Penn State's mentor group - CLOSED! (Page 4)

I wish I had a more convenient place to do OWS.  I have to drive a bit to get places that have them (we only have a few reservoirs around here that allow it, and they all tend to NOT be near me).  Like you mention Dharris, it's great for sighting and swimming straight, but you can do some speed work if there's buoys set up like around here.  Kind of like running on a track.  Swim fast to the next bouy, then swim slow and recover to the next.  I really just love the fact that I can swim continuously and don't have to turn around ever 25yards.  Really get into a rhythm and focus on form without that wall interrupting me.

Very very true...i didnt even think about that

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Dylan the buoys at LP are exactly 100m apart. So you can even check your pacing.

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I try to OWS twice every weekend; there's a lake near here that's 30 minutes from the house, and a few others closer but they are in the mountains and getting ice runoff now.

I actually enjoy it much more than lap swimming, but the problem is commuting to get there.  My pool is only 5 minutes away.

Did about 1600 meters in the pool this morning, I usually do workouts in the afternoon but I think my pool workouts are going to be in the morning now, 4 days a week, with 2 OWS on the weekends.  I did notice that because I didn't eat prior I had ZERO enery and even going 500 yards was a chore.  

That should give me about 16 more swim sessions until IMSG;  my form is really poor and I'm hoping I can make a few changes to increase my speed or lessen my effort before the race.

My plan is to stay in the back but close to the buoys.  I'm not sure (no one is) how the buoys are set up at IMSG but I find the 'side' sighting methods works best for me. 

I think doing the swim workouts in the morning is a great idea...to get you in a routine of swimming right when u wake up...like at all races haha

and btw...every time i read your name furiousferret i laugh! what an awesome name

I've been doing OWS 1-2x a week for the past month or so, we're really lucky to have a fantastic swim venue here in SF, Aquatic Park. It is in the bay but totally protected and there are always triathletes out there doing loops around the buoy line. Right now, of course the water is a brisk 55 degrees which leads to frozen hands and feet at the end of the swim, but by summer is should be a balmy 62.

Have you ever done any of those Alcatrez swims? i was looking at those and they seemed pretty neat

Not yet, I was thinking about maybe doing one this summer after Vineman. There are a couple of groups here who do them pretty frequently.

Even in AZ the lake swims are cold right now. All of the snow melt is running into the lakes and they are about 58-60 degrees. We had a tri a couple weeks back and people got out of the water and their hands were so cold they couldn't get thing off and on in T1. I'm hoping that with the high on Sunday of 87 that the water will start to warm up. After being in AZ for 21 years now, I can't handle the cold anymore.

I'm not going to worry about the 1/2 IM distance for about a month or so and then I'll start my 20 week program for the SOMA 1/2 IM. I can swim the distance non-stop right now so it will just be an issue with trimming time.

How much kicking do you guys do in longer OWS distances? In my wetsuit, my legs float so good that I really don't need to kick to keep them from dragging.

Since we have a few reservoirs to swim in, but most of my races are in the coldest one in the area.  My HIM last year got lucky and it "warm"... 67 degrees in mid-September (although the air temp was quite a bit colder than that), but the race director said that in 2008 the water was 59 degrees.  I'm hoping it's another "warm" year this year

phxphotog: I don't kick much at all for any of my races, or even during training.  Could be from being focused on longer distances in general though.  But at the same time, I'm a MOP guy during the swim in any distance, so I really should be getting the advice, not giving it

I can attest to what Zionvier is saying. Aurora reservoir (where Zionvier is referring to) is by far the coldest one around. However the pay off is that it is the cleanest.

I love my wetsuit so that I don't have to kick. I do kick a bit but I am a terrible kicker!

I had a NYPIRGer come up to me last summer...couldn't fork over the $80 or whatever they were asking for, but I gave a $5er since she had to hike up our hill on foot...canvassing must suck!  Military bases? Oh la la!!

I went to Salem State College for psych.  It's in THE witch city.  Halloween was fun, but the rest of the year I was happier going into Boston.  

With regard to kicking during the swim...

Keep in mind that your muscles are a pump.  For example, someone who has been running and then all of a sudden stops quick will have blood "pooling" in their legs (calves) because the muscles in the legs aren't helping pump blood back to the heart.  

In swimming, if you have that bad "runners" kick, then you may benefit from not kicking during most of the race (to reduce drag), BUT start kicking a few hundred yards before you exit the water.  This gets the message to your legs that you're going to have to stand up soon and start running with those legs.  If you start kicking at least at the end of the swim it WON'T make you waste unnecessary energy, it's prepping your legs for the run to T1... IMHO. 

My limiters right now are swim and run speed. I think I'm overall OK with the swim I should be able to do it in 1:45 or so not speedy, but should be fine.

With the run my plan is to run as much as possible but some walking in inevitable at my level. Will have to switch to walk/run at some point.

My main strength is the bike. While I'm by no means fast it's always been my better sport. My coach sent me at note the other day how impressed she was how strong I am. I'm not really sure how this is going to translate to the hills though as it's just getting warm enough to start making weekend trips out to the suburbs to find hills. My first LT/Wattage Test on the compu-trainers put me at 200watts (although who knows how well it was calibrated) which isn't bad I guess. What will be key for me is holding back enough so I don't burn out too quickly.

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Edited by PennState 2010-04-08 6:04 PM

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I did a very short run outside just to get my legs moving before the half marathon on Sunday. It was nice to be outside injoying the warmer weather.