Open water swimming

[MasterBlaster]

I would always be visualizing a giant, gaping-mouthed tiger shark barrelling upwards towards me!

 

[No_Bivy]

no sharks in that lake....LOL

 

[cory]

Well then maybe an errant Bull shark.

 

[No_Bivy]

https://youtu.be/bzJv-SZ41II

seems like the guys really crank up outta the water....sighting and breathing at same time

did quick 30 min swim.........felt tired but good to shake lactic acid out

 

[pantheraba]

yep...but the best ones keep their head down most of the time. Those guys that keep the head high are injecting inefficiency there. When I took a drownproofing course at GA Tech in 1970 the instructor said a head weighed about 15 pounds (never asked him how he knew!). Lifting the head high pushes one down...the leaders in that swim (35 and 05) had low profile head work as they did most of their stroke. Cool to see such efficient swimmers...what a Charley Foxtrot when they went around the buoy at the turn!

 

[cory]

A good friend of mine has done 17 ironman triathlons, he's an awesome swimmer, just motors thru the water with a pretty mellow looking stroke. He periodically does head lifting for sighting which afaik is necessary for maintaining proper direction in open water. When I swim with him in choppy/wavy conditions I find it quite challenging while he just chugs along as if he's swimming in flat water. He just bobs like a cork through the rough water. It's quite a cool skill to have imo. He can swim for over an hour easily in open water without stopping for a rest, while I'm good for as much as 2 minutes between rests

 

[kevin bingham]

my wife is very good at sighting and getting above the water from her water polo days. when I start getting tired it becomes harder and harder to spot. I do pretty well staying ambidextrous with me breathing but when I get toward my end up on my stronger side. but spotting is very key else you'll swim in a circle. in a pool there is lane lines so you can just keep your head down. my wife really gets out of the water on her spot and really gets a good look. the worst is to expend the energy and not actually spot what your trying to spot. if the glasses start fogging it is more difficult.

 

[cory]

Sounds like you and I spot similarly, and your wife spots just like my trip head friend, they get high up and take a good look but without disrupting the stroke at all.

Water polo folks absolutely rock in the water. Awesome sport.

 

[kevin bingham]

my wife and 20 week old unborn baby just completed the swim the suck. I had a leisurely 10 mike paddle down the river. it took her 4 hours 10 minutes. what an awesome day. cloudy but warm. slight breeze. saw a bald eagle countless herons kingfishers and comorants. thanks for the tip on this swim John! wouldn't have done it without reading about it here first. maybe one day ill be able to swim for 5 hours.

 

[pantheraba]

Very cool, Kevin. Sounds like a very memorable day.

 

[kevin bingham]

interesting to me that the top three finishers were woman. the top woman had everyone bear by a good 15 minutes. the fourth place woman was a super star swimmer who had recently swum 104 miles across lake Champlain in 67 straight hours of swimming. insane. this 10 mile swim must have felt like a lap in the pool.

 

[No_Bivy]

awesome...what was the flow of the river?

what was the slowest time......just wondering if my fat ass could make it

 

[kevin bingham]

the flow was 19,000 from which was average. the highest its been was 33,000 cfs and the lowest has been 10,000. the slowest time was just a few minutes over 6 hours. 100 out of the 103 people that attempted completed. they said they would pull you out at 6 hours unless you were close. it kicked a lot of peoples asses but they made it. really good camaraderie and supportive people all around. I definitely could not have made it at this point in my swimming. people came from all over the country and a few from europe even.