I have done several open water swims (Chesapeake Bay Swim, a 10K in Atlantic City, a local 2-mile lake swim, and a bunch of my own made up events off the short in Ocean City, New Jersey), but I have never swum a cable swim before.
I am wondering if any of you have experience with these and if there are any tricks or strategies that might be helpful to know about.
Since I naturally breathe on my left side, I did sign up for the counterclockwise heat, which should make it easier to watch the cable.
How easy is it to see the cable, btw? How far are the buoys from one another?
Are you allowed to draft? If so, what is the optimum distance to be behind somebody? Are the likely to get pissed off? Is there any etiquette involved here?
If you need to pass somebody, do you go to the outside to do it?
Any suggestions for the "turns"--or I suppose a more accurate term would be "turn arounds" when you get to the end of the cable?
I have heard that a 2-mile open water swim takes longer to swim than a 2-mile cable swim, at least for most people, because there tends to be more wandering around and need for sighting in the former.
About how much difference, time-wise, would an average swimmer see between the two? For instance, I just did a 47 minute 16 second 2-mile OW lake swim. What would that translate to in a 2-mile cable swim, all things being equal?
Thanks for any tips and pointers you can provide.
Anybody else heading to Charlottesville a week from Saturday?
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.
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.
