VSA Open Water Swim Race

I traveled to Eagle Lake, north of Vicksburg, for the 1st annual Vicksburg Swim Association (VSA) Open Water Swim Race. It turns out this is Mississippi's first-ever open water swim race.

Congrats to VSA and coach Mathew Mixon for making this event happen. I know that it's hard sometimes to get good ideas off the drawing board and into action. The event was well-organized and I heard many positive comments from the participants and the spectators.

It turns out that Eagle Lake is a fair drive from Jackson....152 miles round-trip for me! But the lake was a beautiful setting for the race. Actually, 3 races: a 1-mile (1600 m) swim, a 1/2-mile swim, and a 1/4-mile swim. The event was sanctioned by USA Swimming and there were probably equal numbers of adults and children participating. It was mostly sunny, with high overcast clouds, the lake was calm, and there was no boating activity to mess things up!

Each of the 3 races featured a time-trial start from the end of a pier....from the seated position. That's a first! The course was triangular. I started 9th, following 8 children. I tried to gain ground from the get-go, but even the little kids were too quick, it turned out. We struggled on the backstretch to see the far turning buoy....and on the inbound leg we probably added 300m to the course....when I couldn't see the buoys (or the starting/finishing pier) I just followed the people in front. Stupid!

Finished in about 28 minutes. Almost hard to believe it took that long, but I'm sure we swam a fair distance more than 1600m! Finished 7th overall and 1st for the adults.

I hope there is a 2nd annual edition of this race. I heard from Mathew Mixon today that he was pleased with yesterday's races and already looking forward to next year. They've tentatively scheduled the event for August 28, 2010. Perhaps it will become a tradition. I also spoke with the Makos coach, Eddie, yesterday about the possibility of a similar race here in Jackson next year. For the triathlete community, it would be great to have an open water swim race sometime in advance of the major local triathlons next summer. We'll see.

Next up for me....Nation's Tri (olympic distance) in Washington, D.C., in 2 weeks. Combining race with visit with my sister, Lori. Looking forward to the trip.