To Wetsuit, or Not to Wetsuit

Jim McDonnell Lake Swim

In preparation for the Bay Swim I am swimming the Jim McDonnell Lake Swim this Sunday in Reston. I swam it last year and it was (and still is) my only open water experience besides lake swims at Camp. My plan has been to wear my wet suit this weekend to get comfortable in it before the Bay. However, meet officials don't allow wet suits if water temps climb above 78 degrees. We're currently at 76.

Last night at practice I was talking to a couple teammates who have both done the Bay without a wet suit. So it can be done, but do I want to?

USMS's monthly newsletter posted an article about "the wet suit factor". They definitely have benefits. And I want a boost.

Training Plan: To-date

Wilson Aquatic Center, NW DC

Starting in May I increased my pool workouts to twice a week, about 4,300 yards (or 4,000 meters depending on pool configuration) on average. The plan is to increase to three times a week in June. The Bay Swim is Sunday, June 14.

This is in addition to three times at week at the Bar Method. Adding barre classes to has certainly helped me get stronger and feel more confident. My flip turns feel especially fast from all the core work. Of course, there aren't any flip turns in the Bay.

Bay Swim tips

Another tip (#4) to add to my collection comes from Fran. To prevent chafing with your wet suit, use Bag Balm. Apply more than you think you'll need.

The Great Chesapeake Bay Swim 2015

I've decided to pull the trigger and sign up for the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim 2015! I've been looking around for sites that have training programs, or even race tips, and I can't seem to find any. So, I'm just going to start compiling them myself. As someone who's never done it. Let the informal polling of friends and strangers begin.

Tip #1 - from Max - Don't go out too fast. Conveniently, in the USMS monthly newsletter this month there's an article about techniques for recovering without stopping. The Serenity Now section seems the most applicable here because it talks about the chaos of a mass start. And I certainly appreciate the Seinfeld reference.

Tip #2 - from Anna - "I did some serious back floating in the middle of the Bay."

Tip #3 - also from Max - Decide if you want to finish or race it? Woah, going to need more time to think about this one.

My triumphant return to swimming

First swim meet since February of 2003 was last Sunday.  Check out my excellent finish against a much taller male competitor on YouTube.  I'm the blue suit, white cap gal.  His arms are so much longer than mine!  I kind of loved it and might have to swim in a few more meets now.  But I was completely exhausted for the entire rest of the day!

Battling back

Getting back into swimming shape is a battle.  Maybe getting back into shape is a battle in general (and maybe why so many people don't bother), but swimming seems especially hard to me.  First, my arms haven't made 3,000 circles in an hour in probably six year and it's not a natural motion.  By the end of practice I have flat out muscle exhaustion.  My cardio isn't too bad, so that part isn't killing me, but my arms...pain!

You can do a lot of great thinking when you're swimming, but all I could think about was this battle I was waging.  I'm definitely not winning that battle yet, but I'll get there.  Literally the words "battle" and "war" were dancing around in my brain.  I was trying to keep myself motivated to keep moving.

And I'm making some swimming friends, so that helps a lot!  The pool is also brand new and beautiful.  

First day back in the water

Ouch.  Long course meters is a rough re-entry into swimming.  I wasn't sure my arms were going to keep moving after 3,000 meters.  Long course.  My cardio was okay, but the lactic acid was really building in my shoulders.  Nonetheless, I'm going back tomorrow.  I'm about to "age-up" to the 30-34 age group.  Which could be good, those older women are slower, right?  I haven't thought about aging-up since I was 14 and it was with great dread then.