A Swim Meet! and 9 days until the Bay

Two weeks after the Bay Swim, my masters team is hosting an indoor meet. All area swimmers are invited to participate in the 33rd Annual Long Course Swim Meet on June 27! More information is available here. Not as fun as swimming outside at Hains Point, but the pool is much nicer and faster.

Fueling for the Bay Swim

11 Days until the Bay Swim

In my Googling I also found the great post, How I Fueled to Swim Across the Chesapeake Bay. It talks a lot about hydration, which I'm worried about. [Truth, I'm nervous about most aspects of this race.] Increasing salt intake in the 24 hours leading up to the race is not something that would have occurred to me, but it makes sense. I will also add a sports drink, which I rarely consume. The Fueled post is really thorough, and I will definitely reference it again in the next two weeks.

Swimming for Scientists

I stumbled upon this post by the Mathlete about how to perfectly swim across the Bay. The math is way over my head, but this I understood: 

The race is usually timed so that the majority of racers will start out with a bit of tidal current pushing them north, swim the majority of the race during the wonderful still water of slack tide (when the tide is changing directions) and finish as the tide starts to go out, creating a current pulling swimmers south. 

So I'm adding it to my collection of Bay Swim knowledge.  

Recommended Reading

As I searched for training guides for my upcoming Bay Swim, I remembered that someone recommended Lynne Cox's autobiography. In Swimming to Antarctica, she writes about her myriad cold water and long distance swims around the world. Knowing that this woman swam for eight hours across the English Channel and in 35 degree water in the Arctic reassures me that I can certainly swim for two hours across the Bay in probably 60 degree water. 

Recent Workout

Including below a recent workout I wrote that I think is good prep for the Bay Swim. 

600 swim

6 x 100 – 50 kick/50 finger-tip drag free

6 x 50 – 25 three strokes-six kicks on side/ 25 back swim

Main Set - Twice through

3 x 300 @4:15/4:30/4:45 free - pull or swim – descend 1 to 3

50 EZ

4 x 100 IM @1:45/2:00/10 sec. rest

50 EZ

4 x 50 @1:00 25 underwater/25 swim

=4500 yards

Unpleasant

At practice last night Barb provided some additional info about the Bay Swim, specifically the finish. You can smell diesel and hear the traffic on the bridge. The water is mucky. You're TIRED. She recommends mentally preparing for this aspect of the swim, but quickly added that by the time you're there, you're almost done.

Barb also talked about being mentally prepared for how to navigate/attack the currents. Beyond being physically in shape, this race requires mental preparation as well.

JMLS 2015

The start of the 2-mile race

With DCRP teammates Bob and Allison

It was a beautiful day for the JMLS. The water was a bit chilly at 69 degrees, so I happily tried out my wet suit. The Bag Balm worked really well, I just needed more around the zipper at the top of the neck. My time was three minutes faster than last year and I would like to chalk that up to being in better shape, and not just the wet suit. I was chatting with the swimmer next to me right before the race started, talking about wet suits, and I admitted I'd never used one before. He told me I would love it. And I did! Results from the swim are here.

My tip for a first-timer friend was to wear an older suit that you won't mind getting lake gunk on and having it generally not smell that great after the race.