Great Chesapeake Bay Swim 2008

I was one of the 80% - very memorable! I spent about 3 hrs headed north in an "endless pool". My hats off to any 91-92 finisher.

On the morning of June 8 from the beach at Sandy Point State Park, when the horn goes off. Is it worth it? Well, I'll tell you that a little less than 2 hours later.What??? This from a guy who has done the swim for the past 20 or so years (in a row!) I don’t know about Jim, but my most memorable crossing was ’91 when over 80% of the field had to be pulled from the water.:drown: I didn’t swim in ’92 where less than 15% (including Jim) finished. But that must have been a fun one as well.

Scott and Treebox. I just moved to Arlington also - up behind Keybridge Marriot. I'm interested in joining a group to swim in the open water once it warms up in Spring. Gameplan right now is to find someplace in the Rosslyn/Balston area to swim. Maybe Wash/Lee High School? Any advice during your hunt for a place to swim would be most appreciated(SCY pool? - I don't mind taking the subway to Crystal City). Don't hesiate to contact me via e-mail. This year will be my first GCBS and I'm getting pretty stoked.

Salty & Treebox, I've decided to join the club in Chrystal City (23rd and Chrystal Drive). Its about $750/yr with all the fees and even more for 6 months as you pay a premium for month to month. However, It is just so convenient to my work/home. Let me know when you plan to start open water - I'll try join you though am a slow swimmer (~32min miles). Years ago I used to swim across Gunston Cove at Ft Belvoir. That's about 20 minutes south of here. I've been meaning to find out about swimming in local lakes such as Accotink Lake. Does anyone know of a good open water spot in the area? Is it advisable to swim in the Potomac above DC?

Scbe - Tree, Wow, $750 is huge. I'm not sure I'm ready to do that just yet. I'm going to investigate Wash/Lee High School just up the road here. I hear you can get a punch card that is along the $3.50 per swim or you can do a monthly pass. I completely understand the convenience aspect of paying to wedge your workout into your workday. Lucky for me, I'm pretty flexible up until just after the June event...then it will be progressively harder to get my training in due to work. Regarding the open water swimming, I'm game for traveling anywhere in the region (25 mi or so) on weekends, to get the open water workout in. My only reservation is water temp. I'm not a wetsuit guy and really have a tough time when the water is below 58-60F. No worry about speed either. As a former runner, for endurance events (marathons) it was about "time on the road" or "time in the water" that really pays off. For a long slow workout, I'll adjust to the speed of the group...safety in numbers in the open water.

I agree, $750 is steep. I think that the Health and Fitness Club that you are talking about has many locations in the area that you can use as part of the membership though. There is a pool near where I live that has a Masters program for $525 annually which includes 6 workouts a week. I'm considering it because the YMCA I swim at right now is selling their facility to a college and moving to another location without a pool. Obviously a sore subject for the swimmers. As far as work goes, my standard line is: "I hate it when work gets in the way of working out!" GCBS is only 5 months away.

My issue with continuing the GCBS is staying injury free. last 2 years I've had neck issues from the movement repetition. I also get a stiff neck every time I surf. I'm 56 and would like to keep it up. Any suggestions on neck stretches or workouts? One tip I'll share is that I've seen folks get cut feet from walking at the end. Swim it all the way In! If your neck acts up on you again, look into having a later catch. I had problems in that I was trying to make an early catch but didn't have the flexibility to do so. I was using my levator scapulae to roll my whole shoulder forward when I made the catch instead of rotating my humerus inside the socket. My neck went out on me and it took a longtime to determine the cause.

I have a dumb question but gotta ask: Can I wear a watch during the GCBS? I don't use an alarm or pacing device, but kinda like to know how long I've been in the water. I know for pool swims USMS rules don't allow watches. I'd hate to wear one and find out afterwards that the finish wouldn't be official because of a watch. I'm a middle of the pack kinda guy, so hope nobody really cares much about who does/doesn't wear a watch while swimming distance in the open water.

I have a dumb question but gotta ask: Can I wear a watch during the GCBS? I don't use an alarm or pacing device, but kinda like to know how long I've been in the water. The GCBS is not sanctioned by usms, so usms rules don't apply. In fact Liz, last year's women's winner used a swimp3 during the race. Your question however, does point to a larger issue. A question I always have is if the open water rules in the usms rulebook are "in addition to" or "instead of" the rules in the main section. Never gotten a straight answer on that one.

I had a training question I was hoping someone could answer. I had surgery two years ago and have lapsed out of shape ever since. Doing the qualifying swim was a challenge for me, but I got it done. Now I'm working hard to get back to peak shape to complete the swim. Here is what I'm doing now and where I plan to go. Any advice would be appreciated. Weekdays - 3-4/week (depending on work schedule) 2500-3000m/swim, broken up into lots of 100s and 200s, all freestyle Weekends - 1 workout, 3500-4000, broken up into 500s, all freestyle. I plan on ramping up significantly in March, with April and May being very hard-core months of training. Does this sound about right to the others?