Recollections from 2005 - The Potomac River Swim

I am getting to an age where I am getting older faster than I am getting faster - which means I am getting slower. But with age comes patience. If I can’t swim faster, maybe I can swim further. The question is … how much further can I swim? In hopes of satisfying my curiosity, I have become my own experiment. What distance can I swim with grace and dignity? Grace and dignity are the key words here.

I swim the 1650 or 1500 whenever I get the opportunity. This past year, after swimming masters for 10 years, I made Top Ten in the 1500. Yes, I know, it was short course meters, but still my plan is working. I’m outliving the old guys. I used to swim the 2-Mile Open Water at Edgewater State Park but now I organize it so I can’t swim it anymore.

Many people talk about the Chesapeake Bay Swim as though it is a rite of passage for long distance swimmers. This is a 4-mile swim across the Chesapeake Bay starting at Annapolis, MD. On a certain Saturday in January the CBSer’s take entries on-line starting at 8:30am. They take the first 600 entries. In my infinite wisdom, I decided to go to Orange for a workout before going on line. I got on-line at 9:30. They had their 600 entries by then and weren’t taking any more. They took 600 entries in 45 minutes! Wow! And mine was not one of them.

I searched the Internet for another swim and found the Potomac River Swim. This swim is 7 ½ miles from Virginia to Maryland across the Potomac River where the river joins the Chesapeake Bay. This seemed like a worthy goal so I sent in my application and estimated I would make the swim in 4 to 4 ½ hours. Then I set about learning what I needed to know to make this swim.

I learned that people who don’t swim don’t get it. I learned that swimmers who measure their swims in seconds – not hours – don’t get it. And I learned if a person did not get it, there is nothing I could say to help him get it. A fellow I work with expressed the thought that bridges were built so people would not have to do this sort of thing.

People expressed their concerns about the water temperature, sharks, sunburn, water quality and ending up in Delaware. I was offered advice on what to drink, what to eat, what sun block to use, what swim cap to wear and how many swim caps to wear, what goggles to wear and where to put the Vaseline – in the armpits and on the chest. I decided I needed to swim 15,000 to 20,000 yards per week for several months leading up to the event. I figured if it weren’t enough, I’d find out the hard way. My team of advisors had me prepared for all issues except one.

Being worried about getting lost in a fog bank, I brought a small magnetic compass for my kayaker. He thought I was from Mars. Not only did he have a large compass rigged on his kayak, but he also had GPS. He had a high-tech kayak. I’m a low-tech guy and now I know. My kayaker’s name was Mark. He’s a good guy.

At 6AM on Saturday June 4th, the day after my 61st birthday, by the way, a wide beamed boat transported 21 swimmers, 24 kayaks and 24 kayakers and assorted dignitaries 7.5 miles from Point Lookout State Park, Maryland to the Virginia side of the Potomac River. We swam back. Water temperature was 65 degrees. One swimmer was unable to finish due to hypothermia. Yours truly has ample natural insulation. This is an event that rewards fat! We swam in an East-North-East direction. The river was mostly flat with only occasional chop. The sky was overcast so sunburn was not an issue. I asked Mark to stop us every 30 minutes for water and every hour for gel paks. Progress was to be measured in 30 minutes increments.
After picture taking, it was time to swim. As in any long distance event, the swimmers spread out pretty quickly. By the first water stop, Mark and I were alone. We could see other swimmers, but we weren’t in groups anymore. It had been suggested I entertain myself by counting strokes or singing a song. Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall twice backwards might have worked. Mostly I was just in the moment. It was just the water, Mark and me. There was nothing to do but swim. When my right shoulder would start to hurt, I would bi-lateral breathe for a while. This would cause me to wonder away from the kayak. Mark would wave me back.

After several hours, my upper back started to hurt. Ever so gradually and until the end of the swim, my back, neck and shoulders went from discomfort to pain to serious pain. This was the thing my advisors forgot to mention. At the end, being a comedian, I wanted to say, “Is this Delaware because if it is I’m going to be VERY unhappy.” Instead, what came out was, “I’ve never hurt this bad in my life.” I’ve been advised by one who knows to bring ibuprofen next time. Take it before, during, and after the swim. It’s legal, she says.
The finish was a 500-yard push along a break wall from the Coast Guard Station to the beach. The organizers had sort of forgotten to mention the ebb tide that flows along the break wall.

Swimming these 500 yards was more than just in the moment. It was more like being locked in place and time. It could see the bottom and it wasn’t moving. I could see the beach and it wasn’t getting any closer. What I could not see was the humor in the moment. Grace and dignity took a back seat to frustration and back pain. I finally finished with a time of 4 hours and 30 minutes. Coming out of the water, I was met by Cheryl, the Meet Director. She yelled at me - What do you need? Water? Food? Can you stand up? Lemme take your picture. Here’s a towel! – To which I responded with the aforementioned – I’ve never hurt this bad in my life. After all that planning and organizing, this was Cheryl’s reward. Cheryl must have the patience of Job.

After 30 minutes, with real food in my stomach, grace and dignity returned and the back pain went away. I attribute the back pain to lactic acid buildup unrelieved by flip turns or long winded coaches and enhanced by having to raise my head forward from time to time. Next time, I’ll remember to bring the ibuprofen – legal or not. The grilled chicken was the best I’ve ever tasted. I can’t imagine why.

So, mission accomplished. I was the oldest swimmer and I was 15th out of the 20 swimmers who finished the distance. Cheryl allowed that my time was very respectable for a person my age. I’ll take that as a compliment. I learned that 15,000 to 20,000 yards per week for several months would prepare me to swim 7 ½ miles in 4 ½ hours. For challenge challenged swimmers, I recommend the Potomac River Swim. It’s well run. It’s a blast. I’m glad I did it. The experiment was successfully concluded. But the question still remains…how far can I swim?

2012 GREAT LAKES OPEN WATER SWIM SERIES - GLOWS - Final Summary

	2012 GREAT LAKES OPEN WATER SWIM SERIES
Great Lake Zone Members will earn points for their place finishes in each of the following
events, which have been designated as "GLOWS" swims. In order to earn a GLOWS award,
you need to participate in at least 2 of these swims.  Zone Members will also receive 50
Participation Points for each event they start. Finish points will be awarded according to
the USMS Long Distance Rule 307.12.1 found on page 61 of the 2012 USMS Rule Book at
www.usms.org/rules/part3.pdf. Point totals will be updated throughout the summer.
Award winners will be announced at the USMS Convention in September.
2-Jun	OHIO	Greenswell OW Swims			1/2-mile, 1.0 mile, 2.0 mile
23-Jun	INDIANA	USMS 3 - 6 Mile OW National Championship				5k
14-Jul	ALLEGHENY	Search For Mononghy OW Swim			1.2 mile and 2.4 mile
28-Jul	LAKE ERIE	Lake Erie OW Swim			1/2-mile, 1 mile, 2 mile
11-Aug	KENTUCKY	Ohio River OW Swim			0.5, 1.2 & 2.4 miles
18-Aug	WISCONSIN	Madison OW Swim  MOWS			1.2 & 2.4 miles
8-Sep	ILLINOIS	Big Shoulders OW Swim			2.5k & 5k
	TOTAL EVENTS		7
	TOTAL "SPLASHES"		1878
	TOTAL SWIMMERS		1657
	TOTAL WOMEN		679	41%
	TOTAL MEN		978	59%

3000 Yard Postal Is Done!

Yesterday Diane and I swan the 3000 yard postal. I timed her. Then she timed me. I swam the first 1500 yards in 26:11 and the second 1500 yards in 26:43.  I was 32 seconds slower in the second half. I'll take that. But I still want to cut about 5 minutes per mile to be competitive nationally. The pool was a 25 yard pool. That's a lot of turns. I put my dry-land pumped stomach muscles to work during the swim. More work is required in the stomach department. Diane by the way was about 9 minutes faster than me which is normal for us.

If you are interested in learning more about this event, go to https://www.clubassistant.com/club/meet_information.cfm?c=1287&smid=3918. I entered the event online yesterday. Cost to enter is $7.00. Check the website before you swim.

So what did I think about while swimming. I kept asking myself what condition is my condition in? Are my feet at horizontal for minimal drag? Am I getting a good push off the wall for fewer strokes?  Am I using the large body muscles or am I swimming with my arms? And where the heck is Diane's signal that I have 300 yards to finish?  I did the best I could in that place and at that time. I can't complain. Gotta go pump some iron.

Open Water Swim Feedback

Pool swimmers get immediate feedback on their swimming performance. It’s called the clock. They get a time. They know how their time compares to the other swimmers in the event. They know how their time compares to their previous times.  They can make adjustments for the next race. Open water swimmers see the clock at the end of a swim. By then it is too late to adjust.  Open water swimmers must make their adjustments during their swim.

My non-swimming friends and pool swimming friends ask me what I think about during an open water swim. I tell them I think about what condition my condition is in. Or, in short, how do I feel.  I say “Boiler room, this is the Bridge. What’s going on down there?”  If the boiler room reports back things like the right shoulder hurts, the left leg is drifting left, the chest is tight, hands are slapping the water, hands are pushing down at the catch, head is popping up too often, left arm is crossing the center line, feet are pulling me out of horizontal, I am drifting right, well, then I have to adjust.  All this without benefit of a clock. 

Usually the adjustment is a matter of paying closer attention some part of my stroke. Adjustments can be small or large.  Confirm high elbows on the recovery, ditto high elbows during the push, reach for the catch, rotate into the reach, start the exhale sooner, breathe at 90 degrees, at least twitch those legs, find the rhythm and let it flow.

And then we check back with the Engine Room and start the process all over again.

How To Be a Little More Safe on the Water

"PFD 3007 Youth Boating Vest in Red" (Google Affiliate Ad)


Did I mention that Diane and I like to swim up the beach for lunch?  We tow our lunch apparel and funds in a device sold by the International Swimming Hall of Fame.  The ISHOF Safer Swimmer Float is specifically designed to provide a safety aide for open water swimmers, serving three important functions without hindering performance or hindering your stroke.  1) It makes you visible to boaters, jet skiis, kite boarders or other potential human hazards while you are swimming - a little peace of mind on the open water is a good thing.  2)  It can be used as a floatation device when you need it in the case of cramps, dizziness or injury and it can also be used to rescue others - we've been fortunate so far and have not needed this feature. 3) It can also keep your “stuff” safe while you are swimming or allows you to take along your “stuff” on one-way swims across rivers or lakes - yep, this is why we got one. It's a good thing Diane's waist is small enough to get the belt around herself.

How To Prevent Shoulder Injury

I just got back from the United States Aquatic Sports Convention in Greensboro, NC where I attended a very informative and useful seminar conducted by Dr Jim Miller who is very active in both Masters Swimming and FINA. FINA regulates international swimming. I sure don't want to try to explain how FINA, USA, USMS et al fit together. Maybe I'll try that some other time. At any rate, Jim took us through dry exercises which are intended to strengthen shoulders BEFORE injury occurs. He made a point of reminding us that OTHER exercises would be better if the shoulder is already injured. A video of the exercises may be found on the FINA.org website at ....

http://www.fina.org/project/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1435&Itemid=496.

At the Convention, it was made painfully clear to me that despite all the yards and miles I swim, I am not as strong as I could be.  My cardiovascular conditioning is good. My stroke technique is not bad. But my core strength is weak. In the coming months I plan to put more time into dry land exercises and less time into being in the water. And I'll work on shoulder strength as well.

Lake Erie Virtual Swim - How long is a mile?

Garmin n vi 2555LMT 5" GPS - Electronics (Google Affiliate Ad)

So the question is...how long is a mile?  A one mile swim in the pool is 1650 yards.  But we all learned in grade school that a mile is 5280 feet = 1760 yards. Let's call 1650 yards a "pool mile". And let's call 1760 yards a "lake" mile. Open water purists, such as yours truly, use lake miles.  This summer, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, I swam 100.77 lake miles although not all yards were in the lake. For the Lake Erie Virtual Swim, this means I made it across to Canada but did not quite make the return trip to the US. So I will be stranded on an iceberg for the winter. But if I recompute lake miles to pool miles, my mileage increases to 107.49 miles. This puts me on the Cleveland water crib for the winter. This is a choice between a rock and a cold spot. As you can plainly see, swimming is not all about swimming. It's about having fun.

1-Mile Open Water National Championship - Lake Lure, NC

                          From L to R: Doug, Marianne, Diane, Tom, Judi, Gerry, Luise, Julio

                                                         Trying to spell "O H I O "

                                     Tom awaiting the start of his wave - holding his own hand.

                                    Lined up - ready to go - let's get this show on the road.

                                                               Show is on the road.

                             32 minutes later Tom splashes to shore looking for the finish line.

The 1-Mile Open Water National Championship at Lake Lure, NC was a well run event. The weather was perfect. So was the water. Our group of swimmers from Ohio had 3 first place finishes, one second place finish, one fourth place finish and one fifth place finish. This is not bad for a group of eight swimmers. The fifth place finisher was me. My long term plan is to outlive the old guys. So far, it's not working. Apparently, the old guys' plan is to outlive me. 

It was a lot of fun as was the entire trip to Asheville, NC. This just about wraps up open water swimming for this year. We go back inside Wednesday after Labor Day.

Next up is the Aquatics Convention which will be in Greensboro, NC this year.

Lake Erie Virtual Swim after 11 Weeks

Eleven weeks in since Memorial Day. Three weeks to go to Labor Day. I've swum 87 miles. So I've been to Canada, did a flip turn on the rocks, got hung up in the green algae, did not see any Asian carp, and am 30 miles back toward Cleveland. All this for a t-shirt. With a road trip planned next weekend  to Lake Lure, NC for the 1-Mile Open Water National Championship, I anticipate finishing the summer season at about 100 miles. This will leave me well short of home. I may have to spend the winter on the Cleveland water crib which is 5 miles off shore. Maybe I'll be able to watch the planned offshore wind turbines being built. Maybe by the time I finally arrive in the spring, I'll learn that Cleveland has found the funds to fix the sewer system. Maybe not.

Lake Erie Open Water Classic 2012 Report

"Apex 100 Sit-on-top Kayak in Orange" (Google Affiliate Ad)

Thank you so much for swimming in our 2012 Lake Erie Swim. The weather was difficult. The water was difficult. But we got it in. Each of you should give yourself a pat on the back. The Coast Guard Auxiliary boat reported that the swells were in the 2 to 3 foot range. The Coast Guard Auxiliary boat had to leave the coarse for a short while because one of its passengers got seasick.  What does that tell you. There were 106 swimmers registered, 14 no-shows due no doubt to the weather early in the morning, 2 swimmers checked in but did not start due once again no doubt to the weather, and 6 swimmers did not finish. That leaves 84 finishers. Results of the event may be found at http://www.ohiomasters.com/ohioresults.htm.

You donated $1970 to St Malachi Center. Donations are still coming in so the total will be over $2000. Thank you very much.

Next year we will have separate heats for the wetsuit swimmers. That way we can do a better job of separating the results for Wetsuit swimmers.

The event was sanctioned by United States Master Swimming. We had permits from the State of Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the US Department of Homeland Security/Coast Guard. We employed the services of Club Assistant for online registration and RunHigh for electronic timing. Competitive Aquatic Supply was an event sponsor. The kayakers were invaluable. The life guards were from Huntington Beach and were also invaluable.

Despite the weather, it was a great event. A great time was had by all. Well, almost all. See pictures in next post.

Lake Erie Open Water Swim Was Rugged This Year.

                                            Waiting for the start horn.

                                            A wave comes past just as the swim starts.

                                             Ok. This is fun.

                                             But not that much fun.

                                              Now you see it.

                                                Now you don't. That buoy is 3' high.

                                     The Coast Guard Auxiliary boat kept an eye on the event
                                      which is much appreciated.

Lake Erie Open Water Swim T-Shirt Design Contest

 

2012 Open Water Swim T-Shirt Design Contest

For the second consecutive year, O*H*I*O Masters held a design contest for the Lake Erie Classic – with the entries coming from the graphic design class of a local high school. This year, Bay High School students provided the entries. We received numerous outstanding designs -truly a testament to the talent of the students and the outstanding teaching of Ms. Ross. The judging committee had to make some difficult decisions. This year’s winning design was created by senior Kaleigh. For her winning design, Kaleigh received $100.00.