I woke at 6:00 am to get fueled up and check the weather conditions for the 1-mile, 2018 Hapuna Rough Water Swim this last Saturday morning.  My early morning weather “observations” revealed no movement in the palm fronds which meant it was not going to be a “rough” water swim to my relief.  Because of this, I knew we had a great chance for a glassy start and easier swim around the buoys.

After a short 10 minute drive to Hapuna Beach State Park I could see a perfectly flat water condition extending from the beach to the horizon beyond with Haleakala on Maui clearly in sight!   I soon caught up to one of my team mates Cindy and her friend Aubry and we all made our way down the long path to the ocean then along the beach in front of the Hapuna Beach Hotel on the north end of the bay.  I paid my entrance fee and was told to go to body marking where my left arm was carefully given a #309 with a large Sharpie marker by a what appeared to be an 8-9 year old age group swimmer sporting # 111.  I knew by my number there would be plenty of folks in the water for a mass start as there were plenty of other swimmers signing in behind me.

I warmed up by swimming out to the first buoy placed in front of the start area and swam slowly for 2-3 minutes changing to a quicker “race pace” for several minutes.  This effort tested whether I thought could hold this speed for what I knew was going to be at least a 30 minute swim.  All “systems” felt great including shoulders, arms and cardio so I knew this was going to be a hard but fun experience!

I observed several jet skis towing additional buoys out to sea and asked the life guard sitting near me on his ski if he was setting the course up for 1 mile or 1.2 miles.  He said he wasn’t sure but I soon heard one of the race directors giving him garbled instructions regarding a GPS device and he soon sped off probably measuring the course.  I’m assuming the race was 1 mile but I can tell you it felt further and my time was 1 minute slower than the Cinco De Mayo “1-mile” swim several weeks earlier.  Who knows the true distance at this point. My friend Derrick wore a surf watch with a GPS measuring device and it registered 1.18 miles at the end of the swim.

It was a water start where the typical “bubble” of those seeking to be near the front of the pack, pushing into the water first directly after the safety meeting.  I followed as closely as possible to this group but when it became apparent I would not be toward the very front, I decided to turn quickly to my left aiming directly at the first buoy. I was rewarded by the gun sounding immediately after my turn with clear swimming directly in front of me.  The water was perfectly clear and I followed the endless ripples in the sand bottom that I knew paralleled the beach which would guide me generally to the first buoy.

I looked up every 10-15 strokes to sight the first, triangular, orange buoy and stayed laser focused on my target until I reached it knowing I was 1/3 or more of the distance to the finish.  Better to swim straight in one of these events than fast!  I then turned out to sea and sighted the next buoy and noticed a young lady swimming at more or less the same speed next to me.  I quickly decided to draft near her side but a bit behind for the shorter swim to the next mark.

I made the turn at the buoy for the longest stretch of the race clear across Hapuna Bay, 800 meters or more, which is probably 1/2 the race distance. I decided to sprint from group to group in front of me leaving my drafting partner behind.  I did this several more times leap frogging each group, progressing forward until I reached the last buoy and a turn for the finish.

I knew from my warm up, the southern end of the Hapuna Hotel would be my “mark” to what I thought was the nearest point to the finish line.  That was great planning as the finish line was not apparent from sea level.  I soon was joined by the young lady that I had drafted earlier at my side-not sure how she caught up but was glad to see her again.  She had lost some steam so I decided to hit the gas one more time and quickly lost sight of her but was reminded of her presence when someone started to hit my feet with every stroke.  I considered her draft of me payback for my draft on her efforts earlier and was happy to oblige.

The final yellow buoy was in sight within 40’ of the beach exit which indicated the run up to the finish line across the beach.  I remembered the race director stating clearly in our pre-race meeting to pass this buoy on the right side or keep the buoy to our left as we exited to the beach or you would be DQ’d.  I aimed to finish next to this buoy when another swimmer charged from my left trying to cut me off.  I held my course and sped up and saw him swim to the wrong side of the buoy-oh well!!

I finished in +/- 32 minutes, enough for 3rd out of 19 in my age group, slightly slower than my Cinco De Mayo swim a month earlier where I was 4th-but I was pleased.  I navigated accurately, drafted effectively and was cognizant of all my stroke drills learned from my coach, Dave Prutow, at our Mauna Lani masters swim group. My teammates Noe and Kai took first in their age groups as well as being in the first handful of swimmers out of the water-no easy task out of 300+ swimmers.  They are quick in practice and both had great swims in the Cinco De Mayo and now in the Hapuna Rough Water-super proud of them both.

Dave’s constant “encouragements” in practice include keep your eyes directed straight down, body position straight like a spike through the top of the head, toes pointed straight back, fingers pointed straight down indicating a high elbow return, pushing not pulling the water column straight back and finally a long, rotating, torso and shoulders with at least 110 degrees rotation in either direction, dispersed equally left and right.  I can repeat them in my sleep at this point!

If you live in or near the Mauna Lani Resort come swim with us at the Mauna Lani Sports and Fitness facility on M-W-F!  Monday is primarily stroke drills for all levels of swimmers.  Be aware Wednesday and Friday are usually 10 minutes of warmup followed by 50 minutes of hard sets in all four strokes but fun for a few of us:).  Swimming is great for your mind and body I have found with few negative effects other than a raging hunger after practice. This isn’t a “bad thing” as at least there was a good workout to offset some of the calories.

Written by Rick Oliver on June 13, 2018
Posted in: Hawaii Life | Tags: Mauna Lani Sports, swim