Hi Everybody!
DianaC and I did the Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim on September 16th. It was a great race. We both completed it. My time was 56:20.1 for 1.5 miles. We had a beautiful day for the swim. The view was great. I highly recommend it. For info about the race and results, check out http://www.envirosports. We met so many great people. Anyone else go to the race?
Swimmy :)
Former Member
Ron,
Go for it. The only way to be an experienced swimmer is to experience swimming. And a 32 minute mile is better than a lot of people, especially because it was an ocean swim. The pool time was probably less because of turns and too may people in a lane. But you are already seeing improvement.
The more you swim, the better you get and the more comfortable you are with your own swimming.
I am sure many people have much advice about how to train for a mile or more ocean swim. I will relate to you my way of getting into conditioning for ocean swims. And I have to tell you here, I am the crazy woman who is going to attempt an 18 miler in August of 2008 and I'll be 60!!!
When I do the one mile ocean swim here every March in the triathlon (I only do the swim, nothing else), I never swim a mile in practice. Swimming a mile trains my body to swim a mile and that's not what I want. And this is mainly because most people will just swim a very slow mile and their bodies will get used to this slow speed.
I do repeat sets. I would suggest you get used to doing say 4x400s and watch the clock with a rest interval that you can tolerate. The idea is to not swim them slow, but to swim them at what will be "race pace", each 400 about the same time. This will build conditioning and endurance. I also do 2 sets of 4x200s with the same principle. Also, 20x50's with 15 seconds rest trying to keep them all close in time. You get the idea. There are all kinds of sets you can come up with.
One thing I will say that I have found to be most important is to do a swim (ocean preferably) and swim 20 strokes ez, 20 fast, until failure, no stops before the failure. In a pool you could do 10 ez, 10 fast because you'll be at the wall. The benefit of this is it is a great stamina drill, it helps you when you need to pass someone in the mile race because you will know you can "change gears" without suffering from it. And, I have used it in ocean races every single time I swim them. And I knew that I could "sprint" to get around a group of people and then resume my "pace."
When the gun goes off at the one mile ocean swim here, I swim 4x400s, not a mile. I usually swim a 23 minute mile.
Happy swimming:groovy:
Donna
Former Member
swimmy
Were you scared? :eek:
How did you train? :help:
Thanks Ron
Ron,
You will love it if you do Alcatraz! Yes, we were a little scared. I did a bunch of other open water swims this year to get ready for this race. The more races you do the more comfortable you get. I also swim with a master's team 2 or 3 times a week, and that has really helped me. I wore a wetsuit, but I think I would have been able to do it without. I am hoping to do it again in a couple years without my wetsuit. The water was 62 degrees.
Good luck.
Happy Laps!
Swimmy
Former Member
Donna
Thanks for your words of encouragement and your advice.
I have a few questions. When you say..." I would suggest you get used to doing say 4x400s and watch the clock with a rest interval that you can tolerate."....are you saying swim 400 yards,...rest and then swim 3 more 400 yard sessions with rest in between every 400? I`m not familiar with the terminology.
Also,...I have a sleeveless wetsuit,...will it be enough for the Alcatraz swim? I have endured 63 degree water for 48 minutes.
Once again thank you sooo much for your words of wisdom, and I wish you well on your 18 miler!!!
Former Member
Hi, Ron!!
Yes, I am saying to swim a 400, take a rest break (if you are starting out, try a 1 minute rest), then swim another one and take another rest. Do what you are capable of doing in the beginning. If it is only 2x400's, so be it. As your conditioning improves, you can add more 400s to get to the 4x400s. No rush. Let your body tell you what you can do. Eventually, the idea is to get your 400 time lowered, and to pile on some 400s swiming them close to the first one. This takes time, don't get discouraged. A mile ocean swim, even though it should be 1760 yards, is either a 1500 meter or a 1650 normally. So getting used to doing some 400s back to back is the ticket.
I know nothing about wetsuits, have never worn them because they restrict my stroke too much.
We'll see about the 18 miles, a press release is coming out shortly so there is no going back (well, of course there always is) but I want to do a particular stretch of water here. Lots of time left to get ready, though!!!
You get just used to doing 200s and some 400s with little rest and time them. Don't get discourged, progress will happen--you just wait and see. We all have to pay the piper!!!
Donna
Hope this doesn't come across as a "commercial" but I've got the record for number of Alcatraz crossings - 432 without wetsuit or fins. If anyone ever has any questions about Alcatraz, please feel free to ask me. I've learned a lot - the hard way - in those crossings and am willing to share those experiences. OK - the "commercial" part is I've written a 40-page booklet on swimming from Alcatraz & I also arrange privately escorted crossings.
Alcatraz is a very, very fun swim and is never the same swim twice - it's always different each time out.
Gary
432 & still counting
SFBaySwimmer@sbcglobal.net
Hi Peggy - thanks for the accolades though there's many more swimmers around here more talented than I am.
Just wanted to let you that excluding my friend El Sharko there actually are 5 species of sharks in the San Francisco Bay (no, the Great White never comes into the bay but stays out in the ocean - too much sediment in the bay). Fortunately, in the 130-odd years people from the Dolphin & South End Rowing Clubs have been swimming in the bay, not a single swimmer has ever seen one of those 5 species much less been bothered by one. They're about as interested in eating people as we would in eating rats or insects.
Unlike the nasty bull sharks you have there in Florida.
Regards,
Gary
Former Member
Just saw this post and Gary is a very famous San Francisco Bay swimmer who holds the record in Alcatraz crossings. There are a couple of swim clubs there and both have probably more members that have swam the English Channel and Santa Catalina channel then any other club around anywhere.
See http://www.dolphinclub.org and http://www.south-end.org for some views of these two groups.
I lived in San Bruno then Concord in the early 60's as a kid saw Alcatraz many times from the bridges would have never thought anyone could swim that far. Some day I am going to get out there and do some swims in the aquatic park. It all looks like a lot of fun swimming in SF bay and I understand no sharks are in the waters other then the famed "El Sharko" and only a crazed sea lion that takes a nip time to time.
Welcome here Gary you have a lot of knowledge to share for sure.
Former Member
Gary. I know that El Sharko and friends swim in Tomales bay. Breeding grounds of the Great White Shark. It looks from pics to be a really wonderfull place to swim..Is there any real danger from these huge sharks in that area? I know that off SF the Islands out there Fallion Islands about 30 miles out do have a large Great White Shark population that comes in the spring to munch sea lions.
Former Member
I've done Alcatraz twice, most recently Gary's SERC invitational swim this year. I can't tell you how many times I've debated with people about how there are absolutely NO sharks to worry about in that swim, but people never seem to understand. Guess the myth of Jaws is much more believable than the truth. :frustrated: