There is a conversation going on Marathon Swimmer's Forum about DNF's. So it feels appropriate to be writing about my first DNF. It's funny, because in many way this is my best swim to date. But I'm still frustrated.
So what was good?
Nutrition: I felt solid for a full six hours. None of that aching hunger that usually starts showing up after 3 to 4 hours.
When I swam Kingdom Swim 2012 I finished in 5:27. That was my previous longest time in water. It was too long. That swim sapped all my motivation for weeks.
On Tuesday I spent 6:30 swimming in what, for me, is very rough water and I felt fine. Obviously my arms were aching, as well as my neck and my stomach a little And my legs were all rubbery. But the next day I was still fine. Tired, hungry, sore, but already looking for my next swim.
My stroke count was steady the whole time. Even at the end when I was really starting to feel it.
I suspect this is almost all due to nutrition. More calories and better calories. Better nutrition means swimming better a few hours in and it means feeling better afterwards. I guess this is not news.
Also, it can't be said enough: The race directors, volunteers, and crew of all the support boats are fantastic. Thanks for making another little trip down the Hudson possible for me.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Laurel Lake
Wednesday night. The day after my biggest swim ever. Six and a half hours in the water and boy are my arms tired.
But I felt pretty good for all that and decided to join up for a swim in Laurel Lake. The water felt a touch colder than the Hudson, even though it wasn't. I thought I would just take it nice and easy. Really stretch out my stroke. The swim is a rough triangle about 1.5 miles altogether. It felt good to swim towards something that wasn't moving away from me. The relatively flat water felt glassy smooth after a day in the Hudson. I guess I really am a lake swimmer at heart.
Naturally as soon as we reach the furthest point there is a rumble of thunder in the distance. So the last leg of the swim turned out to be faster than I intended.
But I felt pretty good for all that and decided to join up for a swim in Laurel Lake. The water felt a touch colder than the Hudson, even though it wasn't. I thought I would just take it nice and easy. Really stretch out my stroke. The swim is a rough triangle about 1.5 miles altogether. It felt good to swim towards something that wasn't moving away from me. The relatively flat water felt glassy smooth after a day in the Hudson. I guess I really am a lake swimmer at heart.
Naturally as soon as we reach the furthest point there is a rumble of thunder in the distance. So the last leg of the swim turned out to be faster than I intended.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Tuesday strength training
This picture shows how I finished my workout today.
 |
| No it's not a deck of cards. It's half a deck of cards. |
Thursday, January 2, 2014
2013 Map
Create your own visited states map or check out the JavaScript Maps.
I rather liked the little map I had last year. So I decided to do another one. So far I'm staying in my region of the U.S. That is now 7 states (they are really small on the map)
2013 Open Water
For the beginning of the new year I will take a little time summarize my 2013 season and think a little bit about next year.
My 2013 open water season:
The Great Hudson River Swim (cancelled due to weather)
The Great Chesapeake Bay Bridge Swim
Stage 3 Of the 8 Bridges Swim
The Lake Willoughby Swim (didn't swim due to injury)
The Lake George 10k (didn't swim due to injury)
The Lake Moreau Swims
The Little Red Lighthouse Swim
The Newport Sharkfest Swim
Not as many events as 2012. And a different mix of locations. I am counting Newport Harbor as an ocean swim, even though it is one of the most enclosed pieces of ocean to be found.
My 2013 open water season:
The Great Hudson River Swim (cancelled due to weather)
The Great Chesapeake Bay Bridge Swim
Stage 3 Of the 8 Bridges Swim
The Lake Willoughby Swim (didn't swim due to injury)
The Lake George 10k (didn't swim due to injury)
The Lake Moreau Swims
The Little Red Lighthouse Swim
The Newport Sharkfest Swim
Not as many events as 2012. And a different mix of locations. I am counting Newport Harbor as an ocean swim, even though it is one of the most enclosed pieces of ocean to be found.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Run For the Hills
Who: The Great Barrington Land Conservancy
What: The 3rd Annual Run For the Hills
When: Sunday, Oct 6, 2013
Where: Simon's Rock College in Great Barrington MA
Why: It's Becoming Something of a tradition now
The course was back to the loop from two years ago. Last years out and back course is out and my PR with it.
I enjoy being able to pick my own race in a run like this. After half a mile there were four guys spread out in front of me. Everyone else had disappeared from sight. Blue shirt, red shirt, white shirt, grey shirt. Four guys and a pretty wide age range, I thought.
The first mile nothing changed, there were some hills. The course takes a right turn onto a dirt road. The four guys were still there in the same order, maybe a little more spread out. I closed a little on an uphill. On the way down I heard two sets of feet right behind me. At the end of the dirt road the course takes another right turn and starts up a beastly hill. This is also the 2 mile mark.
By this time blue shirt had pulled away. The two sets of feet behind me turned out to be two women. One of them pulled ahead.
But then we came to the aforementioned beastly hill. I ran down white shirt and red shirt and I caught up to the woman who had just pulled ahead of me. (I can't remember her shirt color. It was light maybe pink?)
We raced for the next half a mile or more. Eventually I pulled away. By then the finish was almost in sight. I never lost track of grey shirt. He finished right ahead of me.
After the race we had a second breakfast before I got ready to head over to sunday masters swimming.
What: The 3rd Annual Run For the Hills
When: Sunday, Oct 6, 2013
Where: Simon's Rock College in Great Barrington MA
Why: It's Becoming Something of a tradition now
The course was back to the loop from two years ago. Last years out and back course is out and my PR with it.
I enjoy being able to pick my own race in a run like this. After half a mile there were four guys spread out in front of me. Everyone else had disappeared from sight. Blue shirt, red shirt, white shirt, grey shirt. Four guys and a pretty wide age range, I thought.
The first mile nothing changed, there were some hills. The course takes a right turn onto a dirt road. The four guys were still there in the same order, maybe a little more spread out. I closed a little on an uphill. On the way down I heard two sets of feet right behind me. At the end of the dirt road the course takes another right turn and starts up a beastly hill. This is also the 2 mile mark.
By this time blue shirt had pulled away. The two sets of feet behind me turned out to be two women. One of them pulled ahead.
But then we came to the aforementioned beastly hill. I ran down white shirt and red shirt and I caught up to the woman who had just pulled ahead of me. (I can't remember her shirt color. It was light maybe pink?)
We raced for the next half a mile or more. Eventually I pulled away. By then the finish was almost in sight. I never lost track of grey shirt. He finished right ahead of me.
After the race we had a second breakfast before I got ready to head over to sunday masters swimming.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Accross Newport Harbor
So this was a short straight swim and I'd like to keep my write up the same way. We came out to Newport for the swim and made a weekend out of it.
The swim is 1500 meters in a more or less straight line across Newport Harbor from Perotti Park to King Park. You can actually see the whole course from the starting line. Maybe two or three buoys to help us keep in line. The start was off of a dock and the water was deep enough for an actual diving entry.
I lined up near the back because I wasn't wearing a wetsuit. I don't mean the race directors did it that way. I mean I had to keep my warm up clothes on until the last minute so when it came time to line up I had to strip, stuff my warm-ups into a bag and toss it in with the rest of the swimmers' bags. Most everyone else could just walk down to the dock.
There were a handful of other people without wetsuits.
I went for the diving start. I was prepared for the curglaff (it's a real word and one the ows community can get some use out of) after a minute of swimming at a slightly faster turnover than usual I settled into my rhythm and felt pretty great. I overtook a lot of swimmers in the first few minutes because I had started at the back.
Several times I found some other swimmers on my left pushing me further to the right than I wanted to go. Was it the same swimmer multiple times? Was I pulling left? I don't know. Everyone looks the same in neoprene. I do drift to the left sometimes.
There were dock and anchored boats to the left. We passed the last boats on the left with around 500 yards to go. The bottom also came into view around then. Water was a little cloudy so I first caught site of the harbor bottom when it was maybe 7 or 8 feet down.
So the whole final stretch once we were past the last of the anchored boats was very shallow. And it got shallower. Then it got mucky and slimy. I was trying to sprint into shore but I was also trying hard not to swallow any water. After all the slime and muck the beach finish was a bit rocky and I had to run up on shore very carefully.
After meeting my family and picking up my bag I went to check my finish time. To my surprise I was listed as #1 in my age group.
Pro: There was a sponsored afterparty that included free food and beer for the swimmers.
Con: there was no shower or rinse station at the finish. Considering how mucky the finish is I hope they can set something up next time.
The swim is 1500 meters in a more or less straight line across Newport Harbor from Perotti Park to King Park. You can actually see the whole course from the starting line. Maybe two or three buoys to help us keep in line. The start was off of a dock and the water was deep enough for an actual diving entry.
I lined up near the back because I wasn't wearing a wetsuit. I don't mean the race directors did it that way. I mean I had to keep my warm up clothes on until the last minute so when it came time to line up I had to strip, stuff my warm-ups into a bag and toss it in with the rest of the swimmers' bags. Most everyone else could just walk down to the dock.
There were a handful of other people without wetsuits.
I went for the diving start. I was prepared for the curglaff (it's a real word and one the ows community can get some use out of) after a minute of swimming at a slightly faster turnover than usual I settled into my rhythm and felt pretty great. I overtook a lot of swimmers in the first few minutes because I had started at the back.
Several times I found some other swimmers on my left pushing me further to the right than I wanted to go. Was it the same swimmer multiple times? Was I pulling left? I don't know. Everyone looks the same in neoprene. I do drift to the left sometimes.
There were dock and anchored boats to the left. We passed the last boats on the left with around 500 yards to go. The bottom also came into view around then. Water was a little cloudy so I first caught site of the harbor bottom when it was maybe 7 or 8 feet down.
So the whole final stretch once we were past the last of the anchored boats was very shallow. And it got shallower. Then it got mucky and slimy. I was trying to sprint into shore but I was also trying hard not to swallow any water. After all the slime and muck the beach finish was a bit rocky and I had to run up on shore very carefully.
After meeting my family and picking up my bag I went to check my finish time. To my surprise I was listed as #1 in my age group.
Pro: There was a sponsored afterparty that included free food and beer for the swimmers.
Con: there was no shower or rinse station at the finish. Considering how mucky the finish is I hope they can set something up next time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)