Did my first open water swim of my life yesterday. What an awesome experience it was in La Jolla. Will definitely not be my last.
Stayed out deep sea fishing until 9:00 and then partaked in adult beverages unil 2:30 am. Still swam pretty well, maybe next year I will actually prepare better for it.
First competition for me since surgery a year and half ago so I am pretty pleased with my results. Check out some of the amazing swims (i.e. Mark Warkentin holding 1:00 for 1 mile race and 1:01 in the 3 mile race). If I had only known I was 5 seconds from 2nd place, maybe I would have raced better to finish.
If you have a chance to do this swim, I highly recommend it!
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Former Member
Being that it was the first of any open water, I had nothing to compare to. Everyone seemed to say the conditions were great. Water was 70 degrees which was awesome. Very clear, but I pretty much swam with my eyes closed as I didn't want to see what was lurking below me! The announcer did say in 37 years, he had never seen the tide as high as it was. I got off course a few times due to currents or maybe the closed eyes had something to do with it, probably swam an extra 100 yards.
For what it's worth, I highly recommend it. I will definitely do it again next year and probably do the three mile if I have enough time.
The conditions were excellent this year. The water temp has been good the past few years, and this year was no exception. Although the tide was high, there were not many currents or swells this time, which I think made it a faster year. One of the nicest parts about the La Jolla Rough Water is that the course is always really well-marked with big balloon columns attached to the buoys. It has a great atmosphere, too. If you come early, you can watch the kids swim first, which is fun. As long as you don't mind a little bit of chaos at the mass start, it's really a very friendly event!
I did this swim 40 years ago at age 9 and remember how much fun ( and a little scary, because you swim off the beach and then it drops off and you can see the underwater reef...had no idea what might be down there, had no goggles back then so maybe that was a good thing.) I would love to do it again but it looks pretty crowded now, is it?
I did the La Jolla Rough Water, too! It was somewhere around my 10th time, and I got my best time and highest age group placing ever. It was a great day in terms of conditions and lots of fun as always. Congrats on your great first go at it, Sam!
Nice swimming! How were conditions?
This is a swim I'd like to do sometime. My parents live in the San Diego area now, so it would be pretty convenient. La Jolla is really beautiful. I'm sure it would be a fun swim!
It is crowded at the start, but after the first 1/4 mile or so people spread out and it's not bad at all. The Gatorman (3 mile) start is much crazier than the mile starts, because for the Gatorman, everyone (men and women, all ages) starts together. For the mile, Masters men and women leave separately and women leave in two waves, men in three.
