Catch a wave...Or the swimming thread

[alpinerabbit]

That sea monster is loverly.....

I swam another 2k group swim in the lake today, felt better and stronger than my first 3 wks ago - I think I went to the pool... 3 times since and 2k each time. Actually I did swim alone in the end but the others were "somewhere" which makes you feel safe. There were no boats except the big passenger one. The swim is scheduled so we don't meet it closely.

The lake is about 19-20°C right now (was warmer last week but they must have poured a bucket of ice cubes into it). Unless the weather is really bad these next 2 days I'll ditch the wetsuit for my sprint - will shave 20-30sec off my transition.

oh did I mention I did a reverse triathlon for this. It starts at 18:15 sharp and they don't wait.

17:15 - I'm in my office and notice I forgot my contacts at home. Run out (loads of cursing) to the bus stop. Bus comes at 17:20. 17:31, catch the train. 17:39, train enters station. Full run in slipper sandals to my house (it IS only about 300 meters) 17:42, I'm at my house, run inside, stuff lenses in my pocket, down to basement, get my bike, out by 17:45. Dodged every red light I could for the, say, 3K in traffic, 18:00 come to a screeching halt in front of the place, insert lenses, don bathing suit and wetsuit - pant....


EGADS: update as of this morning the local newspaper posts they are pulling more and more catfish out of the upper lake (that's where I swim) - giant, humongous catfish, up to 80 kilos.
they do usually keep to the bottom, but you never know. In lake constance, they caught one that actually bit dogs and swimmers.
they wrote they will eat ducklings....

[alpinerabbit]

*bump*
looks like everyone is settled into their swimming routine for the season????

I'm still chipping away at my 3 2K sessions per week. OW swim again today. We had some wind and the boat passed by again - I seriouslythought I wasn't moving anymore on the last 500 or so.
Also I veered way away from the shore and even trying to swim towards my left, I seemed not to get any closer to the shore.

Felt strong but the above weirdnesss.... was, well, weird.

Explanation?




i also had weird thoughts. I know people commit suicide in the lake, so there must be a couple down there. I also thought if there were "burials at sea", so I might be swimming through dispersed ashes. eeks. morbid. A bird flew overhead and it seemed huge, maybe a vulture - LOL. Bird droppings came to mind as well....

[kelownagirl]

I've been trying to get in to the lake every day, or at least every 2nd day, mostly to get over my fears. I'm crossing my fingers that a friend ismable to take go to the tri swim route with me tomorrow. It's quite a scary bit of rocky, weedy, deepish water and I need to face that challenge next. In the meantime, I swim alone, parallel to the beach, never over my head, and work on form and endurance.

Yesterday, I tried swimming 750m without a warmup, or rather, I tried to incorporate my warmup into my swim without having to stop, stand up, and catch my breath. It worked fine but I was pretty slow overall. I think my 750m time will be closer to 19-20 minutes. It's a catch 22 - I can swim faster, but when I get breathless, I get more nervous. It's easier to make up 2-4 minutes by going hard on the bike.

I bought tri shorts today and can wear them under my wet suit. Trying hard to track down the top that goes with it.

[HillSlugger]

I've been swimming regularly, but I haven't been posting. Last year I swam 113,990m. With today's swim I've surpassed my entire swimming total of last year! I expect to pass my goal of 175K and hit 200K.

I keep watching other swimmers at the pool, noticing all the imperfections in their strokes. I've got to get myself videotaped to see what I'm doing!

[Iris616]

Hi,
Is it too late to jump in the thread? I'm on week four of a 12 week training program for a sprint Tri. I hit the pool last night and did a total of 400 yards.

I didn't even think to time myself. When did everyone start timing their laps?

Thanks.

[colby]

Swimming?

Actually, I'm going to get back on the wagon, was hoping to this week but I think it'll be this weekend. Maybe even in the lake, hooray! My wetsuit is hanging lonely in the closet, my swim suit lonely in my bathroom. It's time to get back into gear.

I timed pretty much all of my workouts, but mostly to know how long I'd been out since I operate on a somewhat narrow schedule. In the pool, those times were useless on the days I did drills (9 out of 10) but handy to measure my improvement on the days I did one consistent distance. If you're just trying to finish, I wouldn't stress TOO much over your time, but it is really nice to see yourself improve, and compare your in-race performance to training.

[jesvetmed]

KG... you need to just SWIM YOUR RACE.. whatever you are comfortable with is what you need to do. Otherwise, you'll get too tired too fast. It will be hard with everyone else going all different paces, but find yours and stick to it! You are working SO hard! You'll do great. Can't wait to hear how you do!
Jes

[HillSlugger]

Hi,
Is it too late to jump in the thread? I'm on week four of a 12 week training program for a sprint Tri. I hit the pool last night and did a total of 400 yards.

I didn't even think to time myself. When did everyone start timing their laps?

Thanks.

Never too late!

I'm a data junkie. I started timing my laps pretty much as soon as I started doing lap workouts. I just love to see my improvement!

[Iris616]

Never too late!

I'm a data junkie. I started timing my laps pretty much as soon as I started doing lap workouts. I just love to see my improvement!

Thanks. I hit the pool again last night for another 400yards, followed by a 20 minute run. I learned a few things; like changing from swim suit to running clothes is an olympic sport all on it's own

I heard that the local running store has Tri wear, so I'm going to stop there and see if they have any suggestions for clothing.

Question: Do people use a specific watch for the pool? Any recommendations? For running I have a cheapo Target watch, but I don't know if that will do the trick for the pool.

One more question: (Sorry, but no one at the pool seemed approachable about these things). Goggle strap under of over the swim cap?

[alpinerabbit]

My pool has a regular clock on the wall and then a swimming clock on the ends of the lane. If you use our polar watch, don't press any buttons underwater. I hear it leaks.

Straps under cap for the race only - so it does not get knocked off. This only applies if you are jumping right in the middle of things in a mass start - not recommended for the first tri/try.

[Veronica]

If you use our polar watch, don't press any buttons underwater. I hear it leaks.

I press the buttons on my Polar underwater all the time and have not had any issues.

V.

[HillSlugger]

I use a Timex Ironman watch, 50 lap model. I've never had a problem with leaking from pressing buttons underwater. I've had it for more than 18 months and I'm still on the original batteries.

[wavedancer]

I did my first OWS sprint tri last weekend, thankfully with a favorable current for the longest leg! Full wetsuit in salt water=bob like a cork and you can drift to the finish if needed! I can actually stand vertically in water over my head without moving with the suit on in salt water.

Anyway, in an effort to get more comfortable with actually swimming the distance I am trying to get in an OWS after work. I drive right by several lovely beaches on my way home (Cape Cod). Friday night I donned my shorty wetsuit (water temps mid-70s) and started swimming out to the first buoy. Felt good, getting my rhythm, sighting...BAM! I swam right into a jelly. Tentacles strafed right under my arm and armpit. OMG, this was the most intense pain I have experienced in recent memory. I made a beeline to the shore and spent about twenty minutes in the parking lot trying to get it together enough to drive home.

Unfortunately, I also did the one thing you should NOT do after a jelly sting: rinsed the area with fresh water. This apparently caused the nematocysts (the cells with the toxins) to fire even more vigorously Dousing the area with vinegar (which I will now carry in my swim bag) is the preferred treatment and there are some commercial products out there as well.

The burn lasted through the night and I still have some welts today, but it doesn't hurt anymore.

I love swimming in the ocean, but I will be covering up with the fullsuit or at least wearing a rash guard from now on.

[crazycanuck]

The other option if you don't have any vinegar is to pee on the area!

The joys of swimming in the ocean

[wavedancer]

I did read that pee was an always-available option. Not sure I could manage to pee on my armpit, though