Hi all,
Don't worry, I'm not asking if it's too late to try it this year. (It is, except for people doing the relay.) I'm a tad crazy but not that crazy! :)
Even next year is unlikely because based on what I've read, I think it would be wiser to get more comfortable with longer distance swims--and so next year, I'm thinking of doing the Great South Bay Swim for the second time (5+ miles), plus maybe some 2-4 mile swims, so distance in open water isn't a novelty but something I'm accustomed to.
The Boston Light Swim looks very intriguing historically and as a swimming challenge. It's definitely too much swim for me just now but I am wondering if it's something that I can reasonably hope to work my way up to. My only ambtion in this as it was in the Great South Bay swim is to beat the cut-off time. I did the 5.25 mile distance in 3:25, but I'd want to improve my speed/strength since the BLL from what I understand has some tricky currents and a person needs to be ready for them. The GSB swim had a tide assist to start off--and some pretty intense chop in the last couple miles. I thus learned that I can keep swimming while seasick. It's a useful thing to know. ;) Of course, I might also want to get a better idea of how to prevent seasickness....
So, first off what kind of experience did you have before you began training for the BL swim and how did you prepare for it? And do you think it would be realistic for me to consider doing it in, say, two years?
I haven't swum it - it has a high romance quotient, so I'd like to participate in a relay some year - but it strikes me as quite an elite event. Last year, the 100th anniversary of the oldest sanctioned OW swim in U.S., there were 19 entrants, and not all finished:
www.bostonlightswim.org/BLS2008ResultsPressRelease.pdf
I think it is ordinarily a miserably tough course.
Pretty much what I heard... so it's definitely not something to jump into lightly. I take some comfort in the fact that the times of the later finishers were over 4:30, so while the hot shots are battling it out in the front, it's not 3 hours or bust. In good conditions, it seems doable, but conditions can vary in a huge way.
Former Member
I did it in 2004 (and got 2nd place). It is doable, but it is challenging. The water is cold - typically in the high 50's to low 60's. The current is with you most of the way, but there is a point where it is pushing you sideways and is a bit tough. The area around the bridge can be ROUGH - I remember watching my boat and thinking that they were going to drown. It's listed as 10 miles, but I think it's more like 8.5. It can be very difficult to get an escort boat and not cheap.
OK - the good news is that it's an amazingly fun race on a superb course and is a must-do if you feel you are able. Everyone involved with the race is really nice. They had a nice dinner the night before and hot showers at the end.
I would suggest that in order to finish you must work on strength/raw endurance (i.e. some long, paced swims) and you must be able to withstand the cold for a long time. Again, it is doable, but it's not a "one mile with the current at the beach" type swim. You may also want to check the tide table for this year's race- I seem to remember that it was timed in such a way that if you didn't finish in X time (can't remember the number), you wouldn't be able to finish because the tide would turn against you. That would give you an idea of the kind of effort you would need.
Concerning seasickness, two words: Ginger capsules. I suffer from at and haven't had this once while using ginger capsules.
Hope that helps a bit. Feel free to PM me if I can help in any way.
-LBJ
Former Member
I swam it last year (2nd female, 5th overall). We had great conditions & I felt it wasn't too bad. I also had a great boat pilot that really checked out the course/currents ahead of time. It was cool temp (low 60's) but not as much wavw action as I felt in the Great Chesapeake swim (2004). I have also done Trans -Tahoe relay, and do a 5k at Elk Lake yearly, or almost. I trained at least 25,000 yds/ week for about 5 months prior to the swim.
A different group of people have taken over running the swim with renewed enthusiasim so it should be a great swim!
JDY and Leonard,
Thanks for your comments/feedback--and congrats on such great places! I know I'm hearing from experts!
When I did the 5.25 mile swim, I did the distance in training--in a pool. Do you recommend that in training for BLL?
I'm thinking more the swim distance, that is, not necessarily the venue--if I had open water nearby I'd have done more training swims there... which is why I want to hold this swim off for a couple years... I need to get more open water races, especially longer ones, next summer so I have a degree of confidence.
I actually translated my running experience to water when I trained for the other swim: shorter, faster paced swims during the week, longer ones on the weekends when I had more pool time (similarly when I trained for marathons, I'd do shorter runs, then increase the long run distance on weekends).
Leonard, thanks for the suggestion about ginger capsules! I sometimes mix ginger extract in water for its supposed anti-inflammatory effect. (The jury is still out on that one....)
How do you use the ginger capsules. Based on your recommendation on this board I got some for the Tampa Bay Marathon a few years back. I got seasick then and am wondering how many you take, when etc.
Perhaps there was nothing that would have helped that day, or perhaps I would have been much worse without it.
Former Member
I don't think it's strictly necessary to do a full 8 miles in the pool in order to finish. Of course, it wouldn't hurt. I do think that you might want to get to the point where you can do about 1/2 the distance (or so) on a regular basis and 3/4 of the distance once in a while. I would also suggest the following type of workout: Swim for a given time and then every so often, go hard for a distance and then go right back to pace. Example: If you are swimming for an hour, "sprint" a hard 50 on every 5 minute mark, or some variation of that. Start small and work your way up in terms of total time, frequency of hard effort and distance of hard effort. Be sure your techniques is as efficient as you can get it. I'm not going to get into the religious war of technique, but at least check out Total Immersion and Swim Smooth.
-LBJ
Former Member
How do you use the ginger capsules. .
Those weren't suppositories?
Gliding on Glass--
I won't try to add to Leonard's very knowledgeable advice. He's one of my distance swimming role models!
Just want to wish you success in your swim and I'm impressed you're averaging 25 min. miles!
One thing I can confirm from Leonard, as someone who grew up learning to swim in salt water. When I was a kid, my family belonged to a pool and I'd swim there a lot--then late in summer we'd spend vacation on Fire Island (salt water/bay/ocean), and I'd notice every year how much easier swimming felt in salt water, due to increased bouyancy.
Former Member
How do you use the ginger capsules. Based on your recommendation on this board I got some for the Tampa Bay Marathon a few years back. I got seasick then and am wondering how many you take, when etc.
Perhaps there was nothing that would have helped that day, or perhaps I would have been much worse without it.
My routine, for what it's worth: I take 2 capsules right before I go to bed on the night before the race and then I take 3 capsules about 45 minutes or so before the race. In a really long race, I might take another capsule after 4 hours, mixed with my drink - YUCK.
-LBJ
