I haven't swam in nearly a year, open water or otherwise. And an aquathon with its thousand-meter Swim and 5K run takes out the middle part in which I've grown to gain ground. But I've got to get the swim back somehow so five times this summer I'll venture out shortly after dinnertime and join a hundred or so hard-core multi-sport athletes who are faster than me.

I brought my wetsuit to the first one. A brutal winter guaranteed icy cold temps though I knew nothing about the lake. Turns out it's small and not that cold but everyone else had theirs on so I did too.

That swim took forever. I swallowed so much water/air/seaweed/god-knows-what that my chest was tightening and restricting breathing--until it was over and I was able to let out the 20-second burp. The swim was slow, too. Almost everyone was faster.

My calf cramped up trying to get off the wetsuit. I don't drink enough water before races. And lake water during the swim doesn't count.

But then the run came and I took off. It was an out-n-back so I could count how many females were ahead and behind me; turns out the numbers were nearly even. The run hovered around 8:30 miles and I'll take it.

No athletic supporters to take pictures at this time of day but with a race less than an hour long it's just a good-effort training session. With plenty of friends around who are faster than me.