150 yards in 33.9°F water

I planned on going just for a cold water swim right before sundown at Antelope Island Marina.  Cathi ran a few errands for Christmas shopping, but at 4pm she was still not back.  So I took Oliver, my 4 year old.  I parked the car on the boat ramp parallel to the water (so if my brakes went out it wouldn't roll down into the water).  I left the car running with the heat going full blast.  Oliver was content to just sit in his seat playing games on my Ipod.  I said, "Oli, I'll be back in about 4 minutes.  Stay here and just play your game."

I was already in my speedo and applied some channel grease to my shoulders and put on my cap, goggles, ear plugs and walked quickly down the ramp to the water's edge and got in.  The water felt even colder than Thursday.  I didn't put in a thermometer yet.  I just put it on the ramp to take a reading when I got back.

I waded up to my waist and then dove in and started to swim.  I was heading towards the marina opening and made it out about 150 yards.  The bottom of my feet were killing me.  Everything was on fire, but the bottom of my feet were intense!  I turned around at that point and swam back.  It's one thing to swim alone, but swim alone in water that is icy?  You have to be very in tune with your limitations.  I didn't want to push it.  I swam back and hit stop on my watch.  Only 2:33.  Boo.  I had to take a quick temp.  I was convinced that it was sub 40.  My digital thermometer said 33.9°F.  What the heck!  It snowed this morning and we had a brisk wind from the west, but I didn't think it would be low 30's.  That was amazing!

I could have gone longer, but was happy with a solo for that amount of time.  It's only gonna get colder baby! Got to do twice a week in hopes that its not so tough each time.  The body has to acclimatize!

It was funny.  On the way back home.  Oliver actually stopped playing his game to watch me shake and shiver.  He was looking at me in this really puzzled and concerned look.  "Dad, are you cold?"  "Yeah, just a little buddy."

@ 150 yards in 2:33

300 yards in 41° water

This week Josh brought his wife Sabrina and their two boys.  I love seeing kids watch their Dads do crazy stuff, especially when their young.  It really burns in to their minds that their Dad has character instead of a Dad who sits in front of the TV in the recliner watching football while reading the paper.  How boring.

Josh asked me what my goal was and I said, 'Just one lap'.  I felt like bailing today after my long 17 mile swim in the morning, but knew that I really needed the cold water exposure.  Once a week is a bear minimum (pun intended).  So today was less about how far or how long I was in, just that I got in.  So one lap is about 350 yards and that would take about 5 minutes.  That's good enough.

Josh was first to get in and started.  I LOVE IT WHEN SOMEONE ELSE TAKES THE LEAD.  I was a few seconds behind him.  The water burned instantly on contact.  It got colder.

The great thing is that all the knots in my back and neck from my swim earlier, were instantly gone.  Talk about effective therapy!  When I got to the end of the marina Josh was on his way back.  He started doing some heads out breaststroke.  I cut that lap just a little short so I could swam side by side with him.  When we got back I asked Sabrina to throw me my digital thermometer so I can take a reading.   It read 41° F.  I switched it to Celcius and it read 5°C exactly.  Wow!  That's the temp it needs to be to be included in the Ice Swimming Association.  Now if I can just do that lap 5 times.  Yeah right!

However I was glad that this time the one lap didn't totally demoralize me like last week.  I felt like last week was tougher.  Now if we can just maintain the one lap as it gets colder, that would be awesome.  After I got out I said goodbye and jogged up to the car and did my post cold water swim routine in the car then drove off to my parents house for a nice shower.

Then went off to see a special screening of a new documentary with Josh and Goody called Evaporating Shorelines.

When my head hit the pillow, I was out!  What a day!

Just completed swimming around Long Island, NY

Today I took PTO so that I could do a blitz on the 250 mile swim.  I needed 29,500 yards and did 30,000.  Started out at SDRC at 0500 and swam the first 7900 yards when all of a sudden the lights went out.   It was really windy outside and the lights were flickering all morning.  So the lifeguards kicked us out.  When I got in my car, the lights went back on and they opened up the pool again, so I resumed my workout, and then at 9800 yards they went out again.  So I decided to just go to Northwest Recreation Center.

This is my second time there and I was pleased with this place.  The water temp was 82.7 and I was the only one there (besides the lifeguard) for like 5 hours.  Here's the details of today's workout:

8000 - 4 x 2000's free (even no equip, odd pull)
rest, get something to eat and back in the water in 5 minutes.
6000 - 3 x 2000's free (even no equip, odd pull)
1000 kick with fins
Do the above workout all over again to get:
30,000 yards total in 9:40 including the drive over to NWRC and also the wasted time at SDRC.

Submitted my VirtualOpenWaterRace Spreadsheet to Karen Reeder. 

Dodgeball

Last night I was with the scouts and we played dodgeball.   I threw the ball pretty hard a few times and each time my left shoulder had a quick little pain.  Weird thing is I'm right handed and throwing with my right shouldn't have affected my left shoulder but it did.  After a couple games, I quit playing.

This morning when I got up at 0400, I couldn't lift my left arm without serious pain.  I went back to bed, I was so tired.  But then I realized I should at least go in, sit in the hot tub and try to stretch it out and really do an assessment of it in the pool.  I got there, sat in the hot tub for about 10 minutes and then got in the pool at 7:00.  I started out with:

1000 - 10 x 100's alternate free and breast :10 ri

No pain at all on breast, but left arm recovery on free was pretty painful. But bearable and seeming to get better so I continued...

1000 - 10 x 100's alternate kick (no fins) and free :10 ri
1000 - 10 x 100's all free on 1:30-1:40
Then did the above set all over.  The left shoulder was getting better and less painful as the workout went on.


6,000 yards total in 2:15


By the end, it was just an annoyance and not really a pain.  Stopped at Walgreen's on the way to work to get some heat patches and man those are awesome.

At any rate this month has been a good month.  In fact it breaks my last PR of the furthest distance in one month.  Last record was 145 miles.  This month I swam 147.3 miles (259,250 yards).  Not too shabby.

The best showers in Davis County

Another bonus to showering at 4:40am is that
the water pressure is all yours!  Nobody
else is up that early taking your water
pressure.  I love getting blasted with hot water!

One great thing about the South Davis Rec Center is the showers.  They are very powerful and plenty hot.  I've been to just about every facility in Davis county, many in Weber and Salt Lake Counties and SDRC has the best showers by far.  I'm out the door at 0415 almost every day just so I can have a nice shower before my swim.  This is my cup of coffee.  I love a powerful hot shower.  But after my swim, I go with a cold one so I don't get too soft.

Today's workout was a copy of 2010's Spooky Swim workout, except I had to cut it short a little and modified it to this:


1000 - 400 Free and IM, 200 choice
800 - 8 x 100's kick IM on 2:45
1600 - 16 x 100's pull on 1:30
800 - 4 x 200's Drill (100 left/right arm, 100 fingertip drag) on 4:00
400 free build each 100.  1:00 ri
600 - 2 x 300's free build by 150.  1:00 ri
600 - 3 x 200's free hard (MUST GET 2:30 or your rest gets cut by :15!) on 3:30 

I was very happy to get 2:21-2:24 on all those

400 - 4 x 100's free fast (must get under 1:15) on 1:30

Got 1:11-1:12 on all

300 - 6 x 50's free sprint
400 - 4 x 100's choice moderate 
300 Easy
Do again:

1000 - 400 Free and IM, 200 choice
800 - 8 x 100's kick IM on 2:45
1600 - 16 x 100's pull on 1:30
800 - 4 x 200's Drill (100 left/right arm, 100 fingertip drag) on 4:00
400 free build each 100.  1:00 ri
600 - 2 x 300's free build by 150.  1:00 ri
600 - 3 x 200's free hard (MUST GET 2:30 or your rest gets cut by :15!) on 3:30

I got 2:29 on the first one and picked it up on the other two and got 2:22,2:25.  I ran out of time and had to get to work so I did a warmdown and got out.

200 cool down (100 back, 100 free)


13,200 yards total  - Much better day than yesterday


How are the showers at your pool?

Coaches, Coaches, Everywhere...

Last Saturday during my swim there were probably 3-4 coaches on deck directing adult swimmers.  Many of them talking with their students for A LONG TIME.  I realize it's really none of my business but I couldn't help but notice that some of them were talking for thirty to sixty minutes without doing a single stroke in the water.  I was so curious as to what wisdom was being imparted in that amount of time.  Then I thought, gee, maybe I should get a coach.  I've been there before and it's been actually very motivational to be held accountable to someone.  But then a voice popped in my head and I really don't know why.

"So you want someone to coach to you?  You want a methodology do you?  There are many willing to teach you the philosophies of men, mingled with aquadynamics". 

 I almost laughed in the water.  There are many folks out there who don't really have any business teaching swimming.  For example: most scoutmasters.  However there are a ton of qualified people with significant background to be a great resource eager learners. Anyway, I just find it amusing that there are so many so called "experts" and "coaches" out there eager to feed the masses..... for a buck.  Given the quantity of coaches out there, make sure that you pick one that REALLY knows what they're doing, especially if they're gonna charge you.  It was really odd that I was going through these thoughts because this weekend, Steven Munatones also posted the importance of a good open water coach.  You can read that here.

Anyway I had a great day off yesterday and my upper body was rejuvinated.  I even got a word from Anne Cleveland congratulating me on my significant mileage.   However she said not to forget the importance of recovery and that it is a vital part of training.  So this morning's swim was cut back a bit to allow for some active recovery.

1000 free easy
1000 - 10 x 100's free on 1:30
1000 - 1000 kick with fins
2000 pull
1000 - 10 x 100's free on 1:30
1000 - 10 x 100's back on 2:00
2000 free
1000 - 10 x 100's free on 1:30


10,000 yards total in 2:45

I was feeling pretty crappy the whole time.  Felt like giving up after 5000, but stuck with it to get my 10K.  Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

It's more about the choices YOU make that forges your destiny, than your DNA

This week's total comes to 94,600 yards total (53.75 miles)  That is a new PR.  The previous record was 79,500 yards which beats that record by over 8 miles.  And that's even with Sunday off (I always take Sunday off), and Thanksgiving day off.  Those yards were done in five days this past week.  So it was a pretty good kick butt week.  I'm only one week away from finishing the 250 mile Virtual Open Water Marathon Race which started less than 2 months ago.

Yesterday afternoon while I was at the big Day After Thanksgiving dinner with my extended family, I was talking with my Dad and he said that he often gets asked by his friends where I get my swimming, from my Mom or Dad.  His answer, "I have no idea".  This was something I often have wondered also.  I asked my Mom and Dad yesterday to estimate how far they have swam in their entire life.  The number totaled around 3 miles.  Wow!  So I swim more in a couple hours than they have in their whole lives - combined.  That got me thinking and I thought to myself this morning, you know its more about the choices YOU make that forges your destiny, than your DNA.

This morning it felt great to sleep in a little.   I was in the water at 0805 and did the following:

2 x {
1000 - 10 x 100's free on 1:30 long, strong strokes
1000 kick
2000 pull

I just need one more ice bag for the other
shoulder, then I'd really look like a
Linebacker wanna be.

1000 - 10 x 100's free on 1:30 long, strong strokes
1000 - 10 x 100's backstroke on 2:00.  Focus on extended stroke and shoulder rotation
2000 pull

}

16,000 yards total in 4:25

I felt great and wanted to do 4,000 more yards to get an even 20K, but figured I already spent half the day away and wanted to get home and spend time with the family.  

Amazed that my shoulders and and upper back are only slightly sore and not completely nonfunctional given the amount of use they've been put through.  Been icing them and massaging them and I think that is really making a difference.

Black Friday 20 mile swim

I took the time before going to bed on Thanksgiving day to write up this workout:

2000 - 1 x 2000 free nice and easy warmup

3600 - 2 x 1800's fast(timed), slow (pull)

4500 - 3 x 1500's descending

4800 - 4 x 1200's 

(12 x 100's free, 12 x 100's one arm fly, 12 x 100's back, 12 x 100's free)

(14,900 so far)  

5000 - 5 x 1000's Pull/free/kick/pull/free

Shoulder blades started to really hurt.  Took 800 MG Ibuprofen and by the last 1000 it was all better.

4800 - 6 x 800's - 3 free, 3 pull

4200 - 7 x 600's – first two – kick, next three free, last two pull

(28,900 so far) Almost there!

3200 - 8 x 400's on 6:00 (bank :05 per set)

1800 - 9 x 200's IM odd/free even on 3:15, 2:45

Cathi showed up after I did the first set of 200's.  Apparently she ran to SDRC from home (20 mile run).  So she sat in the camp chair I setup and watched me on the remainder of this workout.  It sure helped boost my spirits to have her there smiling at me.  

1000 - 10 x 100's on 1:30 desc 1-5 (1:22-1:23, 1:18-1:20, 1:16-1:17, 1:12-1:13, 1:05)

I was so surprised that I was able to pull 1:05's at the very end of this VERY LONG workout.

400 pull cooldown


35,300 yards total = 20 miles in 9:48


I got out about 4 times to go to the bathroom, and get some snacks from my bag.  I was only out of the water for less than 5 minutes.  This is a new PR in the sense that I've never swam this far in one session.  Last year I did 40,000 in one day, but that was split into a morning and then coming back for an afternoon swim.  This one was all at once.  


I'm feeling great even after all that.  No issues with the shoulders, just some knots around my shoulder blades.  But that can be fixed with a little massage action with the magic wand.  Looking forward to tomorrow's short 15,000 yards.  Plus I'll get to sleep in a bit.  After tomorrow's workout I'll have a new weekly PR for distance.

Pre-Thanksgiving cold water swim - 700 yards in 48° water

Met Goody, Josh and Jake at GSL Marina at 4:15pm.  Goody shared with me his draft plans to become a member of the International Ice Swimming Association.  He's been very busy.

Getting in is actually the easiest part
of the whole process.  The finish
and the recovery is the toughest.

We gathered at the boat ramp and took a temp.  My thermometer read 47.6°F.  The sun was quickly going down and I wanted to get going, so I went ahead.  I wanted two laps of the boat ramp to Marina opening.  Each lap being .21 miles or 350 yards.  Getting in was easy.  The start was easy.  Halfway through the second lap I noticed my muscles in my chest and triceps were "Sticking".  Like they were literally freezing.  I was starting to hurt.  The last half lap was the hardest.

I finished at the boat ramp and noticed my watch read 9:40 so I backed up a bit and went up to my shoulders and hung out until 10 minutes exactly, then I got out.  I immediately noticed that my left and right shoulders were rubbed raw from my scruffy jawbone when breathing to the side.  Looks like from now on when swimming in the GSL, even if it's a measly 700 yards, I'll need to put just a dab of channel grease on my left and right shoulders.

This was a tough week for me.  I got dressed and ran up to the car to warm up.  I don't like shivering and chattering away even among friends.  I realize that every one of them go through the shakes just like I do, but it's a little embarrassing, I don't know why I feel that way.  I suggested that next time we all go at once so we don't have to wait around and recover after the swim while others are just starting.

I told Josh, I'm still not convinced that I'm even considering setting a goal to be on the International Ice Swimming Association.  I think I'll stick to my 2 lap 10 minute swims.  It's going to get harder as the water gets colder, but the distance at this point will not increase until I'm more confident and able to strengthen myself mentally especially beyond the 7 minute mark.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Looking forward to a day to rest and recover then kick it into high gear on Black Friday!

New secret weapon (well no longer a secret anymore)

I've been a good boy icing my shoulders off and on all day long, which is great.  My shoulders don't give me any trouble, but lately it's really been the muscles that surround my shoulder blades.  They're getting a little knotted up.  I don't feel like going to see a massage therapist, so I broke out The Magic Wand!  This thing is awesome.  I had Jonas push it into the grooves around my shoulder blades and really work those knots out.  That was the best thing I could have done, because this morning's swim had no knots or tightness whatsoever!  The result is actually better than when I have gone to a massage therapist for the exact same thing.  All I've got from a massage is a slight improvement, but $50 poorer.  This thing pays for itself in two sessions.

I did an exact repeat of monday, including the time it took:

12,000 - 6 x 2000's free, odd no equip, even pull
1000 kick with fins
1100 free strong
100 backstroke

14,200 yards (8 miles) total in 3:30  Felt great!!!

Looking forward to a mid week day off tomorrow to enjoy thanksgiving, but come Friday, Cathi has given me special permission to put in a crazy day.  I plan to swim 20 miles on Friday.


I finally caught up with Will in GTD, and have my sights on Larry Hartley and Tim Martin.