I have a question for marathon swimmers...
I've been prepping for a 10k swim that I'll be doing this coming Saturday. I live in coastal southern New England. I really began training in late Feb or Early March by doing longer pool swims. Once the open waters warmed up enough for wetsuits, I moved outside in late May/early June. I completed a full 10k+ with my kayaker today and practiced feeding/drinking him. I feel ready. In the future, I'd like to maintain fitness for doing swims of this long, and longer. But my question is...how do you maintain fitness for doing swims of this distance through winter? I just don't know if I can handle six months of long pool swims.
Dan
In regard to McCorrie swims. I hope we can meet up there again before the the end of our open water season. Another friend who swims with me there now wants to do a swim that would go from Island Park (three miles directly north of McCorrie Pt)...south to Second Beach in Middletown....right past McCorrie Pt. That'd be an eleven-plus mile swim. Not much support would be needed (some though) since we'd be along the shoreline the whole way. Not sure if she wants to attempt that this summer or next. All I can say right now is that after Beavertail I'm not feeling like swimming. Maybe next week. And maybe we can do that swim in September. See ya soon, Mike.
Dan
I'm looking now at a Tue, Wed, or Thu next week, or the last week of August.
Um, that 11 mile swim, you talking about that one maybe in September, or do you mean a swim at McCorrie? That swim your friend is planning sounds interesting...are you talking about Bridget?
I don't want getting a DNF after a year of training sacrificing all my social life and entrepreneurial plan.
What? You're sacrificing everything else in your life to swim... as a complete beginner?
I can tell you for a fact that even the most elite swimmers have lives outside of the sport.
Sorry to participate in the threadjack, this is struck me as really off.
Mike
Thanks for your comments. But I think you're making too much of the time you swam at the Beavertail swim. It was 10k+ and you finished it. That's impressive and all that matters. There really aren't many people who can fathom doing a swim of that distance.
In regard to McCorrie swims. I hope we can meet up there again before the the end of our open water season. Another friend who swims with me there now wants to do a swim that would go from Island Park (three miles directly north of McCorrie Pt)...south to Second Beach in Middletown....right past McCorrie Pt. That'd be an eleven-plus mile swim. Not much support would be needed (some though) since we'd be along the shoreline the whole way. Not sure if she wants to attempt that this summer or next. All I can say right now is that after Beavertail I'm not feeling like swimming. Maybe next week. And maybe we can do that swim in September. See ya soon, Mike.
Dan
I'm looking now at a Tue, Wed, or Thu next week, or the last week of August.
Um, that 11 mile swim, you talking about that one maybe in September, or do you mean a swim at McCorrie? That swim your friend is planning sounds interesting...are you talking about Bridget?
No, not Bridget. I have a friend/swimming partner in the neighborhood (she's in the SOS group too). She and I frequently swim at McCorrie. She has suggested we do a swim along the shoreline from the McCorrie Point area in Portsmouth, south to Second Beach (aka Sachuest Beach) in Middletown. It's around 11 miles. But I think she's talking about this for next summer.
Dan
What? You're sacrificing everything else in your life to swim... as a complete beginner?
I can tell you for a fact that even the most elite swimmers have lives outside of the sport.
Sorry to participate in the threadjack, this is struck me as really off.
This is an exaggeration, orienteering still remains my first priority as I was a national team member.
However, if I am training for trail orienteering and marathon swimming, and learning a foreign language at the same time holding a full time job, it won't be possible for me to have social life or execute any entrepreneurial plan.
No, not Bridget. I have a friend/swimming partner in the neighborhood (she's in the SOS group too). She and I frequently swim at McCorrie. She has suggested we do a swim along the shoreline from the McCorrie Point area in Portsmouth, south to Second Beach (aka Sachuest Beach) in Middletown. It's around 11 miles. But I think she's talking about this for next summer.
Dan
Oooh, oooh! Interesting...
No, not Bridget. I have a friend/swimming partner in the neighborhood (she's in the SOS group too). She and I frequently swim at McCorrie. She has suggested we do a swim along the shoreline from the McCorrie Point area in Portsmouth, south to Second Beach (aka Sachuest Beach) in Middletown. It's around 11 miles. But I think she's talking about this for next summer.
Dan
What is the SOS group?
The Sachuest Ocean Swimmers group originated about 10 years ago. Mike Garr and, to a lesser extent, I coordinated regular group swims and communications via email and the Sachuest Ocean Swimmers Facebook page at www.facebook.com/.../. I am now more involved with other groups but Mike continues to coordinate SOS, which has a devoted following of friends and acquaintances.
During those first few years there were regularly scheduled 4:30pm and 5:30pm weekday swims at southward-facing Second Beach (Middletown, RI) and weekly Sunday morning swims from First Beach (Newport) to Second Beach around Tuckerman's Point. People also coordinated ad hoc swims at other times via the FB page.
The group has gradually changed with people now swimming more regularly at Mackeral Cove (Jamestown) as well as a smaller group of people meeting at Second Beach and elsewhere in the Newport/Jamestown area, including the McCorrie Point area (Sakonnet River estuary) in Portsmouth.
The current regulars in the SOS group largely swim for recreation, mindfulness and the pleasure of each others' company without worrying much about pace or times, as depicted by their mantra "Swim Well Seek Peace." Some pick one or more distance-oriented goals each year to set their sites on, like the Jamestown "Beavertail 10K," which is not a race per se but rather an expedition-type swim consisting of 8 or 10 SOS swimmers with boat support.
SOS is friendly, welcoming and supportive of others of all abilities. However, if you're a very fast (relative, I know), competitive swimmer or triathlete who likes to go for it every time you get in the water, then you might want to seek a more competitive group.
There are other open water groups such as the Barrington Open Open Water Nadadores (BOWN) at Barrington Beach in upper Narragansett Bay and the Narragansett Ocean Swimming Enthusiasts (NOSE) at Narragansett Town Beach -- the latter is a beautiful eastward-facing open ocean venue with perhaps the cleanest water around this area. NOSE is the largest OW group in New England that swims regularly (4x week) -- and in midsummer there can be up to 90 swimmers, which allows for pods of various speeds/abilities.
For more info/links/contacts see swimri.org/practice-schedules and scroll to the open water group info at the bottom of the page.
Swimming up/down the Sakonnet River estuary and/or around Sachuest Point can be exhilarating. It is absolutely beautiful and for a strong swimmer not that strenuous on a placid day, but it can be dangerous for even the strongest swimmers if you get caught in unexpected conditions such as contaminated water (nearby beaches are occasionally closed due to runoff issues), suddenly changing winds/tide/surf (for instance if the swim takes longer than planned) or if you are unfamiliar with the rock formations or encounter marine life or inattentive boaters. Train and plan accordingly with appropriate safety support and exit strategies.
I just want to reiterate what Doug said above about the SOS group. I met Mike Garr around 2003/2004 at the Newport, RI Navy base pool and he invited me to join him, and two other swimmers, at Middletown, RI's Sachuest Beach for open water swims in the warm months. Back then we met only on Wednesdays at 4:30pm. But, those three guys...Mike Garr, Paul Talewsky, and Brian Gardener were the very beginning of Sachuest Ocean Swimmers. Within a year or two of my joining, Jim Parham began swimming with us. As Doug indicated, it has grown into a group of at least two-hundred interested individuals swimming in various locations around Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. If you're in the area hit up the group on the Facebook page and you'll surely find someone to swim with somewhere.
Dan
