Ocean Swim Virgin

I went to my first LA Tri Club ocean swim circuit this am (6:15 am to be exact...yes, I was late)...Let's just say, I've got some training to do and I've got 51 days to get it done in! I thought I'd share the quick re-cap with you all:

Good News (naturally I like good news first):
1. I went, period. This is something I'm going to remind myself of throughout the day. It actually takes something just to get there.
2. I rode my bike there (only a couple miles, but still, a good warm up/cool down and by cool down I mean turtle pace)
3. I swam 600 meters straight...which is just over 1/3 of a mile.
4. The experienced swimmers are very nice (and although speedy and definitely attaining a different kind of a work out) they really look out for the newbies (me)
5. My wetsuit is a perfect fit for my body...it has boob panels!
6. My wetsuit is super buoyant...even when walking to the water it's almost like there's a mini trampoline under each one of my feet.
6a. My wetsuit is super buoyant (part 2)...even if I was to get really tired and couldn't swim any more, I would float. With all the neoprene stuffed into this thing, floating is inevitable.

Not so good (aka Bad) news:
1. There were a hundred other swimmers there
2. Most of the hundred plus swimmers are semi-professional if not professional/sponsored triathletes...yes, people who get paid to do all three legs of the race! (Mind you, I'm training to compete in one leg of the race)
3. I swam most of the 600 meters in breast stroke because my crawl is, well, for lack of a better word (and for honesty's sake) weak!
4. Lots of people passed me...
4a. Lots of these same people did the course 3 and 4 times (and ran back and forth between)...In case you were wondering, I did it once...and never ran.
5. One guy stopped his speedy swim and asked me (snail pace girl) if I was ok. I was ok. I don't think this is a good sign. Imagine the tortoise and the hare.
6. Another guy stopped and waited for me to body surf to shore together. I like to think it's because he thought I was cute. Given I had a neon swim cap, goggles and my (boob-paneled) wetsuit on, it's probably safe to say he was concerned.

All in all, it was good, it was harder than I expected (as with most things I do in my life...probably good or I'd never end up doing any of them). And Although I was not great, I did it. And I didn't have to stop or swim back to shore, which I think was a decent first effort. Besides, didn't the tortoise end up winning the race?!