Bonehead of the Year Award

Wog - 2012-07-29 8:05 AM Competed in my first Olympic Distance on Saturday. I had originally signed up for the Sprint but changed my mind two days before the race and switched sections. I was a little worried about the swim because I had been training for the 500 meters and had never done an open water swim longer than 1100 yards. Kept telling myself, "remember, don't turn at the first yellow marker, keep going to the second." The race began, I cleared the first marker, feeling strong, came to the second, made my turn and felt myself pulling away from my fellow gar groupers. "Hey," I said to myself, "I'm going to be okay.". Kept my head down and pressed on. Sighting the next marker was difficult because we were swimming right into the sun, but I could see it across the lake. I kept going, happy to be clear of the others. Then, I noticed the lifeguard on a raft next to me. "Hey," she said, "you turned at the wrong marker.". In looked back, and like a dolt, I had turned at one of the small guide markers and not at the big yellow turn marker. In was not pulling ahead, I was way off course and swimming across the lake to the third marker instead of out to the second. I had to backtrack what seemed to be about 100 yards. By then my age group pack was gone, the next wave was passing, and my swim time was shot...not that my swim is very good on the best days. Spent the rest of the swim inventing new profanities in my head.This is my first year of tri, so I guess just a rookie mistake. Learned a hard lesson in the mental game; not throwing in the towel, but using adversity to press a little harder. Ended with roughly a 2:47:00 (don't yet have the official time). Not the way I wanted to run my first Oly, but learned a valuable lesson.