One race I wish I could go to - Tennessee River 10 mile swim

I was looking around at different new OW swims and found this one.  If I had the PTO and the money to fly out there, I would definitely do this one.  It looks like alot of fun!

Results of the 2010 Deer Creek Open Water Marathon (10 Miles in 4:50:03)

Yesterday I dropped Austin off at the club, and I went over to my parents house to do a shave down.  Boy that sure takes a long time to do it right.  At 8:30 we left for Deer Creek.  We had taken all the seats out of the van and set up a cot and a air mattress to sleep on in the back.  We parked in a parking lot just off the freeway heading into Wallsburg, about a mile from the entrance and slept in the back.  It was a cool night and we both slept great!

I set my alarm for 5:30 and then drove over.  Thing is, nobody was there yet.  Why did I have the impression to get there early?  I ended up helping set up a few signs, but I didn't need to get up that early. Oh well.  We set the kayak up at the dock and heard a brief safety meeting. The 10 milers got to start first rather than have a mass start with 1 mile, 5k, 10k and 10 mile swimmers all starting together. 70 swimmers all starting together is a bit much. The start was much more controlled, so that was a great move by the race director.

There were 11 x 10 mile entrants.  5 guys and 6 ladies.  6 with wetsuits and 5 without.  Here's a picture of most of them.  We started off and there was a girl without a wetsuit who was smokin!  She took off and I never saw her again after the first 100 yards.  I was really impressed.  There were about 3 or 4 other people in front of me as well.  I was NOT going to get all worried about my placement in the pack.  I was all about starting at a nice controlled pace and just worry about getting each mile under 30 minutes.  

At about 1 mile into it I was passed by a red capped (10K) swimmer and then another.  Here come the speed demon 10K swimmers.  The 5K turnaround point was way in the bay much further than the past couple years.  The weather was perfect and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  When I got to a bend at mile 3.5 I had passed a non wetsuit guy who was busy with his support boat looking for the buoy.  I wasn't going to waste time trying to locate a buoy so I kept on swimming directing Austin to stay along the shoreline on the right.  About 5 minutes later a power boat came over and said we needed to turn left and go straight across the bay instead of going along the outside, so when you see my actual course below, you'll see I took a longer route than the others (which is strange that my total at the end still turned out to be 10 miles and not like 10.25 or something).  

My first feed wasn't until just before mile 4.  I had gone 1:45 and got my first gatorade and a cereal bar.  I kept that feeding to under a minute.  Which was great!  I then took off and at the 5 mile mark where we turn around I had just repassed the non wetsuit guy who took the correct shorter route from the previous bay.  While I was swimming I made sure to watch my arms on the pull.  I really focused on bending my elbow and pulling my hand directly back instead of doing an 'S' pull which I usually do.  I notice that when I do an S pull I end up not getting a full and powerful stroke because I'm not directing the pull towards my feet as much.  With this concentration on my pull and my bilateral breathing I was able to really get the power I needed to maintain the time I wanted.

At around mile 6 I was breathing to the side only to see Austin halfway out of the boat grasping on to the sides for dear life.  I wasn't expecting that view and stopped and yelled out "Austin are you OK!  What the heck are you doing?"  He said, "I have to pee really bad!"  I immediately started back up my swim and had to laugh underwater.  I never thought of how my support guys bathroom needs.  Swimmers can just go and swim at the same time, but not the poor support crew.

I was feeling strong the whole way and did not have any aches or pains that significantly bothered me.  When I got back to Wallsburg bay the wetsuited guy who was up ahead was within sight.  He kept stopping every twenty minutes or so.  I would catch up and then he would start up just as I caught up to him.  Then he would really sprint up ahead and then stop later on and I'd catch him.  After about 3 or 4 of these bursts of his, he ended up losing his steam and at Mile 8, I had pulled way ahead of him and there was no recovery for him.  

When I got to Mile 9 I really started to turn it on.  When I got to the 1/2 mile left buoy I really turned on the afterburners and really picked it up.  I felt like I was doing a full sprint into the final buoy.  I felt so great!  My final time was 4:50:03.  I was able to get 29 minutes exactly per mile.  Got 10 minutes under my goal time, so I'm pleased.  I took second overall in the Male division.  First in the Male Non-wetsuit division though.  Here's the official results.  The guy who took first is the high school swim coach from Evanston.  He wore a wetsuit and got a really sick time of something like 4:15.  I really wonder how much that wetsuit shaves off on his time.  The girl that shot of right from the start got like 4:22.  Wow that was really impressive.  So I was the second non-wetsuited swimmer too.  Third overall.

I'm REALLY glad I didn't wear a wetsuit.  The water was PERFECT.  The water was 66 degrees in the morning and by the time I got out I'm sure it was well into the low 70s.  The chaffing from a wetsuit would not be worth the buoyancy advantage.   I only took about 4 feedings.  Total of 4 gaterades and  3 cereal bars.  They were all really speedy feedings and I attribute at least 2-3 minutes off my time had I taken my time like I usually do when I take a feeding.  It's good practice to focus on keeping them short!

This years race was perfect.  No weather problems, it was well organized, the shirts were much better and the staggered start times were awesome. Austin did a fantastic job the whole time staying with me. What a good time I had.  I'm already looking forward to next years swim.  Next up..... Slam the Dam.  I'm doing a grand slam.

Nice and easy 2 laps in BL

Got up this morning and did two laps at Bountiful Lake (just over 2 miles) in 56 minutes.  I stayed loose and didn't really push it.  I'm a little sore from last night's table tennis tournament in Riverdale where I tied for first place among the 18 participants.  Not terribly sore, just a little stiff and the swim felt great as it loosened up those muscles in my mid back.

The water surprisingly isn't warming up as hot as I would expect.  The air temp in the afternoon is in the mid to high 90's, but the water seems to be staying in the 70s.  Very nice.   Now I'll do my shavedown tomorrow and carb up a bit for Saturday.  Cross your fingers for clear skies and no wind.  Should be a great swim!

I stopped by and picked up a Deseret News to read Jared's article on open water swimming which he interviewed me about on Monday.  He did a good job with it despite my stammering and haphazard thought processes.  The article included lots of good pictures.  Hopefully more pool swimmers take the plunge into bigger waters and free themselves of the confines of the lane lines and sidewalls.

My goal for Saturday's swim is to get the 10 miles in under 5 hours.  I really want to at least get just under that 2 mph average.  That should definitely be obtainable as long as I keep my feedings limited to 30 seconds every 45 minutes.  Austin has agreed to be my paddler and I'll have to review the feeding procedures with him as well as the importance of staying right at my 10 and 2.

What I like about Open Water Swimming

Today's swim was an easy two laps around Bountiful Lake - 2 miles in under an hour.

Now for some commentary.....

A couple nights ago Jared Eborn, sports writer for the Deseret News, called me at home and asked me several questions about open water swimming for an article he's writing and publishing tomorrow in the newspaper.  I must admit that I do better at organizing my thoughts in written word, than in verbal communication.  I'm sure he was disappointed with the quality of my answers as I was going off on tangents and not really making meaningful or thought provoking answers.

One of his questions was something like why open water swimming appeals to me.  I said something like "It's relaxing, and it isn't very difficult to do."  While that's true, it isn't what makes me passionate about it.

During today's swim at Bountiful Lake, I put more thought into that question and came up with the following:

• I love the coolness of the water on my skin.
• The rhythmical sound of my stroke and water washing over me is hypnotic.
• Watching the sun rise or set while breathing to the side is a sight that not many people get to appreciate.
• I get a good tan without having to be a lazy butt.
• It's quiet, I get to think, it's not intense physically to do, and I get to focus on my breathing.  So in a big way, it's alot like meditation.

Another question he asked was about the tight knit group of open water swimmers.  While I would say that I have a friendship with Josh Green.  He's about the only person in the open water community that I'd say I have a connection to.   Open water swimming actually lends itself quite well to people who would be classified as anti-social personalities.  Other sports like running, or biking you can do and socialize (should you want to) at the same time.  Even pool swimming, you can socialize in between sets.  Open water swimmers, while training have more in common with fish, than with people:

• Is the water clean?  It sure would be nice if all that trash and crap wasn't floating in the water.
• What's up with all these hooks in the water?  Avoid those as much as possible.
• Please bird when you fly over me, don't dive down like you're gonna attack.  And especially don't defecate in the water!

Pool swimming is like football, and open water swimming is like soccer.  It's totally different in its intensity and endurance.  I was especially struck by my friend's statement after she did the English Channel.  While the actual quote maybe significantly different to this, it came across to me like this:  "While I've spent many hours with my face under water in the darkness, I feel like I need to come up to breathe and strengthen some relationships that I have neglected."  So in that sense open water swimming is an antisocial's sport.  

It's also an individual sport.  I personally don't like team sports.  While a victory as a team can be great and socially rewarding.  Without a great deal of discipline by each and every team member, a defeat can often lead to blame and distaste for others on the team.  So what appeals to me about competitive swimming is that I have nobody to blame but myself.  I also put more emphasis on my success on my goal time, than on how I place against other swimmers.  While it's nice to take 1st or 2nd in something, getting that goal time is the real monument of achievement for me. 

Open water swimming for me is less about competition, but going the distance.  Challenging myself to endure and progress against my previous accomplishments rather than comparing myself to other individuals.  That is a much less stressful way to think and again goes back to my stupid answer, it's a stress relief.

Oh how I love Chlorine

Today was my first pool swim in a while, and boy was it nice.  Call me warped, but I love the taste of chlorine.  It sure tastes better than the Great Salt Lake, or Bountiful Lake.  Although I never intentionally swallow any water I swim in, that is truly nasty.  This morning looked way too cloudy and stormy to comfortably swim at BL, so I stopped at Layton Surf N' Swim for this workout:

1800 yards straight nice and easy (27 minutes)
800 - 4 x (100 fly kick with fins, 100 free kick with fins) nonstop.
800 - 4 x (100 fly kick with fins on back, 100 back kick with fins) nonstop.  On this set focus on long exhales with head looking back upside down underwater.
1000 - 5 x 200's free pull on 3:00 descend 1-5 (2:45, 2:40, 2:35, 2:33, 2:30)
1000 - 5 x 200's free no equipment on 3:00
100 back easy
500 - 5 x 100's free on 1:30 desc 1-5 (1:25, 1:20, 1:18, 1:15, 1:12)
100 breast/back cool down

6100 yards total -- felt great!

During last Saturday's eventful swim, I thought of something that would get me in the record books.

But I'll keep that a secret so nobody beats me to it.  But it will be awesome!

Stansbury Swim - just under 10 miles

Friday night Brendon made some final modifications to his canoe.  He had already built a rowing system for it and some pontoons.  He then put in a rudder at the end so it would help stabilize and minimize the side to side movement.  So we got up early this morning and went out to the GSL State Marina.  We had about 30-50% cloud cover, but non threatening.  The wind was zero and the water was as smooth as glass.  Nice!  

Me swimming towards Stansbury.
Camera lens needs cleaning.

The first 5 miles were great.  I was going faster than projected and I was feeling strong.  The feedings were going well.  Once we got to 6.4 we turned around and started to come back.  The weather report from last night said afternoon storms and if we went all the way to the Island it would have required Diana to come get us.  So we decided to just go halfway there and just swim back.  So we turned back.  About 8 miles into the swim, the wind was coming from the South South West, and the waves started to pick up.  I could tell it was harder for Brendon to stay straight.  The rudder isn't designed to prevent the boat from turning when the wind and waves hit it.  He was slowing down as he was down to using mostly his right side to keep the boat from compromising direction to the waves and wind.  I was feeling some aches in my shoulder at 6, but by 8 the waves had made the swim more exciting!  My aches were gone and I was enjoying the rhythm of the swells.  

Camera lens smeared, sorry.
Brendon and his cool canoe attachments.

We kept on going, even though I could tell the boat was getting further off and I would often stop to let him catch up.  I could see that the rest of the swim would either be really slow going as I can't just leave my support boat there struggling with his course.  So I stayed relatively close to the boat.  I could see a sailboat yacht off to our east and it was heading right for us.  Crap!  I was sure they were going to try "rescuing us".  But our course was going all over the place and at this point the clouds from the south didn't look any more friendly.  It was only going to get worse.  We still had a good 3 miles to go and if we needed help this was our chance to take it without it being a real emergency.  So reluctantly, I pulled the plug on the remainder of the swim.  

They threw me a line and I tied it up to the front of the canoe and then swam to the back of the boat where our very kind weekend yachters had let down a ladder for me.  They had a hose they let me shower off with and then we took the 6 mph ride the rest of the way.  The winds did pick up and according to our new friends had gusts up to 30 knots.  

The map below if you zoom in on the last mile can see the zig zag struggle the we had.

Here's the map:  (Click the "view full screen" button below to zoom in and get details)

I did not feel let down getting in the boat, because I knew in my mind that I could have most certainly finished the swim, had I not had a support boat.  I was feeling strong and energized by the waves and wasn't taking on water, or feeling drained.  I only had another three miles. I could have made it really with not much problems.  If I had thrown in the towel because I was tired, or drained, and gave up mentally, then yes, I would have been disappointed with today's swim, but I definitely had another 5 miles for sure left in me.  

The GPS tracking history shows that the total swim was 9.75 miles in 5:10.   Nice.  Gives me a good confidence booster for next week's Deer Creek race.  I should do well.  Hopefully the wind and storms all blow through and we don't have another repeat of last year. 

World Record Blog

Boy I must have really been bored during this morning's swim.  I was thinking and figured my swim log is probably a world record in that no other individual has an electronic, publicly available archive of pool workouts, and swimming related articles as this one.  I currently have 678 pages of pool workouts, open water swim reports and meet/event results on this site.  If someone could find another site by an individual with more data than this, I would LOVE to be proven wrong, and get a link.  I've looked and I just can't find it.  Cause I sure could use some variety come this winter when Open Water swims aren't a possibility.

Today's swim was tougher than normal.  I just wasn't feeling it.  I only get in that state about a couple days a month and this was one of them.  I met Josh at the boat ramp at BL at 6:30 and did one lap with him.  He got there at 6:00 and started his second lap when I started my first.  He had to get home so I did two more laps without him.  I was really struggling mentally.  I didn't have any aches or pains, just was having trouble getting into the zone.  And as you could tell my head was getting a little big.  I'm still quite a newbie to OW, only been doing it for two years, so I'm NOT an expert by any means!

Total Swim:  3 Laps (@ 3.25 miles) in 1:30

This will be my last swim until the Stansbury Island swim this Saturday.  I'll be going into BL tomorrow though for some trash cleanup along the perimeter of the lake.

Three laps in BL

Drove to Bountiful Lake this morning and got in at 6:45 am.  Did three laps (@ 3.25 miles).  Water was a little unsettled with wind from the south.  Not too bad though.  Was able to do the three laps just under 1.5 hours.  Hit a good sized tree branch right at the end and I towed it in and threw it in the garbage.  Noticed a bunch of trash floating near the boat ramp so I collected it and also threw it in the trash.  

I think I'll come back on Thursday morning, not to swim, but solely dedicated to trash collection.  With my wedding ring at the bottom of the lake, in a way I feel a bit like I'm married to BL.  So I'll be cleaning up after the pigs who have had their way with her.

It's only algae

This morning got up early and spray painted Isaac's bike in the garage with him.  He was excited to give it a new color.  Afterwards I drove out to BL and swam two laps in 58 minutes.  The taste of the water has gotten fouler than last time.  The water was very warm.  I didn't take a reading but I'm guessing it's in the 80s now.

I was thinking about the "Safe Swim Defense" points from last week's scout camp.  I used a little trick to memorize the points in order.  Here's my goofy way to memorize it:  "Queen Pat swam lazily like a big doofus".  The first letter of each word representing the real points to remember:

• Qualified Supervision
• Physical Fitness
• Safe Area
• Lookout
• Lifeguard
• Ability Groups
• Buddy System
• Discipline

With me swimming alone in Bountiful Lake, I'm violating the Buddy System.  I don't mean to make excuses, but I'm only 20 yards from where I can touch at all times.  And hypothermia is definitely not an issue now.  Anyway, I had a decent swim and didn't have any problems.  

One thing that kept my mind occupied is the fact that I am registered to take a CPR class with the Red Cross on August 16th and after that will have completed all the requirements to get the BSA Lifeguard certification.  Cathi and I were talking last night about getting a side job to supplement the budget for Christmas presents this year.  Instead of her getting a job, I'm going to apply for a lifeguard job at SDRC.  I know the pay will be crap, but I'll get free admission to swim there too, which is a huge bonus. 

I'll be lifting shoulders and upper back at lunch today.

Report of last week's Camp Evergreen swimming, as well as planned swim to Stansbury

So last week I spent the week at Camp Evergreen in the Uintahs.  I'll try not to be negative, but basically the waterfront sucked.  The water was a cool 60 degrees and I got several hours of exposure to the water.  I did the BSA Lifeguard certification and also participated with Jacob in the Lifesaving MB which he completed.

The mile swim consisted of 36 laps in a 25 yard roped section of the lake.  The water was too shallow overall to do a real open water swim, so last week's swimming was just not happening as I had hoped even though I did spend alot of time in the water doing rescues and acting as a victim.  I did the rowing merit badge with Jacob Dangel which also consisted of swamping the boat.

I got up on Thursday morning real early with Jacob Dangel and did the polarbear with him.  The poor kid came up out of the water with a look on his face I'll never forget.  He was immediately in a pre-hypothermic state.  It was kind of funny as he made the scout sign and repeated in his stuttering voice in the below 60 degree water.

"A sc-sc-sc-out is t-t-t-rustworthy, l-l-l-loyal...."  I was right there next to him in the water doing the sign and helping him recite them.  It wasn't that he didn't know the oath and law.  He's a life scout, very close to Eagle, but the water had an immediate effect on his motor and brain function.  Carlos, the waterfront director was chuckling as he watched Jacob stutter out the law and oath.  I wish I had my waterproof camera of the event.  It was great.

As for this weekend.  I am planning to swim from the Great Salt Lake marina on the south end of the lake out to Stansbury Island.  Then I'll get in the support boat and paddle back.  It's just under 12 miles to swim and I'm not ready for a round trip of 24 miles especially in that salt water.  Here's the route I have uploaded to my GPS.  Actual route my vary depending on water depth....


I'm planning to do this with my brother in law, Brendon Hatch, as my support paddler, since Jacob and Austin are both on vacation with their grandparents.