Swim Race

My husband did me proud. He participated in the annual Flowers Sea Swim race last weekend and swam a mile in open water (Seven Mile Beach). I'll be honest, I was a bit hesitant about the $25 entrance fee but after being convinced that 100% of the proceeds go to charity and 1 in every 4 participants wins a prize, I supported him.

The day before the race David went to register and was turned down because they had reached their 700 person capacity. He called me in a rage (not a real rage, but he was mad. It's a perfect example of when he gets mad at someTHING and I almost enjoy it because it reminds me that he never gets mad at me. Confusing, but makes sense in my head). I said, "You tell them that your wife knows Frankie Flowers from the dental office. Talk to him directly. He'll let you in." I sounded just like my dad, "Tell them you know Elmo," but I knew this was the solution. He called me a few minutes later and said, "They let me in. He remembers talking about it with you at his last cleaning."

We showed up at the starting point which was located at Royal Palms Beach. We had to be there a couple hours early. I decided to wear regular clothing instead of a swimsuit. I thought that even if I did wear a swimsuit, I would be too embarrassed to go into the water alone while everyone else was swimming a race. When we sat in the heat for over an hour I definitely regretted not choosing to wear swimwear. Luckily they offered free gatorade and water.

Most everyone else walked the mile while the swimmers swam, but my lazy self jumped back in the car and drove up to the finish line (Ritz-Carlton). I got there just in time to see the winner of the race come in at around 20 minutes. I was having a hard time spotting out David when the swimmers came across the finish line. Every other third person had a red swim cap (everyone had to wear one for safety reasons) and practically everyone was wearing blue goggles. Luckily I noticed him and felt so proud to see him finish!

His goal time was 30 minutes or less and he got in around 35 minutes. About halfway through the race his legs started cramping and if he stopped, he probably wouldn't have been able to finish! So, the second half of the race he basically used his arms and let his legs drag. Poor guy! We blamed it on the four hours of tennis he played that morning (I was so mad that he chose that foolish idea. Why would you play 4 hours of tennis the morning of a 1 mile swim race?) and were still proud that he came in around 140/780. Oh and the best part was that we ended up winning a prize. David won a $90 gift certificate to swim with the dolphins at a local dolphin arena. Woohoo!

Here's a short clip of the beginning of the race. It was kind of bizarre to see so many people in the water. I insisted that David put Michael Jackson music to the background in memory of the King of Pop. My mouth dropped when I heard of his death on the radio as I drove home from work and then I got teary eyed while listening to Man in the Mirror. Who knew I'd be this sad? I wasn't even that big of a fan. I guess I was more sad as I thought about his life and how lonely it probably was towards the end of it. I've been listening to his music ever since.