I was just curious about everyone's "first time". When/where did you take that first plunge into open water??
(I did a search to see if a thread like this had been done and came up empty.)
The swim was with the South End Rowing Club and it was raining with thunder and lightning. It was still wonderful. I have been to SF more times than I can mention. My mom was born, raised and met my dad there and I was born there and visit as often as possible. I have walked and ridden a bike across the bridge when I can fit it into the schedule and, yes it is awsome. My husband and I were there in July for the SF marathon and I spent many a moment studying the distance, thinking about what it would be like. It was all I could hope for.
My first open water swim was the La Jolla Rough Water swim when I was six - they had a 1/4 mile out and back for young kids, and my coach swam next to me to make sure I was ok. I remember being bummed that it wasn't longer. :D
1987 Bradley Beach (NJ) 1-mile ocean swim. I was a 17 year-old HS student. All I remember from that swim was that I kept on swimming into the jetties. It taught me a valuable lesson about swimming in a straight line.:blush:
I think the next swim after that was the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim in 1994 or 1995.
May of this year. I did the 5K Beaufort River Swim (Beaufort, SC)...which is really an intercoastal (salt) with the tide. I forget my exact time but it was well under an hour. I was like 8-10th overall and won my age group. Temp about 90 (air), water about 75.
What I learned....lines! You line is everything. I follow a small pack that took a really bad one! Also BREATHE!!! You get that initial adreniline rush of the start and your HR is up and I forgot to breathe enough...I was pooped after 10 minutes, but eventually calmed it down and got into a rhythm.
That is a good point. BREATHE. On my first swim, the first 5 minutes seemed frantic to me. The sights, the sounds with a cap on, the cooler water, and just knowing what I had just begun. It's exciting, but your right, you need to remember to breath to calm down.
What I learned? Sighting will make you sore in the shoulders if you are not used to it. Breathing to both sides is beneficial in longer swims to reduce soreness and dizziness. Strait line swiming - can't say enough about this.
According to my mother I was about 2 year of age. It seems that the family had gone to the ocean and I just sort walked straight into the water and kept going.
My Grandfather was there and pull me up by my leg. My Mother remembers my Grandfather saying that there was something wrong with this kid. She says they got me swim lessons soon after that. Otherwise I don't remember much of that swim.
Fire Eagle
Mine was Big Shoulders in 2005... I'd been training for a triathlon and ended up injuring my ankle so I couldn't do the race. I didn't want all that training to go to waste so I came to the USMS site to look for a postal. Five years and a lot of open water miles later I'm so glad I have weak ankles.
Ft. Lauderdale Ocean Mile in late December 1987.
Our college team (both men and women) trained at the ISHOF pool in Ft. Lauderdale over Christmas Break. Our coach made all of us swim this event in lieu of a workout in the pool. I was not too keen on the idea but did it anyway both years I was there (Freshman and Junior years).
1987 was not so bad, the tide was out, there was no wind, and the water was quite smooth. Start was a bit chaotic (we started on the beach and ran into the water) and the finish hectic but it went OK. 1989 was BAD...tide was coming in, it was cold (record cold snap in most of FL that year), and you couldn't see past your hand. Got kicked, clawed, sand got into all my openings, and I drank about two gallons of seawater...not a fun experience.
So I swore off open water swimming until last year. Swam the AZ Open Water Series (five events) and did well. Won the series (M 40-44, 2000M, Wetsuit division) and had a good time. Will probably do four events next year (going to Convention during one of the swims) and will do the same distance option.
I prefer swimming in pools but open water is a nice change of pace.
Swam the AZ Open Water Series (five events) and did well. Won the series (M 40-44, 2000M, Wetsuit division) and had a good time. Will probably do four events next year (going to Convention during one of the swims) and will do the same distance option.
Congratulations on your win!
I'm planning on swimming the same event in the series this year.
I joined Masters at the beginning of November 2009 and went out to Tempe Town Lake last year to watch the 5th swim of the series. I remember hearing your name over the loudspeaker when you were swimming past the announcer's booth while heading into your second lap. I figured you wouldn't hear the announcer, but you did because you switched from freestyle to butterfly and it really made me laugh. The announcer got a kick out of it as well.
as an adult... 2.7 mile swim in the Donner Lake Swim, Truckee, CA - I borrowed goggles from the swim organizer...
beautiful venue proximate to Lake Tahoe - I highly recommend the swim as a career swim, i.e. if you swim open waters you'll want to swim this one. I have swam the race three or four times... always check flights to Sacramento, CA - often cheaper than Reno, NV including the car rental.
Go see 'Fearless Chicken' at the Pastime Club!
If you like you can try Amtrak from Sacramento to Truckee, CA...
Hot August Nights in Reno, NV is often scheduled at the same weekend
I saw no cannibals.
It was today!! :) I swam in the first event of the Arizona Open Water Series put on by DCB Adventures.
What can I say! It was totally awesome. I grew up swimming in open water, but this is the first time I actually focused on swimming 2000 meters continuously. It's so much different from swimming workouts in a pool, but in a good way!
I came in 1st in my age group and 7th overall in my division (non-wetsuit) and beat my time goal by 3 minutes! It's always fun to swim an event the first time, 'cause your time is always a personal best!
My Masters swimming buddy decided to swim the event with me and I finished just a couple of minutes ahead of him. We were both so stoked to have done it. There's always a bit of trepidation when attempting to do something new for the first time. I can't wait for the next swim in the series, which takes place on May 29.
