I'm new (about 4 months) to organized Masters swimming/training, however I have swam in the open water/ocean a fair bit and love it. I have been in the water my entire life and am more comfortable in it than on land. Finding Masters/open water swim events is my niche. I wish I had learned of this years ago.... however I do have an intensive fitness/nutrition/training discipline background and great genetics for swimming that has helped me excel at this sport even in the short time I have been training.
Here's my plans for this summer to dive into Open Water Swimming:
July - 3k Brights Grove swim in Lake Huron (Ontario)
September - 5k St. Mary's Quarry swim (Ontario)
October - St. Croix 5-mile Coral Reef Swim Race (St. Croix, Caribbean)
These swims are all "no wetsuit" so I am planning on wearing the blueseventy pointzero3 swimskin, FINA legal. Does this sound like realistic goals for a first season beginner? Anyone else doing these events?? The St. Croix race looks ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I do wish this race was in winter though - a better time to plan a trip south... (I am all about warm water.)
This is all new to me so I am open to all tips/hints and discussion with other open water swimmers. I am currently training 4X/week, twice with the local Masters team and twice on my own for about a total of 10 000m/week in a 25m SC pool. I am also interested to try competing in pool swim meets with my Masters team next year.
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sydned,
Thanks for your informative reply! I read your post Friday nite but have not had time to reply until this morning.
Great info. I am looking forward to this swim even more nwo. Congrats on your swim times and placings. 2:23:36 and 3rd overall is awesome. Your encounter with the Portuguese Man O' War not so awesome, but once we enter the ocean we are entering another world and we can be quite low on the food chain. I have been stung by "sea lice" in Florida before, not much fun. I had the incredible oppurtunity to live in FL for 4 months in 2006 and fell in love....I swam in the ocean every single day. (FL is my true home and my heart & soul is there - I would relocate in a heartbeat given the chance. That has been my single wish and dream since I was 21.)
That is extremely cool you saw a shark, and some swimmers have seen dolphins. I hope I can get that lucky when I do the swim. When I go down I will most likely for sure stay at the host hotel and do the pre-swim snorkel/boat tour of the course. (I have read all the info on the site: http://www.swimrace.com)
I am not quite sure how to train for a distance open water event like this but I train with Masters 2X/week and swim 2X/week on my own. (All in a 25m SC pool.) I have my eye on some open water swimming books and plan to do two fairly decent sized well-organized open water swims here this summer, 3k and 5k, so we'll see how they go before attempting an 8k in the ocean. I do feel fairly confident though, especially with 8 months of training. I will do some open water distance training this summer in local lakes as well. (Right now they are frozen over and covered in Ski-Doo's and ice fishing huts - Canadian's are friggin' nuts...I freeze below 70F and don't spend much time outside between November and April.)
I really appreciate the info and I will be referring back to your post for trip tips as we get closer. I hope your Bermuda swim is great (what swim are you doing there??) and you do the St. Croix again in the future.
Thanks again!!
sydned,
Thanks for your informative reply! I read your post Friday nite but have not had time to reply until this morning.
Great info. I am looking forward to this swim even more nwo. Congrats on your swim times and placings. 2:23:36 and 3rd overall is awesome. Your encounter with the Portuguese Man O' War not so awesome, but once we enter the ocean we are entering another world and we can be quite low on the food chain. I have been stung by "sea lice" in Florida before, not much fun. I had the incredible oppurtunity to live in FL for 4 months in 2006 and fell in love....I swam in the ocean every single day. (FL is my true home and my heart & soul is there - I would relocate in a heartbeat given the chance. That has been my single wish and dream since I was 21.)
That is extremely cool you saw a shark, and some swimmers have seen dolphins. I hope I can get that lucky when I do the swim. When I go down I will most likely for sure stay at the host hotel and do the pre-swim snorkel/boat tour of the course. (I have read all the info on the site: http://www.swimrace.com)
I am not quite sure how to train for a distance open water event like this but I train with Masters 2X/week and swim 2X/week on my own. (All in a 25m SC pool.) I have my eye on some open water swimming books and plan to do two fairly decent sized well-organized open water swims here this summer, 3k and 5k, so we'll see how they go before attempting an 8k in the ocean. I do feel fairly confident though, especially with 8 months of training. I will do some open water distance training this summer in local lakes as well. (Right now they are frozen over and covered in Ski-Doo's and ice fishing huts - Canadian's are friggin' nuts...I freeze below 70F and don't spend much time outside between November and April.)
I really appreciate the info and I will be referring back to your post for trip tips as we get closer. I hope your Bermuda swim is great (what swim are you doing there??) and you do the St. Croix again in the future.
Thanks again!!
