I am hoping to do my first open water swim this summer, its a one mile swim. I was looking at the past results of the event online and I am confused by some of the times. The winning time was 15:30, that is moving pretty good. However there was a 67 year old man who finished it in just over 20 minutes (kudos to him). And 75% of the people who swam it did it under 25 minutes and this includes a lot of 50-60 year olds. Is it possible the course really isnt a mile? Or do I need to ramp up my training?
Parents
Former Member
I would hope these days that at the very least people make use of an inexpensive GPS when laying out a course.
Bob - GPS can still be a little dodgy... setting buoys in a range of water depths, impact of wind, current and flow... the physics of length of line and anchor weight... in addition, you're attempting to set these bouys and establish satellite link from a bobbing cork.
i chased a buoy once in an out-and-back 5-mile swim in Texas... after marking the buoy for a fair distance and swimming toward the buoy, I changed my tack and headed to intercept the buoy. Wind-action on the buoy was dragging the anchor along the bottom.
after completing the swim in approximately 3 hours, I just laughed at the moment... it would be a lot less amusing to have similar circumstances in San Francisco Bay.
I would hope these days that at the very least people make use of an inexpensive GPS when laying out a course.
Bob - GPS can still be a little dodgy... setting buoys in a range of water depths, impact of wind, current and flow... the physics of length of line and anchor weight... in addition, you're attempting to set these bouys and establish satellite link from a bobbing cork.
i chased a buoy once in an out-and-back 5-mile swim in Texas... after marking the buoy for a fair distance and swimming toward the buoy, I changed my tack and headed to intercept the buoy. Wind-action on the buoy was dragging the anchor along the bottom.
after completing the swim in approximately 3 hours, I just laughed at the moment... it would be a lot less amusing to have similar circumstances in San Francisco Bay.
