GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 163)

Good luck to all the racers tomorrow!!

My new wetsuit!







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Tracey,

It was a bit hard to get a really good look, but what I saw looks great.   What brand?   How does it feel?  

Hope you are able to get into some open water.   My attempt on Wednesday was an utter failure - FREEZING - don't know the exact temp but from previous cold swims, I think it was probably about 50-55.   Ice cream burn on the face and I know after 10 minutes it would have felt bearable, but just wasn't into suffereing for 10 minutes. 

So we took the wetsuits off and stood knee deep in the ice water (thinking it would be good therapy for the knees)    and watched a crazy friend swim in it for one half hour!  

YO!

I'm at the motel in Jessup, MD, about to head over and rack my bike (mandatory today).

9.5 hours down here; yeah, I thought that when I wrote 7-8 hours that I might be off some. Oops.

My number is 83. I like that number, I can live with its potential fine karma.

Here's hoping my shoulder stops hurting by tomorrow, and DEFINITELY hoping that I don't get flats this year as I did last time I was here, in '05!!!!


ANNE! Glad you're back!

TRACEY! I'm glad the wetsuit is pleasing to you!

KASIA, MARK, DENISE! Again -- have fine and fun days tomorrow!

TRACEY -

Oh, you look like a happy wetsuiter!

(I covet your hardwood floors, by the way.....)

Hi Anne. Ya I don't know why my pic came out so little. Anyway, it's a TYR Hurricane 3. It fits great, which is a relief since the last one I tried was waaaayyyy too small. It seems to feel pretty good around the shoulders.

By the way, is it normal for the suit to have a sheen of sweat on the inside after you take it off?? (Eeew, I know).

I think I'm going to attempt my first OWS tomorrow on the swim course of my first race coming up next month. I checked it out today and waded in ankle deep. It feels pretty decent as far as the temperature goes.

I don't blame you for bailing on swimming in 50-55 degree waters. I would have done the same!

How's the knee feeling?

Hardwood floors are great when you have 3 pets and a messy kid.

Good luck tomorrow!

SteveB:

I scoped out the swim course for Escape today. It's funny, the distance looked kinda short from Shell Point to the pier. I went back and confirmed the start and stop points on the map when I got home to be sure. I haven't been down to that area in a while, and I forgot how shallow the water is. It actually looked as if a tall person could walk from the shore to the other side of the inlet without ever having the water above his head. It was low tide when I was there, but still... Well I suppose the water's got to be deep enough to swim otherwise they wouldn't have the race there. I mentioned in my post to Anne that I walked in up to my ankles and the water temp felt fine. Being an inlet, it never gets very cold. And in July and August, the water there is positively warm for swimming (rare on the Cape as I'm sure you know). So it should feel fine in a wetsuit next month.

I'm going to try to make it over there tomorrow afternoon for my first OWS. Hopefully I won't be covered with too much seaweed when I come out (there was tons of it in the water today).

Now that I've taken a look at the course, it doesn't feel so overwhelming. And if I can make it over tomorrow to swim, that will be ideal.

I'm going to take the day off work the Friday before the race to do the whole course. (I know that obviously would not be smart if you were doing say, an IM, but I'm assuming it's harmless to do this for a sprint??) I'm not sure what time you'll be arriving in town but if you're around, feel free to join me!

Tracey

TRACEY -

ONLY a "sheen" of sweat?!? You did really well, I think. You must be proof of the adage that goes something like "horses sweat, men perspire, women glisten". My first wetsuit try-on, at Wheelworks in Belmont, had me feeling saturated both outside AND inside.

I also think you did well landing a Tyr. They are a new player in the wetsuit field, but are getting strong reviews. Tyr had a big booth at the expo here, and had I known that you bought a Tyr I would've spent some time looking at them. Oh well.

Hey, I like swims that involve a lot of wading! I can get my fairly long legs going, and trundle along faster than the swimmers can swim. And, this does happen at some sites. The first few years of Musselman, in Geneva NY, were plagued by the extensive shelf going into Seneca Lake. So, many people waded/ran for as long as possible, and it made for a very screwy "swim". (The course has now been re-routed to include the "canal" that boats use to get to the marina (closed during the race!).

Let's keep talking about plans for that Friday. I'm not sure when I'm leaving home, but there's no presently obvious reason why I can't leave as early as necessary. On the surface, right now, it sounds like a plan!

Have fun with the swim tomorrow, and be ready for an entirely different swim experience -- but a good one, to be sure!

Off to get my stuff ready --- and ice the dickens out of my dopey shoulder!

Good luck to all you other racers tomorrow!

Good thing my race wasn't today since we had some insane wind all through the morning and early afternoon, some gusts actually knocked me over, which is no easy feat. Biking in that would've been killer.

Tomorrow is looking gorgeous. I'm starting to get anxiously excited

Best of luck to you ALL, and have FUN!! Can't wait for race reports!

LISA

TRACY, good luck on the OWS today. Let us know how the wetsuit worked out.

We are off to the ballfields again today. Mid 90s yesterday but at least it was breezy ... and the boys won both of their games and ended up seeded #1 going into the playoff rounds today. One game to win today (fingers and toes crossed), and they will be in the championship.

LISA

I think I'm hooked! Today was absolutely awesome.

I survived the swim, killed the bike, and sucked at the run. 2 out of 3 ain't bad Unofficial time: 1:47:29

Race report to follow tomorrow, but now I'm off to kick butt in another flip cup tournament

Hope the other races went just as well for everyone else! I can't wait to hear about it.

KASIA, sounds like you had a great time ... can't wait to read the official race report!  Congrats!!

AWESOME!! So glad to hear you had a good time Kasia. And 1:47 is a great time!

Well I had mixed results with my first OWS adventure today. I did the 1/3 mile (500 meter) course from my first race next month. It's in an inlet off the coast of Cape Cod.

So I started by wading in until I was about waist high, then I dove in having forgotten to put on my goggles! Open eyes and all... So after the stinging went away, I managed to get my goggles on and got going. And... I... FREAKED. I mean, I've heard stories of people getting freaked out and panicky when they start the swim during an actual race, but alone in the water? Yes, this was my first time in open water, but I really did not expect to freak out the way I did. First, the water was super-salty (I know, duh.) And there was something sort of claustrophobic feeling about putting my face in the water and just seeing an opaque, murky greenish-brown color instead of that blue line at the bottom of the pool that I've gotten so used to. I managed to plow on, but I just couldn't bring myself to get my face down in the water. So I actually swam the whole course with my chin above the water, which I can't believe. I was so annoyed with myself the whole time. Two or three times I tried to put my face back down, but then I'd freak again and lift up my head. So of course with my chin above the water, I was struggling way more than I should have been and went very slow. But the amazing thing is, even with my head up, my legs were still hitting the surface of the water. So I guess that speaks for the remarkable qualities of a wet suit! In fact, I was actually struggling to keep my head and neck up because I almost felt my upper body being pushed down by my legs being so buoyant. Of course swimming like that was very difficult. There was one point when I was looking at a boat a bit ahead of me, and it seemed to not be getting any closer as if I was swimming in place. So my final time? 24 minutes! That's almost double my pool time. I guess I'm not surprised though since I made it very hard on myself by keeping my head up.

After I finished, I was so disappointed and kicking myself for not just getting over the face in the water thing. I figured, I had the same panicky feeling when I first starting learning to put my face in the water at the pool, so this was the same thing, just in a different environment. So my husband suggested I get back in and stay close to the shore, just to where the water was about hip height, and practice again where it felt safer. And lo and behold, I did it. I swam "properly" for about 2 minutes. I guess being close to the shore made it less overwhelming. And the feeling of swimming with my face in the water was so remarkably different from what I had just done. I almost felt like I was skimming over the surface of the water. And I felt like I was swimming about twice as fast.

So I'm going to try to make it back tomorrow for another swim. Hopefully I've gotten over the first-timers jitters and the second try will go a bit more smoothly!

Hey everybody!! Our very own Steve Bradley finished FIRST in his age group at the Columbia Triathlon today!

Congratulations Steve!

CONGRATULATIONS KASIA AND STEVE!!!!!!!!!   WELL DONE. 

Can't wait to see the race reports.   Great times.   

STEVE - 2nd place didn't even come close to you - 13 minutes behind!!!!!

TRACY, I could have written what you wrote describing my first open water swim!!  Even with all of the warnings, there is just something about putting your face into the water and seeing murkiness.  It's great that you have the opportunity to get out there and practice your actual course.  You will be so prepared for the race.  We just don't really have anywhere close to us to practice OWS, so I just don't have it down very well.  I'll be in the Ozarks weekend after next and hope to get an OWS in every day, so maybe that will help me next time around.  Sounds like you are well on your way!

STEVE B, congrats ... whoo hoo!!

Well done Tracey for sticking with it.   I agree with Lisa - what you describe is EXACTLY the experience I had for my first OWS and it did take me a few to get really comfy but each  one was better than the last. 

You don't let anything stand in your way!!!!

ANNE -

STAY HYDRATED! It's a scorcher here, and I can't imagine it's much better in Huntsville.

(As I write this, however, you and Ken are likely way out on the course somewhere.)

KASIA!!

I am really pleased that you had a good time yesterday -- and you're right that 2/3 ain't bad! If you kinda enjoyed the swim and did great on the bike, then you can still be thrilled even if the run isn't what you fully wanted it to be.

Get that report up here ASAP, okay??