2012 La Jolla Rough Water Swim

At the ripe age of 57, I completed my first Pacific Ocean open water swim competition, and what better way to do it than by swimming in one of (if not) the oldest, most prestigious events -- the 82nd La Jolla Rough Water Swim. For those who aren't familiar with this swim, two events are provided for adult swimmers: the Masters Mile (separate men's and women's races) and the 3-mile Gatorman (men and women swim together). I entered the Masters Mile.
Since the event took place on a Sunday, I decided to make a vacation out of it and arrived late Friday evening. Pre-race packets were available for pick-up on Saturday morning in La Jolla village, which consisted of a wristband and the timing chip. To my surprise, I had to wear the wristband as soon as I picked it up, which after thinking about it, made perfect sense. By wearing the wristband, I couldn't cheat by giving it to another person who might be faster than me. Also, it served as my "ticket", so to speak, for entrance to the event. While picking up my pre-race items, I also bought a commemorative t-shirt and swim cap.

(back of the t-shirt)

I'm a survivor!!

Several members of my swim club, Sun Devil Masters, had also entered the event. We enjoyed a practice swim on Saturday. Swimming in La Jolla Cove is like being in a humungous aquarium. About a quarter mile from shore, I was treated to a close-up inspection by a harbor seal.

I'm in the water somewhere in this picture :)

I didn't get any photos of the start of my race, but I took some pictures of one of my team mates using his camera and got some nice shots of the start of the 3-mile Gatorman.

One of the Gatorman swimmers finishing the 3-mile race.