Thursday, October 6, 2011

The power of pacing

This morning I slept in a little to make up for yesterdays early morning.  I was in the water at 0658 and swam the following:

6000 - 6 x 1000 free no equipment on 15:00.
Was holding between 14:11 and 14:30 on all these.  Halfway into the second set (@1500 yards), I felt low in energy.  I didn't eat a very good dinner last night and I was low in fuel.  But then some guy got in the next lane over and started swimming 50's on :45.  That got my mind off the negative energy and focused on staying ahead of his pace.  He got out only after doing about 15 sets of 50, but by that time, I was in a rhythm and felt strong.  I was thinking during my swim why pacers are allowed in an EC crossing.  I mean the standards are there to maintain as similar standards as what he did.  He didn't have a pacer.  Not that I'm complaining.  I'm glad to have Josh give me a boost, but I'm just curious why they allow that, but not like MP3 players.  Not that I have ever used, or plan to use an MP3 player while swimming.  Just curious as to the reasoning behind allowing pacing.  
My 500 splits were even and I was holding a constant and even pace of low 7 minute 500's.  
Distance: 6000 yards
Time: 1:29

The water was noticably warmer today.  I measured it on the way out with my digital therm and it read 84.7  Usually its 81 or colder.  I left a note in the comment box today asking for it be kept around 80 or lower.  (I'll be happy if its 81)

Yesterday afternoon I went to a meeting at the Rose Park Library where 20 people gathered to discuss a couple of issues concerning the lake:

  • Phragmities - this noxious weed is spreading like wildfire and it threatens the wetlands and nesting areas of birds.  Alot of money and effort is going into analyzing the plants spread, and methods in fighting its spread.
  • The new 180 foot bridge that is potentially going up to replace the cracked culverts that go across the causeway.  This is intended to even the flow of saline water between the north and south ends of the lake.  
When the meeting started they had everyone go around the room and introduce themselves and give their title, such as "My name is Kathleen Anderson, from the US Army Corps of Engineers", or "My name is Lacenda Downs, Davis County Commissioner".  Crap! Nobody was like "My name is John Williams, I'm just a lake lover."  So I had to come up with something so I didn't sound like I wasn't just some doofus who walked in off the street, so I said, "My name is Gordon Gridley, from Great Salt Lake Open Water".  I saw some people nod their heads like they knew what the heck that was.  Ha ha.

The info of phragmities was interesting.  I'm amazed at how much money is going into fighting this thing (over a million dollars collectively)

Also the presentation by the US Army Corps of Engineers on the new bridge proposal was very interesting and presented in layman terms so I was able to follow along.  Very cool stuff.  It looks like everyone in the room is in agreement that the desired state is to bring the north and south ends of the lake into a more equal level of salinity.  This would mean that the south end would get even saltier!  But I'd be surprised if it would really be noticeable in my lifetime.  Especially down at the very south end by the marina where there are a couple of inlets of freshwater.  

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