FEATURES

Taught Not to Wait...

Monday, 15 April 2019 23:10

By Erin Lahti

I decided to take a trip by myself to Puerto Rico. I chose PR for a few reasons. It’s a tropical island, but still in America. I didn't have to worry about changing currency or different driving rules, and most of the people I talked to could speak at least a little bit of English. Also, after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017, they need our tourist money. In addition to this be a soul searching trip, I wanted to get some ocean water swimming experience. An ocean water Triathlon is on my bucket list.

I flew into San Juan, rented a car, and drove 85 miles, across the entire island to a town called Aquadilla. It’s much less touristy on this side of the island. I rented an adorable little Airbnb right on the beach. My first morning, I drove a few miles to Crash Boat Beach. I was there by 7am and there were only a few people on the entire beach. I was at the end of the little pier, talking myself into doing my first ocean water swim, when a man walked up. He was wearing an Ironman 70.3 Puerto Rico hat. As he approached, I immediately said hello and confirmed that he was a triathlete. He introduced himself as Edwin and he had just done his first 70.3 last week in San Juan. I asked him if he planned on swimming here today. He was there to meet others for a swim. He invited me to join them. Are you kidding me? Is this actually happening? What are the odds that with in a couple hours of my first day of my trip, I would accentually meet other triathletes to swim with? ...

Edwin told me he was a police officer and an experienced bodyboarder. While we waited for the others to arrive, we chatted about our past races, upcoming race schedule, and swapped times. Edwin was still very much riding his tri-high from his first 70.3. He was very proud, as he should be. He informed me that it was one of the toughest 70.3 races on the circuit due to the heat and wind. After about 40 minutes, 2 women came up to us. One introduced herself as Venus. She was with her mother, Maria. Venus told us that she is training for her first full Ironman in Lake Placid in July. Venus is Puerto Rican, but lives in New York City. She is on the island visiting her mother. I blew up and strapped on my safety pull, and headed into the water. Maria was kind enough to watch our stuff while we swam. Venus, like me, has never done and ocean water swim before. We were both very excited. Edwin directed us to turn out about halfway down the pier, and then swim about 15 minuets down, turn around, then we'll swim the other side of the beach. The water was warm, fairly calm, and crystal clear. We were in maybe 25' of water. To my left were huge waves crashing off the cliffs, to my right, nothing but open ocean.

I think one of the most beautiful things in the entire world is watching the sunlight through the water dance on the sandy bottom of the ocean floor. I could stare at it forever. I was skipping breaths because it was so memorizing. We swam 800 yards and turned around, then swam back and right under the pier and over to the other side of the beach. There is a point on this side. I was following it and ended up swimming out a bit too far. I noticed the water got a lot darker. I looked up and saw Venus and Edwin about 40 yards in. So, I turned 90 degrees and swam in. I swam in fast! We swam back under the pier to the other side where we entered and ended our swim with 2,500 yards. It was amazing. No, it was surreal. The 3 of us talked for another hour or so after our swim. We shared our stories about why we got into triathlon, and how it’s changed us. I told them about my Ironman in Wisconsin just last September and about the great local races in Minnesota. We all had so much we wanted to say and ask each other. We all spoke with such passion. Venus's story and mine mirrored each others in many ways. Loss can bring so much into light. It teaches you to not to wait. Not to take anything for granted, to go after what you want, now. Because you just don't know what day is going to be your last day. We made plans to swim again the next day.

I was back at Crash Boat Beach by 7am the next day. I was doing some free diving off the pier. The pier was damaged and shortened in hurricane Maria. You can see all of the debris under water. The fish love it. There were schools of colorful fish all over. They didn't seem to mind my presence at all. The water was different today. Bigger waves, bigger swells, and not as clear. I was talking to another local couple, that was there casually swimming. He pointed out the large structure to the south of the beach. Of course, I saw it yesterday, but I had no idea what it was. He told me it was an old sugar cane factory. He told me that lots of people jump off there and go there to see the fish and sea horses.

My new friends must have seen me out there and Edwin came up to collect me. We walked back down the pier where Venus and her mother were already waiting. Edwin invited another triathlete to swim with us that day. Andres, was an Ironman 2 times over. He is from the area, and also just raced the 70.3 in San Juan last week. Being there were now 2 Ironman's there, the conversation quickly went to bike nutrition. Its always interesting to hear what others did and how it worked for them. It was especially good for Venus to hear. I asked the guys what the plan was for the swim today. We were going to swim south, toward the sugar cane factory for about 20 minutes. We started out. I was trying to hold my line, but the current was having its way with me. Andres told me I had to come out further. So, I did, much better. Andres and I swam, next to each other the entire time. I stopped after 20 minutes passed. The 4 of us gather and Andres suggested we swim to the factory. It’s not too far away now. "Ok, lets go!"

Another 10 min swimming. Swimming up to this huge structure was a little intimidating. But, what the hell. At this point I was already almost a mile of swimming in the ocean. It had 4 huge concrete bases, each 20-25 feet across in the water with a massive platform connecting them all and a tall tower at the end. As we got closer, I noticed there were people inside of the second base. Andres told me they were working to restore it. Almost there. It cast a huge shadow on the water that you could easily see under the water. We stopped just a few yards from the 2nd base. I asked if we were going to get in trouble by the workers for being out here. Edwin and Andres spoke to the workers in Spanish and assured me we weren't in trouble. I wanted to swim around the entire 2nd base. There was a lot of debris in the water from the factory falling apart, giving it an eerie feeling. I also wanted to see if I could find any sea horses. Because the water was rough, I had to hold myself under. Or I would just be thrown against the old metal structure. I grabbed onto the twisted, rusted rebar, halfway sticking out of the water, took a deep breath and walked myself; hand over hand, down a few feet to see what I could see. I did that all the way around the base. Lots of metal debris, and fish, but no sea horses. After playing around for 10 minutes or so, we started heading back. It was a solid 1600 yard swim back to Crash Boat Beach. Again, I stuck with Andres. I had to stop once because I had water in my goggle. Normally, would not stop in a MN lake for that issue. But when its salt water burning your eyeball, you have to do something about it.

I saw a huge fish on the way back. He had to have been over 4 feet long. He was just chilling down at the bottom, motionless. I stared at him, skipping many breaths. I needed to confirm in my head, that it was not a shark. Edwin later confirmed, it was a sabalos .

We made it back to the beach with over a 3,200 yard swim under our belt. Solid Swim. What an incredible experience. As I walk out of the water, I just laugh to myself, realizing what kind of life I'm truly living. A good one. A blessed one. Venus packed enough Kind bars to share with everyone. We eat, chat and laugh for over an hour. We shared our inspirations and our fears. What we hope to obtain in this sport and what we’re already gotten out of it.

I ask what they recommend to see in that area. They guys tell me to head down to Rincon, a surfing town just down the coast. Venus tells me to check out Gozlandia, an inland hiking area with a few waterfalls. I promise to do both. And I do.

We take the time to find each other on social media and promise to stay in touch. Hand shakes turn into hugs. We say good bye and go our separate ways.

I made many other amazing memories on my solo trip to Puerto Rico. Including, having a waterfall and a rope swing all to myself in Gozlandia, a 30 foot cliff jump in El Yunque, and a beautiful sunset run around Old San Juan. But none were quite as memorable as making an instant connection with like minded people on Crash Boat Beach. It’s truly something I'll remember for the rest of my life. It was something I needed. Reassurance that I’m doing the right thing. This sport has a magical way of connecting people. Even when you aren’t expecting it or looking for it. Knowing I have connections on the island really makes Ironman 70.3 Puerto Rico, a possibility for next season. It would be great to visit and race with my Puerto Rican Tri Family.