Grudge Races: Place your bets

OW is certainly addictive. Just ask Dave "13 swims in 2007" Barra. The Bay Swim (June 10) has a 1mile race which is a great way to get into OW. There is about a 1/4 mile of it that is subject to bay currents, but the rest is fairly easy. Wetsuit is allowed, but this is quick and shallow enough that you don't really need one. Start and Finish are at the same place, and the 4.4 finishes there too - its all at a dockside bar, so the libations flow afterwards! :drink: I just want to try it at least...I figure even if I'm having a rough time a mile is only a mile and I can breaststroke it if need be. I'll have to look at logistics getting there and back..whether to stay down... etc etc

How about the other grudge matches associated to the Colony Zones meet? How did they work out? Fortress crushed Mollie and I both in the 50 back by .15 and wasn't even in our heat!!!!! We had to watch her awesome swim right before our heat so we knew what we needed to do. It was a fabulous weekend! Thanks Fort for organizing a great dinner. It's great to be able to put faces with names! Congrats to everyone on their swims. Lots of fast times this weekend :)

I think I should hold onto your ankles, so you can get the jellyfish in your face. You can protect me(since I am a fragile girl) hahaha. Just kidding. No jellyfish there. Please come. It would be so much fun waiting for the 4.4 (crazy) people to arrive. We can start the party early. Swimmy :) well it's a 4 hr drive or the train to someplace but I dunno where..what's nearest city I get muddled with Maryland, Delaware etc..I think I can do the 1miler without too much worry...may take me a a bit longer but you can all come back in and rescue me when your finished...or dangle beer on a stick...

Fortress crushed Mollie and I both in the 50 back by .15 and wasn't even in our heat!!!!! We had to watch her awesome swim right before our heat so we knew what we needed to do. It was a fabulous weekend! Thanks Fort for organizing a great dinner. It's great to be able to put faces with names! Congrats to everyone on their swims. Lots of fast times this weekend :) Oh yeah, really "crushed" you. Karen's gonna think I paid you moola moola. You forgot about the part where I had a terrible finish and almost didn't win my heat and the part about you and Mollie having to swim in the wake of that whippersnapper SP. That wake alone would no doubt have erased any .15 differential. Good thing I didn't swim the 100 back or I would have been Fort-trashed. :rofl: Dave: There's a reason for those 5 year age groups increments. Every year, more issues, and you have to take extreme measure like ART lessons and whatnot.

well it's a 4 hr drive or the train to someplace but I dunno where..what's nearest city I get muddled with Maryland, Delaware etc..I think I can do the 1miler without too much worry...may take me a a bit longer but you can all come back in and rescue me when your finished...or dangle beer on a stick... The nearest city is Annapolis or you could stay near Baltimore. The Chesapeake Bay is more fun than Reston if you ask me. The waves are more exciting that a flat lake. Next I will have to convince you to go to some NJ ocean races. They are closer to you.....Think Ocean City, NJ or Wildwood NJ in July. www.lmsports.com for some open water races in NJ. I will bring the vinegar for the jellyfish stings...hahaha Swimmy :)

you forget i have nature's antidote and a spout that came standard :rofl: I think I will stay with my remedy....hahaha

you forget i have nature's antidote and a spout that came standard :rofl:. Annapolis huh? Will have to check what I can do to get there. I don't fancy the pike again on my own this time to boot! I am in NJ first week of July...planning on going to the LCM meet. However if there's a miler in the week...we're at Point Pleasant/Cape May...that any good? Studmuffin, I did a Bridge to Bridge race in Atlantic City NJ that was the first Saturday in July. I have not checked out the race for this year, but that is a possibility. I will have to find the website. That was an easy bay race, but I did get attacked by a vicious jellyfish...

Stud- The Ocean City NJ race is usually the last weekend in July. No jelly fish, or I'm out! The first week of July can be quiet, but I think the Atlantic city Bridge-to-Bridge swim is right around that time. I'll check and get back. It's a 5K or a 1-mile swim in the bay. BTW- I'll be at the shore (Ocean City) first two weeks in July, maybe commuting back to Phila here & there for work. Let me know if you want a tour of the Liberty Bell... Dana Great minds think alike....We must have written at the same time.... The Bridge to bridge was 1.3 or 2.6 miles. The Swim for Dolphins is 1 mile ocean race on July 14 in Wildwood. OC masters race is July 28th. Mark your calendars! Swimmy :)

I've got to say that was one of the funnest swim weekends I have had. :banana: It was really great to meet everyone! I am glad everyone was able to make it down (and back home safely in the rain/snow), and I hope everyone was satisfied with their swims. Grudge Match Recap, involving me Rich vs me. Rich won. I had two bad pullouts, went way too deep, and when I pulled up and saw another 9" of water to go off the turn, I knew I was done. Rich has a great stroke - obviously practices his breaststroke a lot more than I - and pretty much destroyed me in the back half of the race. He was able to get under 35 (34.83) in the process. I think it was helpful for him to have me in the lane next door to push him along. :bow: :bow: Dave Barra vs. me (best of 3, 200 fly, 200 free; 4.4 mi bay swim tiebreaker) Thankfully, I put to bed any talk of wetsuit handicaps and was able to win both the pool events. I swam the non-ande recommended version of a 200 fly (out in a 1:00.7, back in a 1:10.4 - yes, the piano hit hard), and Dave swam a similar version. I think it is safe to say we were both going for it. My 200 fly times this season are an 8 second drop of my PB from 2005. The 200 free, well, lets just say that after that point, there was not much gas left in the tank for anyone. We both split good races there, but in the end, my time was faster. I was not looking forward to doing the Bay w/o a wetsuit, and all bets aside, I am still nervous about his OW skills. He is certainly a formidable comrade in the pool, and I'm sure he'll lure me into something crazy in the OW before long! Cheers! :drink:

He is certainly a formidable comrade in the pool, and I'm sure he'll lure me into something crazy in the OW before long! Cheers! :drink: How about the 10K on July 14th... www.usms.org/.../10kentry.pdf Dave's doing that one and so are Sister Golden Hair and I. Great swims, Muppet. Your hair made me laugh every time I saw you. How do you get it to stand straight up like that? It must really intimidate your cometition before you put your cap on! See you boys at the Bay!!!!