open wter noob

It took me 2 hours 55 minutes to do 5 miles,....I`m beat,..had no appetite when I got out,..a bit shakey,..like I had a zillion cups of coffee even tho I had no coffee today. I drank 8 oz. of pedalite every 45 minutes,.did not consume gel-packs of any food,..that might have been a mistake as I was running on empty when I finished. I`m not sore,..no shoulder pain,..a bit of lower back pain, BUT my mouth is raw,..saltwater I guess. The last mile was not fun,..not at all,..which tells me that I have work to do.

It took me 2 hours 55 minutes to do 5 miles,....I`m beat,..had no appetite when I got out,..a bit shakey,..like I had a zillion cups of coffee even tho I had no coffee today. I drank 8 oz. of pedalite every 45 minutes,.did not consume gel-packs of any food,..that might have been a mistake as I was running on empty when I finished. I`m not sore,..no shoulder pain,..a bit of lower back pain, BUT my mouth is raw,..saltwater I guess. The last mile was not fun,..not at all,..which tells me that I have work to do. Hey, you finished! Great job! Three hours of swimming is a lot--especially for your first time. You should be proud of yourself. Hope I can join you next year. The woman who won the woman's competition is a fellow teammate from my childhood. She invites me to her workouts which are at 5:30 a.m., Wednesdays are distance days--5,000 yds. BTDT, no need to repeat, thank you. Hope to meet you at the Cove eventually. I've gone twice in the afternoon to work with the extra swells for the Gatorman...not doing well. I definitely prefer mornings.

hey everyone! thank you so much for sharing your stories with me. i really appreciate you responding. knowing i'm not alone in that i just want to get out there and do it makes me that much more confident in doing it. :D swimming in open water seems so much more appealing than in a pool (flip turns get old after a while) so i can't wait to get out there and do it! thanks for the tips about triathlon and swimming groups. i'm looking to move to seattle or chicago, so it was great seeing places for swimming mentioned there. plus having friends interested in the same thing would be great. thanks again for sharing with me! i hope to hear more from you, and good luck with your swims! maybe i will see you out there! ---------------- Now playing: MSTRKRFT - Thank Me With Your Hands (Panthers Remix) via FoxyTunes

"It took me 2 hours 55 minutes to do 5 miles,....I`m beat,..had no appetite when I got out,..a bit shakey,..like I had a zillion cups of coffee even tho I had no coffee today. I drank 8 oz. of pedalite every 45 minutes,.did not consume gel-packs of any food,..that might have been a mistake as I was running on empty when I finished. I`m not sore,..no shoulder pain,..a bit of lower back pain, BUT my mouth is raw,..saltwater I guess. The last mile was not fun,..not at all,..which tells me that I have work to do" Congrats Ron...I wanted to meet you but I had a grumpy non-swimming teenager in tow. I have been wating for the overload of salt water in the mouth feeling but not yet....my longest time in the water is 90 min...so far. I HAVE to get faster...is it just matter of time...i am already doing quality (for me) speed and working on my technique, but I am hitting a ceiling at 2min/100 yards...cannot do the gater man...will never make the cutoff...at least not this year!

Eric You don`t have to get faster,..you have to build endurance. My goal is to be able to swim 10 miles without stopping,..I don`t care if it takes 7 hours. Altho, I would like to be able to maintain 35 minute miles for that distance. One more thing,..I got a bad headache after 90 minutes from my swim cap,..accross my forehead,,,I pulled it way up and that helped,..next long swim I wont wear one,.. also I may have slightly overheated in the 70 degree water.

I HAVE to get faster...is it just matter of time...i am already doing quality (for me) speed and working on my technique, but I am hitting a ceiling at 2min/100 yards...cannot do the gater man...will never make the cutoff...at least not this year! Hi Eric, I will be doing the Gatorman, but honestly my goal is to finish, not to make the cutoff. I've had to overcome a lot in the last 2 years, so for me just finishing will be a HUGE representation of how far I've come. There is a good chance I can make the cutoff, but it will depend on some unavoidable factors, so I'm just taking it one stroke at a time. I'm not saying this to encourage you to do something you're not ready for...just bringing in another perspective. What about the 1-mile event?

I've already entered the one mile but would have entered the gatorman if I thought i could make the cutoff. I am a newbie, so I am still jazzedby finsishes and t-shirts and whatnot. I was an ultrarunner in my past life...2hrs does not phase me at all, though i must say my shoulders are heavy today...more spped and more endurance...

I will be at the La Jolla Rough Water Swim. I will be doing both the 1 Mile and the 3 Mile swims. I did then last year and it was a blast. If you see a 46 year old male with gold and black polka-dotted jammers that is me. Hope to see all of you at the Swim. Animal

What do you have to do to qualify for the Gatorman 3 mile swim?

There is a time limit of swimming it. I believe you need to swim the 3 miles in 2 hours. But, I am not aware of a time standard to meet to swim it. Goto www.ljrws.com/site3.aspx for more information. Animal