put it in the closet for a month as I wasn't ready to try it out in the pool--chlorine is not good for a wetsuit so I was waiting for the first opportunity to take it out in the open water.

First time in open water with my dream suit and I was in heaven! After squeezing myself into it, the hard part was just zipping it but I found many people willing to help me zip down.  One of the aspects that put the Helix at the top of the list next to the superb insulation was its zipper: to close it, you zip the zipper down and to open you zip it up--it makes taking it off quite easy!

A couple of tips here:

1. use a grocery bag to put the legs and even arms into the wetsuit. Simply put a bag on your foot, then slide it inside the leg of the wetsuit. Do the same with the arms.

2. When putting the arms in, be sure you put it all the way up on your shoulder if not water will leak in through the wrists  or move the wrst section up a bit so you have a snug fit around the wrist.

3. Be sure you close the velcro tab properly at the back of the neck, if not it would rub against your neck and it will cause a nice and painful owie.

The actual swimming: I found out quickly that I could float without any effort. Actually, all I need it to do was push my feet down and I could stand vertically without any effort at all. Swimming was a breeze--my arms didn't feel constricted at all. I had read from other wetsuit wearers that they felt constricted when reaching but I had full arm movement. If I had to I could do the backstroke or even the butterfly (If I knew how to do it). The material in the arm area is a little thinner and I think it is what allows me the mobility needed for the freestyle stroke.

Neckline: when you are out of the water, it may feel a little tight but once you get into the water it feels just right. Please see tip above for the velcro strap at the back--go ahead go back and read it if you skimmed through it, it is an important one.

Warmth: the sucker has terrific insulation! If I ever have an emergency situation in the winter, I think I will wear it to keep me warm. Maybe I should get one for my Mom for when she comes to visit, she is always cold. Going back to my first swim, it was in water about 55 degrees (if not a little less) and I was nice and toasty. Be prepared if this is your first time wearing a wetsuit, water still goes in through the zipper area so your back will get the shock of the cold water for just a minute.  I wasn't prepared for this so it was quite a shock when I felt the water hit my skin. Still too cold for you? warm up a bit by pouring some warm water down the neckline of your suit, it will keep you warm. I heard stories of some people just peeing in their suit once they get in the water, I am not one of those--I like to keep my pee in the toilet whenever possible thank you very much, hehehe, especially if I am going to be cycling and then running afterwards, last thing I need is the stink of my pee all around me next to my sweat stench. But, I guess if it means winning 1st place then I may consider it but in my case of coming last doesn't really justify a pee in the dream wetsuit.

Final thoughts on my wetsuit: it truly is a dream wetsuit. It fits my needs perfectly and it performs above any expectations I ever had for a wetsuit. Plus, it looks freaking cool with that Helix sign going down the leg. I can't help but think that I am one very lucky person to have such an awesome wetsuit, wearing it down the boardwalk of that Boise 70.3 made me feel like a PRO. Thanks Blue Seventy for making such an awesome wetsuit! I give it 5 stars!!!

Here I am, wearing it during the Spudman Tri...I love that it even allows my puny little bicep to show ;)

20 and TOU 1/2 coming up!

Friday saw me running 20 miles. At first I thought I wasn't going to make it. I mean, I have been training but not as religiously as I was last year. A big chunk of my time has been spent dancing and practicing Zumba so my running has been 3 runs a week and my cycling has completely taken the back seat and my swimming has stopped completely since the Spudman triahtlon. So going out there and running 20 seem like a complete stupid idea. I mean who goes from running 15 to 20 in just one week? But I can count the days til the marathon and I know that if I don't put at least one 20 that it will hurt like hell the day of the marathon. Friday morning came and hubby, my brother-in-law and I set out for our 20 miler. The boys are faster, a lot faster then me, but they kept me company. Hubby unfortunately started having GI issues so he had to visit the trees quite a bit--it appears that Scout Camp food is not very good for your system, hahaha (he had been with the Scouts camping prior to our run).

It was truly amazing that my legs were holding up. I was running, not a killer pace but I was running and I was feeling great. We got going up the canyon and the wind was fierce and frigid. Everything was cold and that coupled with my sweat running down my body made for some uncomfortable miles. At the turn around point, I waited for hubby and my BIL to catch up while I took some nutrition. We were all cold and  it was doing a number on their knees as they were both wearing shorts. I was wearing my CW-X ventilator tights so my knees were not exposed to the cold so I was ok in that respect.

The wind that was a beast on the way up was actually quite nice on the way down as it just push us down the canyon. At this point, I realized that I was alone up ahead and my hubby and BIL were a few yards behind me. I thought well, I am sure they will catch up in no time but it didn't work out that way. I seemed to have sped up and just took off. I finished the last 7 miles kind of on my own. At first I felt that I should go back but then I thought "hey, I have bodyguards!"

Turning onto the cul-de-sac of my home is always a nice treat--it means give it all you have in the tank for that 1/4 of a mile and then rest. As I reached my mailbox, I stretched and looked back trying to find hubby but he wasn't there so I started to walk back trying to find them. He came shortly after and then we walked for a bit. We waited for my BIL and started to walk back to find him and he was just turning into our street. It appears the cold really affected their knees and they were in pain for those last 7 miles.

In about a month all three of us have our marathon, it will be my 3rd, my hubby's 3rd and my BIL's first. It is great to belong to a "running" family. We have a lot to talk about even without our running but now we have our running stories to share too.

In two weeks, I have my 6th half marathon. I have just one simple goal--I want to beat my time from my last half-marathon (1:43:07) will I be able to, I don't know, but all I need is just 1 second faster. I just hope this body holds up and gives me the performance that I am looking for, if not, I guess there is always next year.

Splits for 20 miler:

Mile 1: 9:23

Mile 2: 9:24

Mile 3: 9:38

Mile 4: 9:46

Mile 5: 8:50

Mile 6: 9:03

Mile 7: 9:35

Mile 8: 9:45

Mile 9: 9:41

Mile 10: 9:34

Mile 11: 10:24 (going up the canyon with wind...nasty!)

Mile 12: 9:39

Mile 13: 7:59

Mile 14: 8:30

Mile 15: 8:37

Mile 16: 8:33

Mile 17: 8:51

Mile 18: 8:34

Mile 19: 8:51

Mile 20: 9:08

 

15 miles...on the Treadmill!

I can run 15, I know I can run 18 and 20 and even 26.2 on the open road but 15 on the treadmill is enough to drive someone bonkers!

Schedule called for 16 but I had to work that morning so I knew that I couldn't run that same morning so I had to push my run to the afternoon and that meant going on the treadmill. Running on 100+ temps in northern Utah can send me into the ER so I went with the lesser of two evils.

It drove me crazy...it truly did. I had to do a mental game with the whole thing. I ran 3, then I got off the wheel and went for a drink and a GU. Climbed on the wheel again and went for 7 miles. I could see my eyes glazing over each time I looked in the mirror...I kept saying over and over, you can do it, you can do it. Just think of the pain that you will have if you skip this run.

10 miles done, 6 more to go. I got off the wheel again and headed to the fitness room and practiced my Zumba for 15 minutes just to break up the monotony. I climbed on the wheel again but my heart wasn't in it. 2.5 miles into it and I wanted to quit...my eyes already looked half dead, my tummy was hurting, the GU that I had taken at mile 10 wasn't enough to keep me going anymore. The water tasted stale, I wanted Gatorade, I kept looking at the people next to me, they all looked all peppy and eager, obviously going at a 12 minute per mile pace and only 2 miles anyone can look cheerful. Still, I had 3.5 miles to go. I gave myself a pep talk and told myself that I could at least go another 2.5 miles. If I did 15, I could quit.

You know the moment when you can't take it anymore...the moment when the music just gets too obnoxious and the people around you just annoy you to no end, I had reached it at mile 14. It took everything I had to give that last mile. As I pressed the stop button, my heart literally gave a little somersault from joy. 15 freaking miles on the mouse wheel about killed me!

Never again will I run that long on the dreadmill...this week, I look forward to my 18 miler out on the road.

I am a Spud!-Spudman Olympic Triathlon Report

The Spudman Olympic Triathlon-my favorite triathlon to date! I have participated in 6 triathlons, four sprints, 1 half-ironman and the Spudman Oly and from all of them, the Spudman was my favorite!

We headed up to Burley, Idaho Friday afternoon to pick up the packet and meet with my friend Kara. Kara was awesome as to get us a place to sleep for the night. We had plans on camping out by the start of the Tri but at the last minute we ended up bringing my kiddos to see the event. 2 adults camping is feasible before a race, 2 adults and 2 kids spells a long night with little sleep.

After packet pick up, we stayed and did the Carbo Load dinner, $5 per person is a very good deal for a nice pasta dinner with a potato on the side. Stayed to hear the Race details, just to make sure that I knew what I was getting into. Bought a few things at the expo: an air pump widget for pumping air into the tube--I realized that my bag of spare tube and tools was left at home. I am always afraid of needing something and not having it--not like I know how to change a tube but I can always Google it on my phone and do it on the spot. $20 later, I had what I needed in case of an emergency.

We slept well at Kara's MIL's house. 4:45am came too soon. With sleepy heads and an excited heart, Kara and I went to T1 to finish setting up there and then we headed to T2 to set up. We met our friend Alice there--I met her when I did Boise and Kara knew her from the area.

We set up our stuff, we took a picture and laughed a little and joked a little. We were all a little nervous as is always the case before a race. We went pee one last time before putting our wetsuit on and headed gingerly to the swimming area. Have you ever seen a bunch of seals all together on the side of the water? I think that is what triathletes resemble before entering the water..all black wearing their sleek black wetsuits.

Swim: Down the Snake River for 1500yds: 19:55

I put on my wetsuit and Kara helped me zip it up. I love my wetsuit, I really, really do, but I hate that I cannot zip it up by myself. I was in Wave 4, I could have jumped into Wave 1 with the Elites but I didn't want to bother with all the changes at the last minute. My wave was scheduled to take off at 7:30am, at 7:20, I made my way down to the water. I climbed on the cement wall and jump down--ouchy! I hit my left foot on the lip of the cement wall, I wasn't expecting it to have one under the water. I thought I was going to hit just the bottom of the river. Wrong! My poor foot, my little tootsies were pulsating from the pain but I didn't have much time to think about the pain. I slid my goggles down and had to make sure that they weren't leaking. I made my way to the front of the line and then over to the right. It seemed that only seconds had gone by but next thing I knew, they were saying "GO". I freestyled my way through the 1500yds coming up to sight every 20 strokes or so just to make sure that I was still on track. A couple of times, I had to adjust my direction as the current kept pushing me off to another side or some other swimmers kept hitting me or pushing into me. At one point, a swimmer even grabbed me by my ankle--kind of scary but they let go after a second or two.  Once I got to the end, I was surprised to see a ton of swimmers slowly making their way out of the water, most of them just standing there, then I saw why--they had bottled necked the exit so only a couple of swimmers could make their way out. The funny part of the swim came at this point: as I sighted and saw everyone ahead of me just standing in the water, I put myself vertically to do the same but was quite surprised to see that I couldn't even touch the ground with my tip toes--sucks being short! I had to swim a few more strokes to be able to stand up.

T1: 3:02

Talk about eye opener! I wasn't prepared to take off my wetsuit by myself, last time I wore it, I had 2 race volunteers pull it off me, not this time. As I struggled to get the darn thing off my legs, it occurred to me that perhaps I should have asked one of the other racers to help me if I helped them. I took some GU down and got a drink while putting on my socks, shoes, helmet, glasses. By the way, super great tip: put baby powder in your socks, they slide on sooo much easier.  Since I can't get a drink while riding, I decided to give my Camelback a try for hydration purposes so I put my bag on and I took off.

Bike: 24.5 miles. 1:18:14

The course was flat as a pancake with just 2 small little ant hills. The view was spectacular--just like home. I saw fields of beets, some potatoes and some other stuff that I couldn't recognize. It just felt peaceful all throughout. The people in the town were awesome! They had their chairs outside and they kept cheering everyone on. The volunteers were plentyful making sure that cyclists were turning where they were supposed to. Nutrition wise, I was set--my camelback worked great. I was able to get a drink 5 times during the ride.  Usually, I have to go without a drink for about 10 miles but not this time. I was able to drink at my heart's content. At the end of the bike ride, we came down a hill and then had to do a 120degree turn to get into the transition chute. I slowed way down so I wouldn't crash into anyone. As I was slowing down, I heard "Mommy, Mommy" and I looked around to see the smiling faces of my 2 little ones and my hubby taking pictures.

T2: 1:59:21

Getting off my bike is always nerve wrecking, especially when I am surrounded by tons of cyclists. I carefully unclipped and climbed off. Let me tell you, the feeling that comes to your legs after spinning on the bike for an hour straight is no fun! Jelly legs for sure. I ran as fast as I could on my cycling shoes to my spot. I hung my bike, took off my shoes, turned on my Garmin, put my Newtons shoes on. Grabbed a GU and chugged it down and then a little water to help it go down the pipes a little better. Was going to take off but realized that my stupid Garmin had not located satellites yet, so I took my time putting my race belt on (usually I put it on while I run out of transition). Finally, the Garmin located satellites and I took off. Note to self: turn Garmin on before the race starts!

Run: 10K 50:08

I had my eyes on this running. I knew I could do a good job if I put my heart into it. I know I am not an incredible runner but I know that mentally I can dig deep and keep going. The beginning of the run has a little hill but it is enough to discourage and my friend Kara had shown it to me the day before. I had made a mental note NOT to walk up that little hill, so when I started my run and I started seeing everyone just walking up, I couldn't walk up. I knew I couldn't, if I gave myself an inch I would take a mile so I ran up it, slowly but I ran it, thankfully it was just a few yards. I had a goal of running 8 minute miles, so I tried to keep to that as much as I could. I kept choosing targets, a person with a certain color of shirt, pass them and then I could take a little breather, then I would choose another and another. I did a lot of passing and at the end 2 guys passed me as if I was standing still, I turned to them and told them that they were rocking that run! The finish chute for this race is a little interesting, you go through someone's backyard, downhill, the little path is surrounded by trees and then you go down to the golf course, all grassy area, downhill. Kara had told me the day before that if I wanted to make a run for it that exiting the little tree area was the point to do it. I exited the trail down the trees and I saw the finish line and midway down to it was a guy, I dug for all I had left and sprinted, all the while the spectators yelled "catch him, you can do it, go for it" their voices were enough to fuel my desire and I passed him and crossed the Finish Line! I had done it! I had done my very first Olympic Triathlon.

I am not an athlete yet, at least I don't think I am but I am working hard to become one someday. I am too old to be a professional triathlete but perhaps in another life I could become one. The work is hard, long hours of hard training but "payday" aka race day is so worth it!

I am a Spud now! I am looking forward to participating in it next year again :).

Here are the race details: total time: 2:33:21. 20th in AG, 80th overall in the women. I ran an 8:05 pace! It says I biked a 19.1 avg--I don't know about that one, I am slower than that, LOL. Swim time rocked due to the helpful current ;).