All Hail To The Int'l Self-Transcendence Marathon ...

Made it on the Daily News of OWS!

The Daily News of Open Water Swimming: All Hail To The Int'l Self-Transcendence Marathon ...: "Jim Boucher provided the support for 63-year-old Ellery McGowan in the 26.4K 23rd International Self-Transcendence Marathon Swim in Lake Zu..."

Lake Zurich Swim - Training

Just want to give a wrap up of my training for my Lake Zurich Marathon swim.

Below are my training regimes for LZ and Rotto and if you notice there are some big differences.

Lake Zurich Training 

18 Weeks

Total Miles 167.4359241

Total Kilometres 269.462

Rottnest Channel Training 

16 Weeks

Total Miles 283.376332

Total Kilometres 411.977607

LZ was 2 weeks longer but shorter mileage than Rotto!

This was not very good and made all the difference.

Main Reasons -> mainly comes down to injuries.  Was doing things different and wanted to mix it up.  I usually only swim FC and only FC for everything.  In the middle of the LZ training I started to put BF, BS, and weights into the mix.  This caused a lot of unusual soreness and cramping for a couple of weeks.  I pushed through these issues and it just got worse and worse with ending early and taking days off.  In the end this is where I paid the price.  I was in and out of the water for 2 weeks when I should have been peaking my training.

This is a valuable learning experience for the future!

Eastbourne Open Water 5 km

This past Saturday, I swam in the Eastbourne 5k Sea Swim.  Great race even though the surf was not ideal.  Ideal not be the word, actually brutal.  I got my ass kicked battling it and took on more salt water than I have ever drank.  At one point I started to believe the water actually tasted alright.  The 4th lap was the worst on the front stretch more so than the last three laps.  The wind really picked up and the tide changed at the same time.  I had to do water polo kick up's to see over the break and that still was almost impossible.  Right before that lap I had a gel duct taped to my ass under my suit.  That came in handy as I needed one the energy and to wash my mouth out.  In the end I made it to the finish without drowning.  It was a good event and great training for the worst case scenario ie the ship i goes down in a storm, I know I can at least 5k in the stormy water....

Result - 25th overall and 5th in my category.

Lake Zurich Swim Training

The last couple of weeks I have been strife with injuries.  Pulled back, neck, arm muscles and to be honest with you, it is a pain in the ass.  I have been running to make up for it but that does not help.  I been averaging a measly 12 to 18k a week due to these issues.  The main reasons is I changed some practice routines.  I use to swim only free but have been doing back and fly for the past couple of weeks.  I have also changed my breathing from only right to only left now.  So that is to try to balance out the pain from the EC.  After the EC I had so many back issues from only breathing right.  I know I have said in previous posts that I will re-train myself for bi breathing, well I lied.  SO now I actually been doing it and well...

Now to get me back to normal.  This week and the next two will only be doing front crawl and no other stroke.  The only thing I vow to do is breath left or do alternating breathing because I refuse to hurt myself for Lake Zurich.

The next 3 weeks I am going to be pushing 30+ km a week with a peak of 35 km next week if no injuries occur....

Henley Swim

Found this in my drafts:


I did the Henley swim at the world famous Henley Royal Regatta rowing venue sponsored by the Upper Thames Rowing club last weekend (June 27th).  It is a 2.1km race that is on the upper portion of the Thames so the water was fresh and quite clean.    It takes place the weekend before the big regatta and is quite unique.  The event start exactly at Sunrise so you have to be there at 0330, walk to the start at 0350 with a 0430 start time.  They offer camping in the back parking lot but that was a bad idea.  The next door rowing club had a wedding that ending at 0230 with the people dispersing at 0315.  So this was not my best race with ZERO sleep.  I was quite pissed and really did not want to even do the race but came all that way.  I dragged my ass down to the start and it was dark and quite cool.  75% of the entries were wet suits and I entered as traditional, ie speedo but for forgot it and had to swim in my training/drag suit.   By time I got down to the start my toes had nearly froze off and had to get into that water.  I heard reports the water was warm but not boiling, it was 23C/73.5F.  Coming from the English Channel that Monday and into this wow...  The first pack of men in wet suits went off at 0430 and we went 5 minutes later.  My pack was traditionals and women in wet suit so was not a bad at all.  The start might have been a mass start but it was so spread out it was no problem.  The race it self is against the current but the river has been manipulated so much over the century that the current was non-existent.  I did not go out hard, just went at a nice pace but started to overtake people pretty quickly.  So that gave me a boost and as the race went on, I started to have to zig zag to get around all the people.  I stayed in the far right to avoid the bunches on the right side.  I kept remembering them saying they had an open water pad on the left hand side and you must hit it with your left hand.  They pulled this all out in the cover of night so I did not know exactly where the end was or this pad was located.  At about the 1.8k mark, I could see a buoy and knew that had to be the end.  It was right behind a building in the water so it was hard to determine if that was it.  I heard from some that we had to finish at the bridge some at the end of the actual regatta course, so it was up in the air at this point.  However that buoy was at the end of the course and I did not see it the night before so at this point I put up a 6 beat kick and started to haul ass.  With the pad being on the left I started to merge to the left towards this buildings and this paid off as I saw people still going straight on.  I was able to hit two people out because of this strategy.  When I went on to cool down a bit people were swimming right by it on the right losing time and positions so this was a bit confusing for everyone.  I think if it were in the middle of the course or have an open water finish line that would be a bit less confusing.  Anyways, I did it got 8th Place in my category and got a bacon sandwich with brown sauce.  We got out of their due to the searing heat at 6am and headed home.  It took us 45 mins to get home cutting thru London opposed to the hour and 45 mins getting there the night before...

It was a great little event and would advise anyone to do it but watch out for weddings!

Made it to France - PART II

Things were going good however we had one little issue arise.  Mike was not feeling good from the second we started the out of Dover Harbour.  After I got out of the water he puked twice but said he was alright as he was up after Janina.  Like the trooper he is, he got in and pushed through the sea sickness.  On his swim we saw a large pod of dolphins behind us getting closer.  So that was a really good sign!

Transition - Janina to Mike

At this point the sun was full bloom and there was nothing going to stop us.  I was up again and powered through my swim.  Very calm and felt a lot warmer with the sun on my arms and back.  By time I got out I had no shiver this time and my toes were not frozen but the water was still freezing.

We had a very smooth transition but there was some doubts that we would be making it with Mike's sea sickness getting worse.  I kept telling the crew and CSA officer, he will pull through don't you worry about him.  At the end of Pat's second swim it started to kick up some swells but for Janina's swim it was like a washing machine.  We were over halfway there and getting into the French shipping channel when this happened.  This was caused by numerous variables which is what makes the channel so tough.  One is the deep water in the French shipping lane, two the afternoon winds kicking up, three the tide changing, and lastly LUCK of the draw!

Mike at this point is just sleeping and is being woke up to just swim.  Which he does just like a champ!  He had to endure a pounding but not as bad as Janina's but was still pretty bad.  At this point you cannot see the White Cliffs of Dover clearly anymore but you can see all of France crystal clear.

Coming up to my third entry into the water my little friend chaffing kicked up again.  I really should have shaved as soon as we left port but thought it would be alright as it was only 7 hours since my last shave.  Cold water makes the hairs that are under the skin like sandpaper!  So this all goes back to my first swim.  I was so nervous I forgot Vaseline on my neck, armpits and face.  I put it all on the second time but it was enough to shred me.  So what did I do but shave right there and than, and oh it felt so good!

Shaving @ sea with salt water

Two Days later and have a nasty painful chaff!

We were making good time and ahead of the tide.  This is great because this is going to push us into France with no fighting the tide.  This is where the good call on the pilot comes into play.  See we started the day with two solos and three relays in the channel.  Two solos pulled out after 4 hours and heard one relay canceled.  So we now knew we would be the first to France this season if everything went accordingly.  I knew this when we booked but everything played in our favor.  The first slot, the first on the boat with no delays, first out of the harbour, the first off the beach, and the first to beat the tide.  We could  see the other boat lingering behind but knew they were behind the tide and going to get caught in another.  So this was a real motivator...

So with that shave done and dusted and the motivation to get to France first, I was ready for my third entry.  This was not as calm as it looked when on the boat.  I got pretty swished around and had to pull a 6 beat kick for most of the swim to keep straight.  What was really cool about this leg, was the clarity of the water.  It was crystal clear about 10 to 15m clear.  However things you fear you don't want to see!  Jellies, big ass jellies were about 8 to 10m under the surface.  This suckers were very large with long tentacles that could ruin anyone's day!  So this is where you say, you have to get on with it and go for it.  If you get hit deal with it later.  

We were so close you can smell the garlic...

I powered through another session and felt great however the water temp has dropped to around 11C/51F.  I kept about 63/64 stroke rate up the entire time, just to keep the body nice and warm.  It was a relief to get back and we were under 3.5 miles off the Cap Gris Nez and we thought was that it was clear sailing.  This is where the channel gets mentally draining!  The captain says we got another 3 or 4 hours more!  I could not understand but was schooled on tidal flows in the channel.  The best example I can use was there was a lobster pot about a mile and a half off the Cap.  Remember the scene in Jaws where they put the buoys into the shark and he just drags them all around with no effort.  Well when we got up to these lobster pots we thought something was pulling these buoys ie shark or big ass whale.  These things flew by the boat at a speed of maybe 30 MPH or more.  I was shocked and the pilot convinced me with a close up of GPS.  You can see us flying in the water sideways, pulling us out to the Atlantic :(   He said it is not a big deal once we get a little close we will hit the Cap's tidal waters and hit an eddy and it will shoot us in but it is all timing...

At this point I am shitting myself because my last swim I went all out and it is freezing!  Worst was the crew and liaison busting my balls that I have to go in again.  Both Pat and Janina power through there swims.  We got Mike up from his slumber which was keeping his sea sickness at bay.  He did not or could not keep fluids or food down the entire way which is not good.  So we had to give him a pep talk and kept telling him he was going to be the one on French soil.  This would have been true if he was not sick but he started out strong and faded at the end.  It did not matter all he needed was that ONE hour.  Most crossings end in this area so we did not want this to happen.  He was out and now, I had to go again, which I dreaded.  The water was freezing and not something to look forward too...  The upside was I am going to be the one on French soil!  The CSA rule only allows one swimmer in the water at any given time except during change overs.  That meant only one of us can reach the shore which sucked as a team.  So any way, with getting to shore on my mind, I used the rest of my power I had left.  It took me about 30 minutes to get to the shallows.  This was heaven and I did breast stroke the last 25m because the water temp jumped to over 16C/60F and felt like a jacuzzi.  I tried to look for a beach but we did not have that in our favor, so had to climb up on the rocks.  I don't advise rock climbing in a speedo.  This was not fun but MADE IT... 12 hours and 39 minutes and the FIRST TO FRANCE for the 2010 Swim Season!

Made it to France...

Our plot was a great line and supplied by InstaMapper via iPhone.

By far it was the hardest swim I have done to date, even though it was only a relay!  I thought going into this it would be a cake walk. Well, I was wrong and it truly is a beast on it's own.  However, I cannot wait to do a solo! Would love to do it next year but the missus would not be happy with me training and getting hitched in the same summer...  I would probably do another relay for some more experience next year even this year and a solo in 2012.    

Made it to France - PART I

I am proud to say that our English Channel Relay was the first to France for the 2010 swim season.  Overall it was a great learning experience!  It was true test of what the body and mind can withstand and overcome.

Here is a recap:

I got the call confirming the swim for our pilot just before 1800 on Sunday June 21st.  I made my way down to one of my team members house in Tunbridge Wells.  Got to bed about 2230 for a 0330 wake up call.  We both did not sleep at all and a lot of tossing and turning.  Jumped out of bed before that time had breakfast and we were on our way to Dover Harbour which was a 45 minute drive.  It was long and very tense ride!

Got to the Harbour went for our parking permit for the day and turned around and my other team mates showed up as well.  Got their permits and waited on the dock for our pilot Eric Hartley from the Pathfinder.  We also met our swim official, Peter from the CSA.  He was about 5 minutes away which was perfect timing!  We piled on the boat had our safety briefing, CSA Rules dictated, and money exchange.  We were finally on our way to swim the channel!

We started a little west of Samphire Hoe Park.  People usually start at Shakespeare Beach but the pilot read the tides and decided on Samphire.  This is a crucial call!

Here is the start!

I started the relay at exactly 0525, Monday June 21, 2010.  The way it works on a relay is each member of the team must swim a full hour and the order must not be changed at all.  If one of these rules are broken the swim is nulled and we turn around, oof... 

Our established order would be myself, Patrick Reedman, Janina Dowding and Mike Russell.  Since I was the first swimmer, I had to swim to shore and walk up on land to make the swim official.  Once on land the CSA official gives you the thumbs up and you are off to France!

Since my swim was first, I was in the water a bit longer than my team mates.  The first hour felt like an eternity and at several times, I kept saying, "Fuck this is going to be harder than I thought".  The water was around 13C/52.5F, the clouds were lingering, and the sun was not fully out.  So with wind chill and water temp, I was freezing and did not think it was going to go well.

I saw Patrick hit the water behind me and I kept going afraid I was going to freeze if I stop.

Patrick coming up for the change over.

The change over happen, and I could not be happier to get back on board!  It had a shiver and got my clothes on fast.  Pilot told me that I got about 2.2 miles out, that is not my best showing but knew what we had in store for the trip. I briefed my team mates, Mike and Janina that it was friggin cold, had to tell em like it is, no holds barred...  Got some tea in me with toe warmers and felt a ton better by time Janina jumped in.  At this point things started looking very good for us.  The clouds were breaking up and the sun was coming out FULL beams on summer solstice.  You could not ask to swim on the longest day of the year with sun all day long!  This were looking much brighter now...

Part II in coming soon...

It has been confirmed!

Well it looks like at this time our slot has been pushed till Monday morning at 0430.

This waiting game sucks and this English weather sucks but I guess that is the name of the game.

So I will just watch the England game tonight and relax or should I go to masters practice.  England game or practice.  hmmm....

English Channel Relay - Waiting Game Now...

Our window for the relay starts tonight at 7pm.  So now it is a waiting game.  The weather is shit now and forecasted for shit!  The wind for the forecast is pretty high for the next two days.  I am not an official pilot but it does not look good at this moment.  I don't mind rain but I do not like swimming in white caps in extremely cold water.  My biggest fears is wind chill and waves...  I really just want to get on with this swim, the waiting game is killing me...  Ugh...

Testing the water...

I have been swimming at the lake twice a week for the last couple of weeks with three days of masters training.  The last week or so it has gotten a blistering 16C/60F and is almost blistering in a weird way.  So I needed a reality check so I went out Saturday morning for a channel swim w/ one of my relay partners down at Eastbourne.

This winter was the coldest and longest in the last 30 years making the water temperature the lowest in that time as well.  On the charts the water temp should be nearing 14C/57F which is much more tolerable...   At this point there is nothing I can do but just get on with it!   I was quickly brought back to reality, the water was a 12C/55F. 

Notice the CAP, it was for ENG VS USA!

Since our relay is the first out with a tentative date of this Saturday, I was really getting worried about the water temp!   To be honest I have been having some sleepless nights and been very worried about it.  All and all I survived an hour with no signs of hypothermia at all.  I do this all the time and I have no clue why I do it...

Janina and I taking the plunge!

Made the local paper and not the police beat...

Some Press that I have gotten locally...

Great example of controlling your mind over a long swim or just training...

Credit Greg Whyte and Andy Lane.

Racking it up...

Water just shot up from 10.5c to 11c/51.8f which is a great sign for english weather...  That .5 is a world of difference,  some parts in the lake are still def at 8c but some are in the 12c which makes it so much, i want to say fun.  That might sound sadomasochistic but it is actually so much tolerable and something to look forward too when making the rounds....  I am not putting smoke and mirrors it is all mind work!  Once you get in your zen it is all out!

Soreness and Swimming

Everything is going as planned in regards to the last post.

- Laid on 6 kilos from Auz.  Turning a lot of it into muscle with going to the gym three days a week and doing a full body routine on the weights.
- My pool team has helped me out with new kicking tips.  I have put them into practice and it is really made a difference.  All though I am having to breathe more as the legs take up a tremendous amount of O2!  That will come in time...
- Cold water training is going very well.  Thursday hit 4k in 15c.  I was in the water for an 1 hour and 10 minutes that includes acclimatisation.  Yesterday was in the water and only got 49 minutes with 2.7k.  This was effected by the weight training and the massive distance sets we did at the pool on Friday Night.  My arms were like lead weights!
- My bi-lateral breathing is coming along well, not great.  I try to only breathe on my weak side during warm ups and drill work.  During the strenuous sets I only breathe on my strong side but trying hard to hit bi's on those as that will get me used too it...  So this is the only thing that is really on my plate.

So what have I learned, sore arms and cold water training can cause you to drown, ha...

At It Again!

So I took off from training for a month with the exception of a couple of masters practices to stay tuned.  However it was nice to get some rest time and get some weight on for the channel. Well anyway, that is what I kept telling myself to make me feel better about my laziness.

The plan for the next couple of weeks. 

• Put more muscle with weight training
• Work on kick by running and biking more
• Priority - COLD WATER TRAINING for channel relay
• Bi-lateral breathing by ONLY breathing LEFT

So that is my goals for the next upcoming weeks...

Rottnest Solo Channel Swim Details - Part II

....Nothing eventful happen, 5k came and went.  10k finally arrived at 3.5 hours.  It was the half way point and knew it was all down hill from here.

The pack to the left of me and about quarter way mark:

At the 15k point this is were the race became interesting.  I took a GPS straight line as I mentioned earlier.  It was clear sailing up to about 12k and I started to notice boats and other swimmers at that point.

At or around the 15k point, I ran into a point.  Could not beleive it.  I said to myself this is some sort of joke.  Not only did he hit me once he hit me 2 other times and really did not care, he shitty relay team was more important.  I was too focus to actually say anything but I should of grabbed the fatty and drowned him...

Seconds before the boat hits me.

Afterwards there was another really annoying huge boat called the Mahalo.  First, it was a yacht, second they did not care for anyone else swimming.  I counted about 5 times this boat cut in front of me and than blasted it's engines blowing me back about 4 meters.  Everytime, I actually had to scream at the asshole, but little good that did.  This was the def the worst part of the race.  Since everyone has to get into a gate it starts to bottleneck here.  Everyone is hitting each other, paddlers are running into each other, swimmers are becoming tight, boats were picking relays members up, chop, exhaust, this was def the worst part.   On top of this there was a brisk current that was there and the wind also kicked up making the swells pretty high.

After the gate it thinned out as the boats could not escort any longer.  The current went away and the wind died due to being sheltered by the island.  At the 800m point the paddler goes away and your home free!

They have a the entire area roped off all the way to the finish so it was a clear shot to the finish line.  All you see on each side of you is tons of boats.  You can't see the island at all just boats!  It was really pretty cool.  About 150m from shore, the jellies kicked in.  I was getting stung all over my arms, pits and shoulders.  It was quite unpleasant but just reminded you that you are still alive...  25m from the shore, I knew I was still breathing and kicking I could not take it as the jellies hit me the neck.  That was it, I got up and walked/ran the rest of the way in!

Final time - 07:16:15

Rottnest Solo Channel Swim Details - Part I

Finally getting around to update the full story of the swim.  I am happy to say that I completed the swim with no real issues except a bit of a sunburn and much longer than expected.

Got up Saturday morning at 0400, had everything pack and ready to go.  We dropped  my support crew at the boat on the way to Cottesloe Beach.  I had my speed suit on already as I had to stop for a bit of a morning gitters so I put it on in the service station bathroom.  Got to the beach at 0510 with 35 minutes before start time and checked in.   I was already sunblocked up but that would not really last if going past the 4+ hour mark.  So I put a layer of zinc on my exposed areas.  I was all ready and set to go and walked away to the start but felt something was wrong could not figure it out till I saw someone else walk by with the same suit on.  OH, I forgot to zip it up.  When we zipped it up, I forgot all about putting zinc on that area :(

I get to the starting line with the first wave of swimmers out for the day.  There is about a hundred of us.  I position myself to meet up with my paddler and support boat on the right hand side.  There was not that many people on this side as everyone pushed to the left.  I was feeling a little nervous at this point.  Is the water too cold, am I going to puke like the last time, did I do enough training, all these thoughts ran through my head.  UGH...  It was stressful.  The horn blew and we were off!

Programmed to just go, did not even think about it and was off.  Since the sun was just coming up it was still quite dark and really could not see out on the sea.  I quickly noticed something was not right here.  50m's, 100m's, 250m's and finally 500m, meet my paddler and told him WTF is up with the swells.  He says, Yea it is not good.  I was watching the weather all week and was more worried about the wind and totally forgot to check the swells.  It was going to be an adventure!

So 1.5k out we meet up with the boat and they have pre-programmed the GPS for a direct line to the island.  I don't know if that was the right thing as everyone went left about 500m to 750m away to the left of us.  At this point all I could do was trust the support boat and my team which I had full confidence that they would get me there in the end.

An hour and a quarter into my swim I am ready for my first feed and progress report.  I have already stopped for 2 waterings and was feeling nice and strong.  Had a nice consistent stroke despite the 2m swells hitting me every 15 to 20 seconds.   When I asked them what distance I have done, I get back a little over 3k.  Ahh, This was not what I wanted to hear.  This was daunting!  I was not happy and had to ask again with the same response.  On the next watering I actually asked a boat next to me and they confirmed it as well.  I was really hoping for 4k or 4.5k.  At this point I started to realize that this was going to be an extremely long race and there was nothing I can do about it but just go...  I actually kept telling myself they are LIAR's to keep pushing on...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Rottnest Solo Channel Swim Update

Tomorrow is my solo swim to Rottnest Island here in Perth, Auz.  A quick run down from my last post.  I hurt both shoulders last thursday swimming with paddles.  So took it easy and iced them everyday.  Wednesday morning got out to the ocean swim 5k with no issues, no pain, and no soreness. The next day felt golden, no stiffness, no soreness.  So lets see tomorrow.

I got here on Tuesday morning, 0005, so some would say Monday night.  Was in Singapore for a 24 hour layover.  Too bad it was Chinese New Year.  Everything was closed but was able to check out all the sites and get some great chinese food.  

Before leaving, I got a msg on my mobile from an Auz TV reporter, requesting an interview.  Now the pressure is on.  He stated that I was a top seed to win the event.  UGH...  This is not the pressure that I need!  So I called him on Tuesday, thinking one of my auzzie friends is trying to stitch me up.  Nope, could not get that lucky.  It is true!  I really like going in anonymous on these things.  I thought it had to do with the phone number or nationality, but they said they got the top six swimmers and need to do interviews.  So I have that lined up today along with my briefing and meeting my boat captain and paddler.

Damn 20k is going to be a long hard battle...

Speed

I broke my Nero 10k yesterday afternoon.

I was told I really should not swim with it without breaking it in first.  I can see why this things are banned now.  In the right hands these things are like a turbo booster in your ass.  The amount of energe that you really have to put in is truly effortless.  I noticed that I really do not have to kick ass much either as you just glide through the water.  To say the least it is tight and I thought it was going to be really bad.  Once I got in the water and wiggled around it fit perfect.  To get the best performance you should really flatten out all the fabric over your body.  I really think the best part is the compression on the upper trapezius muscle.  They always seem to tighten up but with the constant compression on the muscles it seems to be a good balance as I got out of the water very fresh after a very fast 4k.

Trap Injury

I pulled my trapizius muscle swimming yesterday.  I am gutted!  Started my warmup yesterday by the usually 1k.  I got 960m and started to push a bit and bam felt a pop on my left shoulder.  Kicked a bit on my back getting some full stretches in.  I should of just got out but was more concernced with getting 30k in for the week.  This was dip one on top of it, with a goal of 2.5.  Got that but the second dip that night I was going to get 4.5k.  When I got into the office I started to feel a neck pain, thought nothing about it as it was just a nag.  Well this morning, I was so stiff and hurting.

My goal was going to be 30k for this week and now that looks like a pipe dream!  I had two full weeks to get 30k a week done, not happening now this week.  If I am lucky I will hit 20k!  So I am on RICE now, and just in pain.  This has happen in the past and it usually takes two days for it to go away.   With a bit of soreness on my return.  I have to take an angle on this and just happy it did not happen before the Rotto Swim...

Rottnest Channel Swim Suits

Chaffing from San Fran 5 Mile Swim

My new wetsuit that I love but did this!  I usually go w/ baby oil for a mile or 2, after that I usually go with Vaseline or another slippery concoction for anti-chaffing!  :( 

Glad I had neosporene!  Had to do a company presentation with this ta boot!  Did not look good!

Coming down to the wire - 30 days till rotto

I got 30 days till the big Rotto swim.  Have two support boats, 2 jet ski's and one and a half paddlers on the 'yak.  Got some great tips this morning on navigation, just did not anticipate a massive current!

Training is going well!  Running 3 days a week, weights 3 days, and swimming 6 days a week.  The masters at the Sharks is getting pretty intense on the long distance.  Coming home shattered almost every time with them.  It is a little under 4k but at crazy fast paces in the endurance sets.  Tonight, I wanted to quit to get a couple of breaths but thought about the sharks chasing me at old Rotto!

Can't even think about the channel or the Lake Zurich training.  Both are going to be grueling as well.  EC will be cold water training as well as getting over sea sickness!  Zurich is going to be getting thru a lake w/o salt water buoyancy!

Yards Vs Meters

So glad to be back in metric land.  I was just getting dizzy swimming in yard pools.  I usually swim in either 25m or 33m pools which are really great for a good work out.  Here is something I lifted from another site.

Totally Agree with this:
1. Much more continuous swimming. Half as many walls to turn at, simulating open water swimming better than a shorter pool.
2. More time to focus on your technique while you swim without interruptions.
3. Training is slightly more challenging, resulting in better preparation for an open water race (or any swim race).

Stats:
25 Meters = 27.34 Yards
25 Yards = 22.86 Meters
25 Meters = 75 Feet
25 Yards = 82.02 Feet

The difference is not much looking at numbers but when your down in it you will notice you lost about 2 or 3 strokes.  Which makes a bit of difference in my book when doing long distance swimming.

Birthday Swim

Yesterday was my birthday and I spent it riding around San Fran with a bicycle.  Hills are a bitch but was a pretty good work out and saw quite a bit of the city. 

Afterwards, I was able to get a 5 mile swim at the Dolphin Club Swim Club in the San Francisco Bay Aquatic Center.  I got in with a wetsuit so I can get mileage instead of coldwater training.  The water was not bad 50F, I could have done a swim without the WS but I def would not make it 2 hours that I was in there.  I used baby oil and should have used vaseline bc my neck is so f-in chaffed!  Pics will follow...

Well, I have to get 7 more miles added on to that in 5 weeks for the Rotto Swim!  Going to have to start double dipping starting tomorrow in San Jose and continue on for the next 4 weeks.

Good week of training!

Had an excellent week of training! Got a lot of runs in despite the
wintery weather we have been having. Also been hitting the gym for
the next couple weeks for added strength. So we have 6 weeks til the
big rotto swim. The next couple of weeks are going to be tough
travelling and all but in the end I should be all set for 20k and
dodging sharks.