Great Chesapeake Bay Swim 2008

I was lucky enough to get in! I'm a first timer and am looking for some training suggestions. I get out in the open water 2-3 time/week when the temp warms to above 65F, here near my home in Hampton. Also, I've never used a wetsuit. I swam Donner Lake in CA last Aug and the water temp was 66F. I didn't have any trouble with the temp and was in the water for 1hr 34 min. What do the experienced Bay Swimmers have to say about using a wetsuit?

I was lucky enough to get in! I'm a first timer and am looking for some training suggestions. I get out in the open water 2-3 time/week when the temp warms to above 65F, here near my home in Hampton. Also, I've never used a wetsuit. I swam Donner Lake in CA last Aug and the water temp was 66F. I didn't have any trouble with the temp and was in the water for 1hr 34 min. What do the experienced Bay Swimmers have to say about using a wetsuit? i've done the bay swim twice, 2005, 2007. 90% of the field will be rubberized though both years i've swum it, the h2o temp was in the mid 70's. I WILL NOT WEAR A WETSUIT period. i believe the naked field would be much larger if the race directors had seperate catagories for non-wetsuited swimmers. i think they had a couple of bad years when a large portion of the field had to be pulled, so now they are afraid of promoting anything that might decrease a swimmers speed, buoyancy, comfort etc. go naked!!

i've done the bay swim twice, 2005, 2007. 90% of the field will be rubberized though both years i've swum it, the h2o temp was in the mid 70's. I WILL NOT WEAR A WETSUIT period. i believe the naked field would be much larger if the race directors had seperate catagories for non-wetsuited swimmers. i think they had a couple of bad years when a large portion of the field had to be pulled, so now they are afraid of promoting anything that might decrease a swimmers speed, buoyancy, comfort etc. go naked!! :blush: There's a naked category??? Well, that takes care of the dreaded "strap hickey" problem. :lmao:

I've done that race 2X. Last time was 1996. I think I trained for it by swimming the way I like to (lots of 100s and 200s) until two months prior, and then switching to some variation of 10X500 every day for two months. It works. 15x500 would be better, but who has time for that?

Treebox makes some great suggestions about swimming IMs. I think the worst thing for someone to do is train all freestyle. Not only is it monotonous, but the massive amounts of repetitive motions do not do well on shoulders. Think of swimming fly as having done twice the workout in half as much yardage. As for seeing straight, the 4.4 mile swim is one of the country's easiest open water swims... its one lap, and you have two huge lane ropes (the north span and south span) to swim in between. You start on one side of a body of water and finish on the other side. For all those hearing about this swim for the first time, this event is like a popular Triathlon - entry is months in advance, there is a process behind it, and for 2008, the event is closed. They do, however, run a 1 mile version that is a good event to help you qualify for the 4.4 miler and also help familiarize you with the bay and OW events. Wetsuits do help with bouyancy and body position, but the bay has been in the 70s the last several years. As David mentions, most people, including myself, wear the wetsuit, but I may leave mine behind and swim "naked" with David in '08 (may take some of last year's Tequila to make that happen, but still!). It is certainly doable. There are always several top 10 finishers overall (male and female) who go sans-rubber.

Since you haven't done anything close to the distance yet, I suggest getting a 7,000M or 7,700 yard swim done as soon as you can. Mentally you'll have that out of the way and can go about the business of training. As for training sets get your set swim times up over 30 minutes. That's 30 minutes of swimming without having your heart rate drop to recovery levels. Not more than 30 seconds rest or so. Mostly you can just crack any swim training book and have a look-see and you'll be on course. The training for a 1500 swimmer isn't so different than what you would do for the Bay Swim. I did a 3miler in the hudson (probably more like 4 with my detours haha). I did two things in prep. I swam mostly LCM 500's. With a little rest to get breath back. I strung 500's together to do the yardage I'd be swimming about 1 time before the race. The other thing I did was a continuous swim without setting a goal...I did 500 and said ok just keep going...I did 2000 nice and easy...I tend to find my rhythm and comfort about 500 into a swim...so toughing out the start is the hardest for me.

I did a 3miler in the hudson (probably more like 4 with my detours haha). I did two things in prep. I swam mostly LCM 500's. With a little rest to get breath back. I strung 500's together to do the yardage I'd be swimming about 1 time before the race. The other thing I did was a continuous swim without setting a goal...I did 500 and said ok just keep going...I did 2000 nice and easy...I tend to find my rhythm and comfort about 500 into a swim...so toughing out the start is the hardest for me. This is exactly my issue too. After about 500 my shoulders and lungs settle in. Sometimes during open water starts I get so amped up that I have to breastroke for 30 seconds just to get my wind back from the start. I go out way too fast. I also love the idea of both doing IMs in prep and 10X500s--great idea.

Thanks - That all sounds like very sound advice and I'll plan to do just what you recommended - incorporating the faster work on the "off" days. Powering through/across the currents is something I hadn't considered.

You'll do great, especially because it sounds like you've got a lot of open water experience. The race director of the Bay always give a detailed explanation of how the currents are running during the race day meeting, which is helpful for some last minute strategizing. Definitely pay attention to his instructions/advice. And finally, try to avoid getting too close to the bridge supports, especially around the shipping channel. The currents there are strong and create weird eddys that can suck you in; and before you know it you can be right up against a big concrete pylon - yikes! (Does it sound like I'm describing my first Bay experience? Yeah, it might.)

I'd continue to do a mix of interval and slow, long-distance sets if I were you. The slow and long sets are the core of your training because they're going to provide you with the endurance to keep going in the last mile and a half, but I feel really strongly that you need to incorporate some faster work in there too, either on your "off" days or incorporated into your long-distance sets. Not sprinting - doing 100 repeats full-out is not what I'm talking about - but strong swims at a slightly higher pace than what you plan on swimming during the Bay. The biggest challenge in the Bay is dealing with the currents, which are different every year. They're especially challenging in the shipping channel smack in the middle of the Bay. It's easy to get "stuck" in a current, making little forward progress. This is where your speed training is going to come in handy, as the only way to save yourself is to pick up the pace and muscle your way through. If you've incorporated some faster-pace work into your training, you'll have the strength to make it through the rough spots but still have the endurance to finish the race (and trust me, that last mile and a half seems to go on for. ev. er.). So, create sets of 1000s that build by 200; or do long, slow distance sets, but go strong on the last 25 of every 100; etc.