Cable Swim Advice?

I've done cable swims in VA and Lake Placid and never had any trouble seeing the cable (underwater) or the buoys. The most unexpected thing I encountered when doing cables was how crowded the swim could feel. The start--typically heats of 10 swimmers sent off at 30-second intervals--feels more civilized than mass open-water starts. But it's essentialy the equivalent of doing 3-second sendoffs in one very long lane. Everyone wants to swim right beside the cable, so the field very quickly transforms itself into a more-or-less single line of swimmers swimming up and back. And at your speed, you'll probably start passing other swimmers from later heats by the 3rd lap and be navigating around a steady stream of them by the last lap. Passing to the outside is probably your best bet, although I don't think it's mandated in the rules. Drafting is absolutely allowed. Everyone in your heat will probably be trying to get on the feet of someone a bit faster and hang on. One of the overlooked benefits of drafting later in the race is that your lead swimmer can do the navigating around others for you, so you don't have to look up as often. Just don't hit the feet of the person you're drafting off of repeatedly. I like doing a water-polo change-of-direction turn at the turn-arounds--I use my last stroke to turn over on my back, then 2 choppy freestyle strokes to get back onto my stomach and change direction(it's essentially 2 90-degree turns rather than a continuous 180). That little maneuver also lets you see who is behind you, plus who might be a bit ahead of you and worth catching up to to draft off of for the next length. Have a great time, and save a little bit for that fun little sprint to the finish!

I've done cable swims in VA and Lake Placid and never had any trouble seeing the cable (underwater) or the buoys. The most unexpected thing I encountered when doing cables was how crowded the swim could feel. The start--typically heats of 10 swimmers sent off at 30-second intervals--feels more civilized than mass open-water starts. But it's essentialy the equivalent of doing 3-second sendoffs in one very long lane. Everyone wants to swim right beside the cable, so the field very quickly transforms itself into a more-or-less single line of swimmers swimming up and back. And at your speed, you'll probably start passing other swimmers from later heats by the 3rd lap and be navigating around a steady stream of them by the last lap. Passing to the outside is probably your best bet, although I don't think it's mandated in the rules. Drafting is absolutely allowed. Everyone in your heat will probably be trying to get on the feet of someone a bit faster and hang on. One of the overlooked benefits of drafting later in the race is that your lead swimmer can do the navigating around others for you, so you don't have to look up as often. Just don't hit the feet of the person you're drafting off of repeatedly. I like doing a water-polo change-of-direction turn at the turn-arounds--I use my last stroke to turn over on my back, then 2 choppy freestyle strokes to get back onto my stomach and change direction(it's essentially 2 90-degree turns rather than a continuous 180). That little maneuver also lets you see who is behind you, plus who might be a bit ahead of you and worth catching up to to draft off of for the next length. Have a great time, and save a little bit for that fun little sprint to the finish! Fantastic, detailed, insider advice! I really like the turn you described and may start practicing in the pool. I wonder if anyone actually does flip turns albeit without anything to push off of, just to get the body oriented right? I think one thing I might enjoy about this is the complete neutralization of the SDK! I suppose the Michael Ross's and Chris Stevenson's of the world might still be able to use these to their advantage, even without walls to push or dive off of, but for the most part, the new darling of the swimming sport (which this old dog has thus far failed to master) doesn't seem a necessity. Thanks again for the great advice. So the cable is also partly under water? I wonder if us left side breathers are less common than right side breathers? Any chance that the counterclockwise race will be less crowded?

Fantastic, detailed, insider advice! I really like the turn you described and may start practicing in the pool. I wonder if anyone actually does flip turns albeit without anything to push off of, just to get the body oriented right? I think one thing I might enjoy about this is the complete neutralization of the SDK! I suppose the Michael Ross's and Chris Stevenson's of the world might still be able to use these to their advantage, even without walls to push or dive off of, but for the most part, the new darling of the swimming sport (which this old dog has thus far failed to master) doesn't seem a necessity. Thanks again for the great advice. So the cable is also partly under water? I wonder if us left side breathers are less common than right side breathers? Any chance that the counterclockwise race will be less crowded? The cable is partly underwater, yes. It is harder to see than the Lake Placid cable b/c the lake in Charlottesville is far more turbid. But although it isn't quite as visible as a pool lane-line, it isn't hard to find. Especially when you run into it. The first heat is almost always a more crowded than the second, regardless of direction. That's because those in the know realize that the water feels significantly warmer for the second heat than the first, and so avoid the second heat. Every year it seems that most of the "big guns" are in the first heat. But I've done it both ways and had a good swim both ways. I've done the water-polo-style turn before and I know some people who swear by it. Dave Holland once timed himself doing several different types of turns and it always seemed to do well. But lately I have found that I simply go underwater and do a sort of jack-knife kind of turn while using those dolphin kicks whose unimportance you celebrate for this race. It seems pretty fast for me and gives the arms a brief respite. I know for a fact that there are those who hook their arm around the pole to execute a lightning-fast turnaround. It doesn't seem to be very kosher but I am not completely sure it is against the rules (303.8: "Swimmers shall be disqualified if they receive assistance by pulling on the cable or buoys at the turn or on the course."). I have even heard of swimmers pushing off the pole, though that one I haven't seen personally. But by far the most important thing is to have the inside track. If you are caught behind someone slow and can't pass before the buoy, just relax and do a few breaststroke cycles until you are through the turn, and then pass. Trying to pass during the turn is not energy-efficient unless maybe the person is REALLY slow. It isn't hard to swim next to the cable, but every year there are still people who manage to veer way off course. The bigger problem is navigating through people as you lap them, starting at about the halfway point. You'll still need to pick up your head to steer through the wreckage. As far as comparing to a "regular" (non-cable) OW swim, it may be a little faster, but even with the cable you'll still end up swimming more than 2 miles. It is hard to say; as with all OW swims, it isn't so much about absolute time, it is about relative time (to previous swims, to competitors' swims). You can compare your time well to other cable swims, that's about as far as I would go. Oh, and watch out for the likes of people like Jeff Roddin. He likes to sprint out in front of his wave and then come to a screeching halt, eliciting much cussing from others (Jill Gellatly). I hesitate to name names.

Me. I'll be there. As for advice I'm all ears as I'm a total newbie and have none to offer, sorry.

1. draft 2. pass on the outside 3. don't get stuck on the outside at the 180 degree turns

Watch the video from SwimFest '10: www.youtube.com/.../USMastersSwimming, then select it from the list. Toward the end there is a segment on the open water clinic. It looks like part of it was done in the pool, with instruction given on turning at the buoys (they had several buoys in the pool). There are some shots of swimmers turning around one of the buoys.

Thanks Chris and Anna Lea. An added wrinkle to my personal race. Yesterday, I went out to Kennywood, the big amusement park here in Pittsburgh, and in a freak roller coaster accident on the Thunderbolt, cracked my rib pretty good on the side of the coaster car. Which will add another dimension to the Maytag effect: pain and breathlessness. Maybe I shall just chalk this race up to a "learning experience." As in learning how to swim under the influence of Oxycontin.

Oh, and watch out for the likes of people like Jeff Roddin. He likes to sprint out in front of his wave and then come to a screeching halt, eliciting much cussing from others (Jill Gellatly). I hesitate to name names. I was trying the velodrome strategy... But sadly it was unintentional! :cane:

Oh, and watch out for the likes of people like Jeff Roddin. He likes to sprint out in front of his wave and then come to a screeching halt, eliciting much cussing from others (Jill Gellatly). I hesitate to name names. Jill and I were seeded on either side of Jeff that year. He somehow managed to cut us both off. Nice guy. And Jeff and I had only been dating for a few weeks at that point so I didn't throw an elbow his way... Fortunately he put down a much faster seed time than me for this years event so he won't be my problem this weekend!

Let me amend Chaos's first recommendation of ... 1. draft ... ... to a possibly illegal form of drafting known as "grab Chris Stevenson's ankle and hold on for dear life." Right about 10 meters from the end, pull Chris back (make sure no one's watching) and sprint in for the win. YMMV and FYI: I haven't swum in this lake since I was like 10 or 11, but I think you can use the turbidity that Chris mentions to your advantage and execute this strategy without any of the race officials noticing. Check your morals / ethics / values at the check-in desk and get that gold.:cheerleader: