I don’t know if I was necessarily excited to swim the VBLA 2025 Ocean Swim Series 3k, but maybe more nervous. When I first started this blog in 2010 (?), it was called LOLZthatswim. Then LOLZthatswim(andrun), and finally, for the last 10 years, FueledbyLOLZ.
Long story short, I used to swim a lot. I competed through college. I did several open water swims, but for the last several years, I haven’t (and partially because open water swimming in the Mojave Desert… well, doesn’t exist). Mainly though, because hobbies and interests change.
I can’t remember the last pure open water swim I did. The last time I did this race was 2012.
Before the VBLA 2025 Ocean Swim Series 3k:
I had no strategy or goal, other than finish and not swim the wrong way. The day before, I competed in the Allen Stone Run Swim Run. I had been swimming (or trying to anyway) once a week. The water in 2025 was perfect for me. I’ve gotten hypothermia a few times in the ocean, so I was happy for much warmer-than-usual water. I didn’t do a warm-up. This year, it was an in-water start, which honestly I don’t mind too much because I’d rather not run into the water and get kicked in the face.
The other thing about the VBLA 2025 Ocean Swim Series 3k and all their swims is that it only gets competitive and “fast” swimmers. Not that I really add myself into that category, but if you are looking for a beginner-friendly race, this may not be the one you’re looking for. While swimming parallel to the beach makes it beginner-friendly, most people are very fast.
VBLA 2025 Ocean Swim Series 3k Swim:
At 8:15, we were off. The thing about open water swims is that you just put your face in the water and really have no clue about time or pace until you’re done. You can’t see the bottom, which is daunting. When we started swimming, I began getting prickly sensations. Now, I haven’t done an open water swim in eons and had just swam in the ocean the day before. For the first 1k, I was like, what is happening? I almost got out because I was like, maybe I’m allergic to something, and this could not be good.
After a while, I just became numb to the sensation. A few times, I ran into another swimmer or they ran into me, but I just kept plodding along. There’s not a lot that is super exciting in an open water swim because you have your face in the water and you can’t see the bottom or your competition (competition is relative because I was not racing anyone LOL).
Finally, I saw the turnaround buoy, and we made our way onto the beach. I finished in around 46:54 minutes, which was actually much faster than I thought I would. After the race, I talked to other swimmers and found out the prickly sensation was jellyfish. Thankfully, they weren’t too bad and didn’t cause lasting issues.
VBLA 2025 Ocean Swim Series 3k Thoughts:
I’m happy I did it, and I appreciate what swimming has become to me these days as a relaxing and fun thing to do. I was 74th out of 125 and 4/4 in my age group, and that’s fine. I’m happy to finish.
You can see Strava here and all race recaps here.
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