raves and rants, your favorite, least favorite or most interesting ow swim from 07
Former Member
Lets gather together around clutching our favorite warm drinks and discuss our recent swims! As the ow season in the USA draws towards its close some of us are already thinking about what we want to try next year, give us some suggestions! I'll lead off,
Best swim by far was 8.2 mile Pennock Island in Alaska, the water was cooler than Tahoe but the people warmer, the whole town seemed glad to see us, there was a continuous swell of camaraderie and support out welling for locals, officials and fellow competitors from start to finish and the fantastic banquet afterwards. The water and air are fantastically clear and the wildlife an added adventure. Well worth the price and it’s a fundraiser, you may even meet the people who benefit from it.
the worst swim I've ever done is the 11.5 mile (we measured it at 10 miles)trans Tahoe this year, the area seems to be all about money and many of the folks seemed downright hostile towards the swimmers, the race itself had too many chaotic churning powerboats piloted by amateurs (the fact that i was run over by 1 and my kayaker narrowly avoided a second doesn’t help my outlook). This swim was about and for the Olympic club if you're not a member..I'd skip it. In addition to the pricy entrance fee you should know you’ll need to find & pilot your own boat (which makes the power boat renters chortle) and it will cost upwards of $600 plus fuel.
Okay so what sticks in your mind, what do you reccomend for try in 2008? Short, long, warm or cool.
Parents
Former Member
I think the Kirkland Triathlon would qualify for both "most interesting" and "least favorite" categories this year. The swim was in Lake Washington, where I have swum many times before. Never so late in the season though. There were a lot of choppy waves rolling into shore, which I didn't really notice or fully appreciate until I was in the water heading out to the first buoy. I had done lots of open water swimming this year in the ocean, so I was used to waves and chop. However, something about these particular waves made them hard to time - probably because they were unevenly spaced and I was swimming into them head on. The end result was that I swallowed and inhaled a lot of water. I had a couple of moments when I almost had to stop in order to clear out my lungs. I was truly hating the swim, hating swimming in general, and wondering why I do these types of races. Then, just as I was nearing the first buoy I looked around me and noticed that 1) everyone else was struggling and choking too, and 2) most of the people in my wave were behind me. I was further encouraged by the fact that after I made the turn, the waves were no longer impeding my progress and I could swim smoothly. So, I shifted gears and hammered the rest of the swim. It ended up being my most accurately sighted swim of the year, and I beat my goal time.
The rest of the race was marred by other issues, namely my chain popping off twice while ascending two of the large hills on the bike course. Overall though, nothing as bad as the first few minutes of the swim course. Ironically, the swim is usually my favorite part of a triathlon.
As it turned out, I wasn't quite through with Lake Washington. Two days after the race, I came down with a nasty case of cryptosporidium. Fever, chills, body aches, and the worst diarrhea I have ever had. If I hadn't guzzled Gatorade and water all day long, I think I would have been hospitalized from dehydration. Then it recurred a week later! I finally got rid of it by taking huge doses of goldenseal for 4 days.
I checked the water quality reports on the web and sure enough, the beaches north and south of the race location were closed that day for contamination. What's more, the water monitors showed a huge spike in fecal coliform levels right around September (which was when the race occurred). Bad timing for a triathlon. It appears that we were swimming in diluted sewage. I wonder how many other times I have been exposed to similar levels, without feeling any ill effects. My guess is that the rough conditions which caused me to swallow more water than usual are the reason I got sick this time. Nevertheless, I have decided to boycott Lake Washington next year. There are plenty of other places to swim nearby that are not so close to large urban centers.
I think the Kirkland Triathlon would qualify for both "most interesting" and "least favorite" categories this year. The swim was in Lake Washington, where I have swum many times before. Never so late in the season though. There were a lot of choppy waves rolling into shore, which I didn't really notice or fully appreciate until I was in the water heading out to the first buoy. I had done lots of open water swimming this year in the ocean, so I was used to waves and chop. However, something about these particular waves made them hard to time - probably because they were unevenly spaced and I was swimming into them head on. The end result was that I swallowed and inhaled a lot of water. I had a couple of moments when I almost had to stop in order to clear out my lungs. I was truly hating the swim, hating swimming in general, and wondering why I do these types of races. Then, just as I was nearing the first buoy I looked around me and noticed that 1) everyone else was struggling and choking too, and 2) most of the people in my wave were behind me. I was further encouraged by the fact that after I made the turn, the waves were no longer impeding my progress and I could swim smoothly. So, I shifted gears and hammered the rest of the swim. It ended up being my most accurately sighted swim of the year, and I beat my goal time.
The rest of the race was marred by other issues, namely my chain popping off twice while ascending two of the large hills on the bike course. Overall though, nothing as bad as the first few minutes of the swim course. Ironically, the swim is usually my favorite part of a triathlon.
As it turned out, I wasn't quite through with Lake Washington. Two days after the race, I came down with a nasty case of cryptosporidium. Fever, chills, body aches, and the worst diarrhea I have ever had. If I hadn't guzzled Gatorade and water all day long, I think I would have been hospitalized from dehydration. Then it recurred a week later! I finally got rid of it by taking huge doses of goldenseal for 4 days.
I checked the water quality reports on the web and sure enough, the beaches north and south of the race location were closed that day for contamination. What's more, the water monitors showed a huge spike in fecal coliform levels right around September (which was when the race occurred). Bad timing for a triathlon. It appears that we were swimming in diluted sewage. I wonder how many other times I have been exposed to similar levels, without feeling any ill effects. My guess is that the rough conditions which caused me to swallow more water than usual are the reason I got sick this time. Nevertheless, I have decided to boycott Lake Washington next year. There are plenty of other places to swim nearby that are not so close to large urban centers.
