Suggestions on Tapering for LD Ocean Swim

Thank you all for the advice and suggestions pertaining to both training yardage and tapering. I do want to say to Solar that the vinegar thing does NOT WORK for jellyfish/sea lice stings. The reason it doesn't work is by the time I get out of the water (I may be a half-mile out), too much time has gone by and the stings are already working their harm to my skin. I get better results with Calamine lotion for afterwards. Don't you have a coach besides you during the race? It may be psychological only but we've used it, as soon as the swimmer gets burned though. I see no point in spraying the swimmer long after they got burned. and the brown ones are horrible. These are the one to fear. I remember a race where the organizers tested these fishes. They took them in their hand and didn't get burned. Therefore they officially announced that the fishes were not burning. Problem is that they didn't burn the inside of the hand, but were terrible (as you say) for the rest of the body skin. At least 30% of the swimmers got retired from the event before the end. But worse than jellyfish is the sea lice; the eggs of the jellyfish that look like little splinters in the water. When you see them, it is too late. But there is now a product on the market specifically for this so I will be the guinea pig next year and try it out and swim with these little buggers!! I didn't know all that. Thanks a lot. This swim is being done solo, just me and an escort boat. This has been something I have wanted to do for 3 years so I made the decision. As Terry put it, I will be a marathon finisher all by myself. Be careful. I remember a pair of american folks once here up north. They show up few days before Lac St-Jean international event. Of course the organizers didn't let them register. They decided to do it anyway. The father in the little boat, and the kid. They never made it to the shore, they both died. But back to topic, and if you all wouldn't mind, I would like to periodically update you with the mileage/swim times along the way so you can continue to inspire me and make suggestions. I'll do the best I can but unfortunatelly, I have a major security concern. Be extra careful. If you can afford it, go with two boats. Up North, every swimmer has two boat. Coache's boat, and a big security boat. If you go with one boat, it should be boat big enough. The aforementioned folks who died in Lac St-Jean didn't really have a boat. They only had these little chaloupe you know. Very unstable. In a sea, I wouldn't go there with something smaller than a 24feet long boat with a lot a security equipment. I wouldn't use a boat over 40feet, as I find that their side is so high, it's difficult to reach the swimmer for feeding. All the best!

Thank you all for the advice and suggestions pertaining to both training yardage and tapering. I do want to say to Solar that the vinegar thing does NOT WORK for jellyfish/sea lice stings. The reason it doesn't work is by the time I get out of the water (I may be a half-mile out), too much time has gone by and the stings are already working their harm to my skin. I get better results with Calamine lotion for afterwards. Don't you have a coach besides you during the race? It may be psychological only but we've used it, as soon as the swimmer gets burned though. I see no point in spraying the swimmer long after they got burned. and the brown ones are horrible. These are the one to fear. I remember a race where the organizers tested these fishes. They took them in their hand and didn't get burned. Therefore they officially announced that the fishes were not burning. Problem is that they didn't burn the inside of the hand, but were terrible (as you say) for the rest of the body skin. At least 30% of the swimmers got retired from the event before the end. But worse than jellyfish is the sea lice; the eggs of the jellyfish that look like little splinters in the water. When you see them, it is too late. But there is now a product on the market specifically for this so I will be the guinea pig next year and try it out and swim with these little buggers!! I didn't know all that. Thanks a lot. This swim is being done solo, just me and an escort boat. This has been something I have wanted to do for 3 years so I made the decision. As Terry put it, I will be a marathon finisher all by myself. Be careful. I remember a pair of american folks once here up north. They show up few days before Lac St-Jean international event. Of course the organizers didn't let them register. They decided to do it anyway. The father in the little boat, and the kid. They never made it to the shore, they both died. But back to topic, and if you all wouldn't mind, I would like to periodically update you with the mileage/swim times along the way so you can continue to inspire me and make suggestions. I'll do the best I can but unfortunatelly, I have a major security concern. Be extra careful. If you can afford it, go with two boats. Up North, every swimmer has two boat. Coache's boat, and a big security boat. If you go with one boat, it should be boat big enough. The aforementioned folks who died in Lac St-Jean didn't really have a boat. They only had these little chaloupe you know. Very unstable. In a sea, I wouldn't go there with something smaller than a 24feet long boat with a lot a security equipment. I wouldn't use a boat over 40feet, as I find that their side is so high, it's difficult to reach the swimmer for feeding. All the best!