Big Shoulders

Meli, I've swam the Big Shoulders 5K three years in a row, now. Fun event. Great venue. And the competition just keeps getting faster and faster, and younger and younger, each year. You will see Div I/II college teams out in force. I'm guessing they are using it as a preseason tune-up. You will also see plenty of typical Masters athletes. They may not be the fastest, but they are determined and they do finish the event. There are even a couple of real psychos who do the whole thing butterfly! Training tips: it is easy to overestimate what it takes to swim the event. Just keep doing what you're doing for the 400/500 or 1500/1650 and you'll be fine. If you are a newbie to open water swimming, you would probably feel more comfortable if you did another open water swim, race or just plain work out swim, before Chicago. It's more to get familiar and feel comfortable than any kind of training mojo. Here's a little secret: for most people, swims of this kind of distance are not an endurance events; they're technique events. You will not be able to push yourself much beyond your aerobic threshold pace for an event that will last 60-90 minutes. Just find your comfortable stroke that feels about as demanding as going for a brisk walk, settle in, and enjoy it. Navigation can be challenging, depending on conditions, but if you stay with a pack, you can free-load off of your fellow swimmers. If you want, you can try to push yourself and race with your fellow swimmers. If you don't feel you are up to that, just go out for a Sunday swim and consider finishing the most important accomplishment. Another little secret: trying to compare swims in open water and determine whether you had a "good" swim or a "bad" swim is a lot trickier than in pool events. Conditions will vary (including whether the course is marked out to the precise distance, or is a little short, or is a little long) and have a more significant effect on your final time than your conditioning or race day performance. Similarly, the turnout will also vary, and it is difficult for you to say that 12th in your age group this year is a better swim than 15th last year. It's not a pool, and you can drive yourself a little nuts if you try to treat it like a pool event. All of which means that open water swimming is much more conducive to a laid back attitude. Just hit up a few veterans for tips, but they will be in the nature of how to make it more comfortable, more fun, etc. The tips will not be the difference between your finishing or not. Now, how about a little local intell on the Ft. Collins 10K in Aug? Im' assuming that people fly into Denver, with much cheaper airfares, and take ground transport to Ft. Collins. Is this the case? Can you hook me up with any of the organizers? I have a ton of questions, but I realize you may or may not be the person to answer them. Thanks & good luck. Hope to see you in Chicago, Matt

Meli, I've swam the Big Shoulders 5K three years in a row, now. Fun event. Great venue. And the competition just keeps getting faster and faster, and younger and younger, each year. You will see Div I/II college teams out in force. I'm guessing they are using it as a preseason tune-up. You will also see plenty of typical Masters athletes. They may not be the fastest, but they are determined and they do finish the event. There are even a couple of real psychos who do the whole thing butterfly! Training tips: it is easy to overestimate what it takes to swim the event. Just keep doing what you're doing for the 400/500 or 1500/1650 and you'll be fine. If you are a newbie to open water swimming, you would probably feel more comfortable if you did another open water swim, race or just plain work out swim, before Chicago. It's more to get familiar and feel comfortable than any kind of training mojo. Here's a little secret: for most people, swims of this kind of distance are not an endurance events; they're technique events. You will not be able to push yourself much beyond your aerobic threshold pace for an event that will last 60-90 minutes. Just find your comfortable stroke that feels about as demanding as going for a brisk walk, settle in, and enjoy it. Navigation can be challenging, depending on conditions, but if you stay with a pack, you can free-load off of your fellow swimmers. If you want, you can try to push yourself and race with your fellow swimmers. If you don't feel you are up to that, just go out for a Sunday swim and consider finishing the most important accomplishment. Another little secret: trying to compare swims in open water and determine whether you had a "good" swim or a "bad" swim is a lot trickier than in pool events. Conditions will vary (including whether the course is marked out to the precise distance, or is a little short, or is a little long) and have a more significant effect on your final time than your conditioning or race day performance. Similarly, the turnout will also vary, and it is difficult for you to say that 12th in your age group this year is a better swim than 15th last year. It's not a pool, and you can drive yourself a little nuts if you try to treat it like a pool event. All of which means that open water swimming is much more conducive to a laid back attitude. Just hit up a few veterans for tips, but they will be in the nature of how to make it more comfortable, more fun, etc. The tips will not be the difference between your finishing or not. Now, how about a little local intell on the Ft. Collins 10K in Aug? Im' assuming that people fly into Denver, with much cheaper airfares, and take ground transport to Ft. Collins. Is this the case? Can you hook me up with any of the organizers? I have a ton of questions, but I realize you may or may not be the person to answer them. Thanks & good luck. Hope to see you in Chicago, Matt