Fueling for/during OWS

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

Former Member — Sat, 14 May 2011 09:36:21 GMT

No wetsuit needed.

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

Former Member — Sat, 14 May 2011 09:34:38 GMT

Dave, no Bay Swim for me this year. All my time and money is going towards the Potomac River swim. Next summer I may try to get up to your 8 bridges swim. I may not be able to swim the entire thing but I would like to swim at least a few of the days. Keep me posted.

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

jgale — Thu, 12 May 2011 08:29:35 GMT

I have done it twice and am going back for a third time this year. I didn't notice the first feed boat last year but saw the second boat at mile 3. I didn't feel like stopping then but I did feel like I was starting to bonk at the end. My friend carried a gel pack in the sleeve of his wetsuit. It was easy to get to and he thought it made a difference at the end. I am going to try it this year.

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

orca1946 — Tue, 10 May 2011 07:00:35 GMT

PLan on taking care of yourself!

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

Kevin in MD — Mon, 09 May 2011 04:18:07 GMT

I use a gel flask filled with gatorade with a few extra calories dissolved in it. I put one at each of my ankles and drink them at three miles. I've been doing it for years. Not sure where I would stash them in a suit. The boats have water and bananas and that is all you can count on. I haven't visited one for 7 years probably. Here's the deal with the support boats, the person will most likely anchor his boat or tie up his boat on the upstream side of the channel. So if the tide is coming from left to right, he is most likely tied up on the left side of the channel. However, you will naturally have been pushed to the right side of the channel. Meaning you need to swim maybe 50 extra yards into the tide to get to the boat. Whether or not you will feel like doing that depends on a lot of things.

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

Former Member — Thu, 05 May 2011 14:40:51 GMT

I have swum the Bay Swim 5 times. The last 4 I carried a gel pack in my suit for a quick re-fuel at the 3 mile mark. (Yes the course has mile markers). I simple slip a gel pack under my suit, on my hip, stop and down it quickly and put the wrapper back in my suit (no littering). I have seen swimmers wearing wetsuits keep a gel pack in their wetsuit at their ankles. hi rob, are you doing the bay swim this year?

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

Former Member — Thu, 05 May 2011 14:24:28 GMT

My husband has done the swim 23 times. He says that some years he has seen the food boats; other years he has not.

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

Former Member — Thu, 05 May 2011 13:41:58 GMT

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

Former Member — Thu, 05 May 2011 09:38:38 GMT

i've done the swim 4x. the water temp was never below 72. you will be in the minority as the event awards structure favors the use of wetsuits but..... don't wear one! (you'll like yourself better for it) a few forumites have done it both ways.... they will concur. Thanks for the info, I have NO intentions of wearing one. I don't even own one. :D I'd be happiest at 68, but I'll take around 72!

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

Former Member — Sun, 01 May 2011 12:38:45 GMT

For those of you who mentioned you've done the Great Bay before, are there a lot of non-wetsuit swimmers out there? I have no desire to wear a wetsuit for 4.4 miles. :) i've done the swim 4x. the water temp was never below 72. you will be in the minority as the event awards structure favors the use of wetsuits but..... don't wear one! (you'll like yourself better for it) a few forumites have done it both ways.... they will concur.

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

Former Member — Sun, 01 May 2011 11:36:17 GMT

For those of you who mentioned you've done the Great Bay before, are there a lot of non-wetsuit swimmers out there? I have no desire to wear a wetsuit for 4.4 miles. :)

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

Former Member — Sun, 01 May 2011 11:29:51 GMT

Thanks SO much for the suggestions guys, I have been taking GUs during practice swims but I wasn't sure if I was nutty to think I could do this during the swim. :) It's a different ballgame than running with a GU in your pocket! I'll test out the GU in the cap vs suit. Thanks for the heads up on the fuel boats too, those aren't mentioned on the website.

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

sarah_q — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 10:07:17 GMT

This will be my fifth year at the Bay Swim -- I love it! Sometimes the food boats are not where you need to be in terms of current/position. I always stick 2 GUs under the back of my swim cap. Make sure you try this in practice. I do one at mile 2 and one ~ mile 3.5. But I am slow (3-hour finisher) so I need that extra boost to get in the last mile since by then the current has really picked up and the last mile is by far the hardest.

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

orca1946 — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 01:09:00 GMT

2 miles is what you do in pool practice, so I would think that 2 in O W would still be O K.

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

Former Member — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:37:33 GMT

i never took a feed during that swim, but they will have a couple of boats out there +/- half way with water and maybe some carbo drinks. pack a gel or two in your suit. go to brighton beach and swim "the loop".... see how it feels. the bay swim shouldn't take you much longer than that.

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

jaadams1 — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 09:36:34 GMT

Don't forget that if you eat something while you swim you'll also need to tuck the empty packet back in your suit or cap until you finish. You can't do like the old Jeff Foxworthy Redneck jokes...about the beer cans on the lake when you're fishing??? "Don't just throw the cans out on the lake to make a mess...fill 'em with water so they sink to the bottom!!" :bolt:

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

ourswimmer — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 08:48:44 GMT

If you think you'll be out there long enough to need a snack, practice with it beforehand. GU is palatable, digestible, and convenient for me but you might prefer something else. I recommend against something you would have to chew. Also, test out a few locations to stash the packets to find out what is most comfortable and secure and easy to get to. In an ankle-length suit I can fit a GU packet neatly into the hollow behind my ankle bone and Achilles tendon; in a tank suit I can carry one on my chest, just where the strap meets the front part of the suit. Don't forget that if you eat something while you swim you'll also need to tuck the empty packet back in your suit or cap until you finish.

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

jbs — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 08:14:45 GMT

I did that swim last year without fueling and suffered for it from about mile 3.5 to the end. Another friend took a gel that he had in his suit at around mile 2.5 and had no problems. But everyone is different--some can go that distance with no issues at all. Last year, they had two support boats. I think they were at mile 2 and mile 3. I think I saw both of them; some of my friends missed them. This is not to say that they weren't well marked, just that in the heat of the swim, it can be hard to pick them out. I did not stop at either, though that was primarily because I was on the left and they were on the right. I didn't want to move that far out of my line to get to them. I've heard that they've been more to the center in other years. All of which is just to say that if you are sure you need something, you might want to try to plan for a way to have it on you rather than depending upon the boats. Good luck! It was probably my favorite swim last year.

RE: Fueling for/during OWS

ViveBene — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:40:33 GMT

Couple of ideas: slip some energy gels into your suit; make a paste of an endurance drink powder, wrap it in something, slip that in suit as well. I couldn't do that distance w/o refueling and rehydrating. Others can. Check to see whether there are rehydrating stations on the course? (I see Chaos just posted...) Good luck!