Great Chesapeake Bay Swim 2008

I have never done the Bay. My training partner has kicked her yardage up to 14-15K/week with long 4400-4800 sets. Because of time, I'm in the 12K/week range. I have to say that the long sets are giving me lots of confidence... With so little time left, should I ramp up the yardage? The gal that is swimming 20-25K/week is putting in some sick yardage...thats like 12 hours a week of swimming (including changing, driving, showering, etc).

"A cry for help" is indeed what my first entry was and since then I've done a little research into over-training. I seem to always get way tired a few weeks before the event I'm training for. Often I get sick. Seems that my body can't keep up with my workouts. (Like "my eyes are bigger than my stomach" syndrome) I found something on "About.com: Sports Medicine" I thought I'd share. It's about monitoring your heart rate so as to avoid falling into the hole of overtraining, (which I'm not completely out of yet). "...Another way to test recover is to use something called the orthostatic heart rate test, developed by Heikki Rusko while working with cross country skiers. To obtain this measurement: Lay down and rest comfortably for 10 minutes the same time each day (morning is best). At the end of 10 minutes, record your heart rate in beats per minute. Then stand up After 15 seconds, take a second heart rate in beats per minute. After 90 seconds, take a third heart rate in beats per minute. After 120 seconds, take a fourth heart rate in beats per minute. Well rested athletes will show a consistent heart rate between measurements, but Rusko found a marked increase (10 beats/minutes or more) in the 120 second-post-standing measurement of athletes on the verge of overtraining. Such a change may indicate that you have not recovered from a previous workout, are fatigued, or otherwise stressed and it may be helpful to reduce training or rest another day before performing another workout." If this in fact works, (I've done it for 2 days now and my pulse is 11 beats higher at the finish) then it is a great tool for those of us who don't know when to stay when. By the way Animal, I like that workout you sent and will use it ...as soon as I can!

Lori, No disrespect intended. By "sick" I mean "wow!". I WISH I had the time to do that much yardarge. 15K a week is not enough for me. If I could get in the water more I would, but with 3 kids under 7 years of age and everything, else, I can't. :wiggle:

Lori, No disrespect intended. By "sick" I mean "wow!". I WISH I had the time to do that much yardarge. 15K a week is not enough for me. If I could get in the water more I would, but with 3 kids under 7 years of age and everything, else, I can't. :wiggle:

Any thoughts on wearing a rash guard? This is my first OW swim event (only doing the 1 mile) and I do not want to invest in a wetsuit, but a long sleeved rash guard is in my budget; any one have any experience with wearing one in this race?

Any thoughts on wearing a rash guard? This is my first OW swim event (only doing the 1 mile) and I do not want to invest in a wetsuit, but a long sleeved rash guard is in my budget; any one have any experience with wearing one in this race? Are you wearing it for sun protection or "hickey" protection? A little vaseline or body glide on the neck, armpits, anywhere friction might happen, will protect you adequately from friction burns, especially if it's only one mile. Otherwise, it won't keep you warm and will just create extra drag in the water.

Was going to wear it for warmth.....the one I see says it protects from chill. A friend of mine swam last year, wore a wet suit but said she was too warm in it and suggested a rash guard. If water is over 65 I probably will just swim in bathing suit only, as I find that cold water ceases to be 'cold' after like 2 minutes of swimming. I have done the race several times. I prefer to swim without my wetsuit unless the water is under 60 degrees. You will be fine in just a suit. See you there! :cheerleader:

Was going to wear it for warmth.....the one I see says it protects from chill. A friend of mine swam last year, wore a wet suit but said she was too warm in it and suggested a rash guard. If water is over 65 I probably will just swim in bathing suit only, as I find that cold water ceases to be 'cold' after like 2 minutes of swimming.

The 1 mile at the Bay swim is in pretty shallow water also and the temp is (if memory serves) warmer than for the longer race. Don't bother with the wetsuit. -LBJ

Last Fall, think it was Oct, went to BaySwim.com & found out the swim registration had ALREADY closed out. Were they kidding? 8+ months before the event goes off? Apparently not! Did the swim in '03 & there was the New Years rush to enter, which was bizarre & silly but doable. Now the organizers in their fascist zenith have made it even more difficult & exclusionary to participate in this point to point by pushing the date further out. I say baloney to these guys! Open water events are supposed to be inclusive not exclusive. Did contact them to make sure & they wrote back that the 1 mile was still open & I was free to enter that. Gee, y'all are to kind, think I'll pass on your swim & your inflated egos though. Let's see the registration for the swim for 2009 should be up on Lin-Mark.com any minute now, better hurry & do the signup!!!