Alcatraz!

It has been about 4 months since I began to seriously train for my Alcatraz swim on June 10. I joined a Masters Swim program, and swim 3 times a week,..6am till 7:30. My coach, Alicia Ianni, has been such a help to me,..picking apart my stroke, telling me my weaknesses, and pushing me to an extreme that I thought I could not accomplish. I swam a non-stop 1000 yards in 16 min. 30 seconds. Last week I did a 29 min. 15 second mile,...after a 800 yard warm-up and a series of drills. This past Sunday I did a solo swim around the Oceanside California Pier,..its about a mile trip. The seas were choppy,....I could not navigate at all,..it was terrible,..I came close to panicking,...but forced myself to relax and continue. I made the swim in 32 minutes, but some of that swim involved the breaststroke because I could not see where I was going while doing the crawl. I would take ten strokes and look up, and would find myself off course. Are there tricks to navigating???:confused: The wide ocean is a harsh mistress,...but I love her.

Thanks Dave I`ll practice swimming with my eyes closed, and impliment your other tips Ron

Are there tricks to navigating???:confused: I wouldn't use the term tricks, but....yes there are skills involved in navigating that can be practiced. I will describe some that help me. 1.Teach yourself to swim straight! When you have the opportunity to swim pool lengths with your eyes closed, try it. 50m better than 25 for this. 2. Learn to take "peeks" without disrupting your stroke. Your goal here should be to gain a visual point of refrence without resorting to *** stroke. Try to keep your face (below your goggles) in the water as you peek forward. Continue to breathe on the side as usual. 2 or 3 peeks may be necessary to spot your point of refrence, but this is better than breaking stroke. 3. Use all available aids. I will use other swimmers in a cooperative way. If you are swimming next to someone and noticed that they just took a sighting, no need for you to do the same (if they are smart, they will do the same, thus reducing by 50% the sighting work each of you must do) Underwater visual aids are helpful (when visability permits). If I know that I am heading in the right direction, I will look for a feature ahead that I can aim for, once reached, check direction...identify another feature etc. Hope this helps.

Hi Everyone, There are three of us from Northern British Columbia registered for Sharkfest June10/07. You should have no worry about sharks because just as people like dining on different foods I'm sure sharks like a change and a middle age guy(me) who smells like bacon and beer should be a quick and easy snack for any predator! Not that I expect a wet suit to prove any protection but has anyone had experience with the two piece De Soto wetsuit? Thanks Brian

Ron: If you send your email address to me at SFBaySwimmer@sbcglobal.net I'd be glad to send you a draft copy of an upcoming article on sighting I've written for the May edition of Inside Triathlon Magazine. (The offer is good for anyone else out there that's interested as well.) See you in the water!

Gary Thanks amigo!:bow: Ron Lockman

Paddler I`ll be looking for you and your friends. How will I recognize you??? The beer/bacon scent and pale skin?

Hi Ron it would be great to meet you, look for three guys trying to swim carrying a sack of beer under their arm. One arm freestyle is more difficult than it looks :^) Seriously, we are very pumped about going to San Francisco for this event. We can't try open water till the lakes thaw, but when they do the consolation will be that the water we train in will be colder than at the event. It won't be that cold that our beer will freeze though. Brian

Brian I`ll be looking for you folks. You will be able to recognize me. It doesn`t say "speedo" on my swim cap,..it says "pokey" ,...and I`ll be swimming like I`m dragging two kegs of Molsen as well as a piano. Seriously,..on the 24th of this month, I`ll be in San Francisco taking a clinic on the swim,...we are supposed to go out to Alcatraz and will have an opportunity to get in the water and become "familiar" with the event. I`ll keep you posted. Ron

It`s been 6 months of training,...my hair is bleached from the pool,...I have lost 10 lbs, ( down to 179 ) and can CRUISE ,..not fast , but comfortably maintain a rate of speed that doesn`t leave me winded after a mile and a half,...... 45 minutes ( in a 25 yard pool ). I hate turnng around,..and am unable to master the flip-turn :^( . I swam around the Oceanside Pier in 23 minutes, wearing a wetsuit ( HOLY COW,..talk about floating), and truely love the Ocean. The swells and the breakers and the sneakers,..those waves that blindside you ,... make things interesting,..and I am learning to navigate. I swam thru a school of bait fish ,....it was absolutely exhilerating,..they were like a cloud of ...numbers, darting in concert. Next month,...Alcatraz!!!