Open Water Swimming

St. Croix Coral Reef Five-Mile Swim

November 8, 2009 at 11:49 am | In Race Reports & Results | Leave a Comment

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Written by Susan Kasimer of McLean, VA and Sport Fair

The time on my cell phone switched to 5 a.m., and as the alarm began to go off I practically hit the ceiling. I’m up, I thought. The Big Day is finally here. After so much physical training, mental preparation, and anticipation, my five-mile swim was staring me in the face. To make it even better, my dad wanted to do the two-mile race with fins again, my sister Lauren had agreed to do the two-mile race, and Lance, Lauren’s husband, was coming along for fun and support. As usual, I had my two open-water swim race goals—to be the best-dressed athlete, and to finish the race. I was quite nervous, but felt prepared as I got into my beautiful custom Splish suit (with “Curly Sue” on the back), designed by Bryan, one of our artistically talented employees at the store. It was pink, yellow, and had flowers all over it—just the way I like it! After two peanut butter sandwiches, two mugs of tea, and mulling over what I thought I had forgotten, I headed out the door to meet the taxis, which we were to take from the resort to the ferry dock.

Once I got there and took my place in line to get my body marked with my race number, some of the other athletes started to notice my suit and how my nails and sandals just happened to match it. It was then that I met Alex, who won this race nine times. On the ferry ride to Buck Island, the race start, I couldn’t help noticing how choppy the water seemed compared to two years before. I tried to dismiss it as wake from other boats or a sudden gust of wind, but I got a sinking feeling that I was in for much more than I had bargained for. The water at the Chesapeake Bay Swim back in June had been choppy as well, and I made it through that one, so I tried to relax and thought about what I might get to see on the bottom. The boat dropped us off about 25 yards shy of the island, where we jumped off into the water and swam up to the beach. The water was probably a balmy 84 degrees and a crystal clear turquoise. We took our spots, lined up against the beach, and before I knew it, the race had begun. I stayed close to the back to let the crowd disperse in front of me, and disperse they certainly did.

At this point, however, I noticed how rough the water felt and how I didn’t feel as if I was making much forward progression. The “V” made by two mountains in the distance (our first landmark) seemed awfully far away, with only a handful of yellow buoys to guide our way. As the sea bottom grew further away from me, I began to notice the swells, which were about three feet—enough to make sighting the yellow buoys a difficult task. I began to veer off course, and fortunately realized this quickly and got back on track. Once I passed the first yellow buoy I was hard pressed to find the second one. There was no one around me but one other man, and he was having trouble spotting it too, but he pointed the buoy out and we were on our way. After the second yellow buoy I found myself alone and not seeing the orange buoy and boat that signaled the first water stop. I figured I had just missed it and started toward our next landmark, a green-roofed house.

Five minutes passed, and suddenly I noticed a boat pull up next to me. A guy with a megaphone shouted to me that I was way off course and needed to head towards a point far to my left—a large orange buoy on a boat! I thanked them and cut to my left, having to swim against the current to get there, which was quite challenging. I was also starting to feel kind of sick from the swells and I figured that some water and Power Gel at the boat would make me feel better. It was a long haul to get back on course and I was growing frustrated with my situation. Once I reached the boat I chugged some water and one of my two packs of Power Gel (stashed in my suit). I really didn’t feel much better after that, but I pressed on, hoping that as the water and gel set in I would come out of the nausea.

As I continued towards the house and a yellow buoy I felt myself get off track several times. I was now swimming with the current but the swells were still present, making me feel like I wasn’t going anywhere. What kept me knowing I was moving forward was that I could see the grassy areas passing by on the bottom. I was still feeling quite sick and contemplated taking my cap off and quitting the race. But I pressed on, knowing that I had done a lot of training and eventually the race was going to end. It was then that I felt a higher power was looking out for me. All along the channel crossing (up to the boat with the orange buoy) I had only seen one stingray and nothing else that was too interesting.

Suddenly I came upon a whole area of brain corals, seaweed, and fish, which made me momentarily forget about feeling sick and tired—a reward for staying in the race! As I struggled some more and thought about quitting, I came upon another area similar to the one I just passed, and this time, saw a spotted stingray and colorful fish! I reminded myself that these sightings were what made the race special, and I pressed on, still through the nausea and sore arms. I came up to the second water boat and drank almost the entire water bottle they gave me, along with my second (and last) Power Gel, hoping that I would not feel worse because of it. And so I continued, this time watching out for the final sighting point—a sailboat with two masts, which was our point to turn to the left and head towards the finish. I felt terrible by this point, as my stomach kept churning and now I was getting physically tired, not from the swim but from the constant battle against swells.

Eventually the masts grew closer as I completed the fourth mile and thought about all the friends and family I had rooting for me, even though they weren’t there physically with me, and that kept me going. I came upon the last boat, and I was pleasantly surprised that they had water, and joined two others who were at the same point in the race that I was. As I entered the final 500 meters to swim straight into the beach, I found that the swells had gone down considerably and felt I was finally swimming without fighting the water. The nausea had not gone away but I told myself I was in the final stretch and kept onwards. I came to see the orange buoys and palm fronds that graced the finish area, and I put my head down and tried to enjoy the moment, as the last 25 meters only contained still waters. My hands scraped the sand and I stood up, wobbling, and attempted to run through the finish line, making sure to smile and look happy for my finish pictures. I had done it! And there were my dad, Lauren, and Lance (her husband) recording my finish on Lauren’s phone.

My elation over completing the race quickly diminished into dismay when I found out that Lauren had not been able to finish her race due to getting sick at the last boat and subsequently got pulled out. I was devastated as I wanted more than anything (my above goals not withstanding) for my sister to enjoy the swim and the experience, as she had worked her butt off to get back in shape for the swim. She deserved to cross the finish, with lines of people cheering for her, and the situation that happened was not how I wanted it to end for her at all.

As I recovered from the nausea with Powerade and Coke (the drinks of champions), I saw Alex and asked him if he won, and the answer was yes! I congratulated him on his 10th victory in the race, and as we talked, I met his family. We took a few pictures of the two of us to send to Splish, and then I took him over to meet my family. Upon hearing that Lauren was unable to finish the race, he sat down with her and told a story of a race he was in a number of years ago, where the same situation had happened to him, and how sometimes it’s just not your day or race. I was shocked to hear his story—that someone of his swimming caliber had a less than perfect race—but at the same time we were so grateful of his words. It appeared to make her a bit more accepting of the situation but I was still so bummed for her.

My dad had won the Men’s Two Mile fin division, so the four of us went into town to get him his winner’s hook bracelet (you can only get one of this specific design by placing in the race) and to see me off on the seaplane to St. Thomas, the second part of my vacation! As my dad and I walked into the jewelry store (Lauren and Lance arrived in a second taxi), who was there but Alex! My dad expressed to Alex how thankful he was for Alex to share his story with Lauren. I continued talking with him as my dad was fitted for his bracelet. When I asked Alex what he did with all his bracelets, he responded that he gave them to family members. What a kind, gracious, and good-natured person he was.

Just then, Lauren and Lance walked in, and my dad said he had something to give her. He unhooked the bracelet off of his wrist and put it on my sister. At that moment I felt a great weight came off my shoulders and I could be happy for all three of us that had done the race. It was meant to be that she could reap the rewards of the race through a matching bracelet owned by both my dad and I–we both had won our divisions of the two-mile race in 2008—an experience, much like the bracelet, that cannot be bought, but must be earned.

Ederle Swim update

October 20, 2009 at 4:21 pm | In OW swim stories | 2 Comments
Tags: Gertrude Ederle Swim, Julie Sheldon, NYC Swim

After Nancy Steadman Martin pulled out, Hannah Borgeson continued to hold the lead until sometime in the last mile, when apparently she pulled out due to cold (she must have been seriously cold to have pulled out so close to the end). Julie Sheldon took first place finish in 6:14. Way to go! Now get that woman some hot soup! (But no–swimmers have to get back in the water after touching land to swim back to the escort boats. I suppose once you’ve lost all feeling in your limbs, what’s a few more minutes of cold?)

Ederle Swim today, NYC to Sandy Hook, NJ

October 20, 2009 at 1:05 pm | In Mid-Atlantic OW Races & Events, News, Open Water Races | Leave a Comment
Tags: Gertrude Ederel Swim, Hannah Borgeson, Nancy Steadman Martin, NYC Swim

A small group of brave souls are plugging along in today’s Gertrude Ederle swim, from the Battery in NYC to Sandy Hook state park in NJ, via New York Harbor. The swim had to be postponed from Saturday until today due to weather conditions, but it’s still no day at the pool out there. Here’s what the swimmers are enjoying:

Water temps: 54-60 degrees F.

Weather conditions – sunny, winds 10-15 knots, gusting to 20, with 2-3 foot seas.

Currently in the lead by about a half mile are Hannah Borgeson (37) and Nancy Steadman Martin (55). Way to represent, ladies! You can follow their progress via Twitter and/or GPS tracking.

The swim is in honor of Gertrude Ederle, first woman to swim the English Channel, who made this swim herself before conquering the Channel.

And don’t bother cooling down, either

October 15, 2009 at 8:50 pm | In News, OW Training | 1 Comment
Tags: cool down, exercise science myths, Training

First we pointed out you have more to fear from Bambi than Bruce.* Now, another misconception put to rest, courtesy of the New York Times. To wit, a cool down is apparently worthless. Or at any rate, there’s no evidence it does you any good.

…the cool-down is enshrined in training lore. It’s in physiology textbooks, personal trainers often insist on it, fitness magazines tell you that you must do it — and some exercise equipment at gyms automatically includes it. You punch in the time you want to work out on the machine and when your time is up, the machine automatically reduces the workload and continues for five minutes so you can cool down.

The problem, says Hirofumi Tanaka, an exercise physiologist at the University of Texas, Austin, is that there is pretty much no science behind the cool-down advice.

(* The mechanical shark used in the film [Jaws] was nicknamed “Bruce” by its handlers, and the “full body” version tours around museums, while “Bruce II” resides at the Universal Theme Parks and “bites at” tourists on the tour ride. From IMDB.com)

Beware the swift and deadly strike

October 15, 2009 at 9:48 am | In OW swim stories | Leave a Comment
Tags: lightning strikes, open water swimming, shark attacks

No, we don’t mean sharks. The Florida Department of Natural History’s Ichthylogy

be very afraid

Department shows that you’re far more likely to be killed by lightning, dogs, even deer, than by a shark, and that far more people are injured every year by room deodorizers than by those toothy predators of the deep.

Take away? Never swim with your AirWick.

An interview with Steven Munatones

October 13, 2009 at 8:46 am | In Interviews, OW Training | Leave a Comment

Today we are thrilled to have a conversation with Steven Munatones, who may know more about OW swimming, swims, history, training, competitors, and techniques than any other human on the planet. He is the man behind 10KSwimmer, the encyclopaedic must-read blog for anyone interested in OW swimming. We don’t know how he manages to be everywhere at once in the world of OW swimming, but we are thankful he does.

Read on for our interview with Steven Munatones, with a few special tips for newer competitive OW swimmers at the bottom.

What would you like readers to know about you?
I see my role to help promote the sport, educate coaches and support athletes and parents in any way possible using every form of media available. I also see my role as a historian of the sport and helping document the rules and write about swimmers of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.

As a swimmer, when did you first become interested in open water swimming?
I did my first open water swim in Southern California at the age of 6.

How did it go?
It was in a bay in Southern California and, although I do not remember the result, the effect was extremely positive. I am still passionately involved in open water swimming 41 years later.

Worst open water swim you swam yourself? Worse you’ve witnessed or heard about?
The professional Around-the-Island Swim in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1984. The water temperature dropped from the high 50’s to the low- to mid-50’s during the ocean part and I was pulled out with hypothermia. Of the over 25 experienced marathon swimmers who started, I think only 6 finishers. I was pretty disappointed in myself and committed myself to improving my ability to swim in cold water ever since.

What do you think is contributing to the growing interest in OW swimming? Where, geographically, do you see the most growth happening? What will help support its growth?
Several phenomena are occurring to booster the interest in open water swimming: The growing and sustained interest in triathlons, the addition of the 10K event to the Olympics, the ease of obtaining information on open water swimming via the Internet, and the increasing professionalism and excitement of local open water swims. Geographically, the engine of growth is Europe, by far. The European races are popular, professionally organized, televised on occasion and draw thousands in every kind of venue available. Brazil is also a hot bed for the sport with the Brazil Swimming Federation providing great leadership and vision. Domestically, the number of events in the US has increased threefold over the past several years with a large number of new events in the Midwest and in the South.

With the 10K now an Olympic sport, do you think we’ll see the 10K grow in popularity?
Not compared to the shorter races. The 10K is still pretty far for most swimmers and I believe it will remain in the realm of the elite or competitive swimmer. However, swims above 25K are showing tremendous growth among endurance athletes of all ages and abilities. So, the shorter races under 5K are, by far, the most popular (about 85% of all races in the US).

On that topic, do you think it’s likely we’ll see a growth in middle-distance events (5K-10K) or are there not enough swimmers interested in those distances?
We may see a slight increase, but nothing like the shorter events and the number of swimmers who will challenge themselves to the marathon swims above 10K.

Some open water races require entrants to submit proof of some kind of qualifying swim (for distance or time or both), but many don’t. With growing interest in OW swimming, do you think that USA Triathlon, US Masters swimming and USA Swimming should develop some kind of policy on qualifying standards for open water swimming?
The number of open water races that require proof of ability remains very small and I believe it will remain so. I think most athletes self-police themselves and do not attempt swims that they believe they may not be able to complete or competitively swim. USA Swimming has some standards for its national championship events, but I do not believe qualifying standards should be set by these organizations. The local race committee is in the best position to make these standards because each venue and each day provides different conditions for open water swimmers.

How do you manage to keep on top of all the information you share on 10K Swimmer? I’m constantly amazed at the breadth of your output!
I spend hours every day – 365 days a year – sifting through open water swimming information in all forms – and I have been doing this for decades. I have been studying, researching, observing and writing about open water swimming since 1982 so I have piles and piles of information that has yet to be posted, published, explained or shared. I also have reams of valuable and rare information on swimmers and events from other prolific writers or open water coaches or administrators – some whom have passed away – that I have yet to post, publish or analyze. In addition, many helpful individuals around the world send me information. Of all the information I receive, I estimate that I only post or publish less than 5%. I wish I could do this full-time in order to promote all the capable swimmers and wonderful events throughout the world.

How about that Eva Fabian? It seems as though a lot of the pro-level swimmers are older (mid-20s+), and Fabian is coming on gangbusters. What’s she doing that the rest of us should be doing?
Eva is a special young lady with a drive that is rarely seen domestically (in the open water world). Her coach and father, Jack Fabian, is also a special coach. They both seek knowledge about open water swimming and their minds are open to doing things differently than pure pool swimmers. Eva and her coach/father do special pool and open water workouts that Gerry Rodrigues and I have been advocating for years. Her father/coach takes the information that Gerry and I provide and modifies it as necessary. Eva has really stepped up to the plate and it is personally extraordinarily gratifying to see someone improve and move into the ranks of the world’s elite.

SOME QUESTIONS FOR THOSE OF US NEWER TO COMPETITIVE OW SWIMMING:

What’s the best approach for improving your sustainable speed over distances of, say, 5K and above? Lots of short, hard repeats w/ short breaks? Longer repeats with longer breaks? Long repeats, short breaks? Pyramids? A little bit of everything?
There are seven elements of success in the world of open water swimming. I can discuss these seven elements for hours, but your last phrase was smack on: A little bit of everything is required.

Turnover or efficiency? We know efficiency is important over long distance, but at the same time when we’re passed by the really fast people, their turnover is noticeably faster. What’s a good turnover speed for an ordinary mortal to aim for?
If we look at the turnover of the world’s best open water swimmers, they are usually doing at least 78 strokes per minute (39 cycles) and some of the them get above 84 strokes per minute. This is exactly the turnover they use in swim practice every single day. Depending on your age, strength, level of fitness and stroke technique, I would advocate at least a 75 stroke per minute pace must be maintained throughout any give race with a higher stroke count in the first 500 yards and last 500 yards of each race.

On the subject of turnover, we’ve also found it’s harder to maintain turnover speed in choppy/sloshy water. Any tips?
I know this answer sounds either corny or dismissive, but the best way to maintain turnover speed in choppy water is to practice in choppy water. Most people, however, avoid – or do not have the opportunity to – practice in choppy water. If you have access to the open water, I strongly advocate swimming in the late afternoon when the winds are strong at least a few times before a race, so you can become accustomed to such wavy and choppy conditions. Swimming in choppy water requires strength and a sense of balance that is best developed before the race.

Can’t get enough Steven M? Here’s a link to another interview.

Why they do it

October 8, 2009 at 9:05 am | In OW swim stories | 1 Comment
Tags: open water swimming

Great multimedia piece in The Sydney Morning Herald on OW Swimmers.

USMS 2010 Open Water Championships Info

October 6, 2009 at 3:59 pm | In News, Open Water Races | Leave a Comment
Tags: Open Water race, open water swimming, USMS

Get out your calendars: the 2010 USMS open water championships schedule is posted. All the events will take place in inland bodies of water (lakes & reservoirs, that is). No ocean swims.

Race Report: Nanticoke River Swim 2009

September 24, 2009 at 6:25 pm | In Allison, Race Reports & Results | Leave a Comment

Quick Facts:

Location: Bivalve, MD (20 miles southwest of Salisbury)
Date: May 3, 2009 at 10 a.m.
Distance: 3 miles

Elizabeth Cohen, Allison Czapracki, John Bullard, Amy Frick

The Nanticoke River Swim served as my “long open-water swim” in preparation for the Chesapeake Bay Swim. Three Richmond-area swimmers and I made the four-and-a-half hour trek north. We stayed in Salisbury, the nearest town, a half-hour’s drive from Cedar Hill Marina. Check-in took place the day before the race, and the staff was cheerful and very helpful. While checking in, I watched some race entrants take a practice swim. Ah, if we’d only planned ahead!

At check-in, a race official explained to me that the race course consisted of a triangular loop. Each side of the loop was .4-.45 of a mile. After the mass start, racers swam about .25 of a mile alongside a rock jetty to the triangle, and completed two loops before swimming back to the shore.

After check-in, my party and I chose Zia’s, a local, family-owned pastaria, for our pre-race dinner. Our portions were generous and the service was quick and friendly. If you’re looking for an alternative to a chain before the Nanticoke River Swim, go here.

Take a look at this nifty Google Map to view the 2008 race course. (Swimmers in 2008 completed just one loop of a larger triangle with sides of .9mi.)

On race day, the water was a balmy 68 degrees. I was VERY comfortable in a sleeveless wetsuit. The weather was overcast; the sky was grey and a little drizzly. I felt strong during my first loop. As is often the case, the second loop was more challenging–and not just because my muscles started fatiguing. The current picked up and the water became choppy. Toward the end of the race, it felt as rough as the San Francisco Bay last summer!

I timed myself on each loop with my trusty Sportcount, and was astonished post-race when I compared my times from segments from triangle one with triangle two. All but the final leg of the triangle and my swim to shore were just 30 seconds to one minute different. In a distance event in a meet, of course, this kind of timing discrepancy would be unacceptable. In the open water, with so many variables, it can be a miracle. If you’ve never timed yourself at intervals during a race, I’d highly recommend trying it for the educational experience and pacing purposes.

I felt very prepared for this race, and was happy with the preparation from my training regimen of three to four 3,000-4,000 yard masters practices and one long swim per weekend. As I said, I got tired at the end–who wouldn’t?– but after the race, I knew that if I needed to, I was conditioned enough that if I’d paced myself properly, I could have done the 4.4 miles that day. That was a good feeling to have when my longest swim in 2009 was about 6,000 yards.

Amy Frick, Elizabeth Cohen, Allison Czapracki

After posing for the usual photos for the papparazi before peeling off my wetsuit, I ventured over to the post-race party. Chips, burgers, and hot dogs were the only sustenance offered. As a non-red-meat eater, I was disappointed, but fortunately, I had a bag of Trader Joe’s Go Raw trail mix to sustain me until lunch in Annapolis.

I would definitely compete in this race in the future if I had less than 220 miles to travel to get to Bivalve. Because of the distance of the race and the water temperature and conditions, this race was probably the best open-water opportunity to practice for the Bay Swim.