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Great Chesapeake Bay Swim - SwimOther


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Annapolis, Maryland
United States
Lin-Mark
98F / 37C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 55m 15s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Bagel with PB.. lots of water. Met up with Mark and Andrea and did the check-in stuff.
Event warmup:

None. Checked the water temp.
Swim
  • 2h 55m 15s
  • 7744 yards
  • 02m 16s / 100 yards
Comments:

The swim starts at Sandy Point State Park, heads under the Bay Bridge for the vast majority of the race, and ends at a marina on Kent Island.. you have to stay between the spans of the bridge or face DQ.

We had a beautiful, if hot, day for the race. I was fortunate to get into the field, but I was pretty woefully undertrained for this distance.. I had done some building up, but the 4.4 mi was just about 50% farther than I had gone in a single training session. With the new baby, it turns out I was too optimistic about the training I'd be able to get in. I knew I could make the distance, but I also knew it might hurt. Check.

The first mile went OK.. I passed the buoy almost dead-on 30min- a little slow, but I had been taking it easy. The second mile was much worse- I got caught in an area where I felt I just wasn't making any forward progress.. must have been a current I ran into. Whatever it was, the 2nd mile took about 45 min, far slower than I have ever been. After that I just stopped looking at my watch.

The 3rd mile seemed to go a little better, but it turned into a death march for the last mile or so.. I started getting very hungry and at the same time a little seasick, even though the water was pretty calm.

I don't think I've ever been so happy to crawl out of the water. It was a great experience, and I'm glad I did it, but I deserved what I got in terms of the pain.
What would you do differently?:

Well, train more, obviously. But also probably stop at the nutrition boats to grab a banana or cookie. Drafting could have been better, too.
Post race
Warm down:

Tried to eat a crab-cake sandwich, but the stomach was having none of it. Swallowed too much bay water, I guess. Stayed around for the awards ceremony, where Mark got an AG 2nd place.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Hah!

Event comments:

Definitely a great race and an excellent challenge. I'll never look at the Bay Bridge the same again!




Last updated: 2008-05-22 12:00 AM
Swimming
02:55:15 | 7744 yards | 02m 16s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Suit: Full
Course: Point-to-Point
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2008-06-08 4:41 PM

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Regular
173
1002525
MD
Subject: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim


2008-06-08 4:59 PM
in reply to: #1452595

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Master
1848
100050010010010025
Canandaigua
Subject: RE: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim
Good job.  Yeah those baby things take up a lot of time.  Please send crab cake north.  Some day I'll be down to join you in the that swim.
2008-06-08 6:52 PM
in reply to: #1452595

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DC
Subject: RE: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim
Nice job- finishing that race is impressive, especially on your limited training. It was my first time, but it was definitely not an easy go. I had the same troubles around mile 2. Congrats!
2008-06-08 7:38 PM
in reply to: #1452595

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Master
2202
2000100100
Canton, Michigan
Subject: RE: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim
After doing my first 4000 meter pool swim this past week I can't imagine doing a 4.4 mile ows at any time in the near future.

Awesome job.
2008-06-09 6:19 AM
in reply to: #1452595

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Expert
1068
10002525
, District of Columbia
Subject: RE: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim
Great swim -- I got caught in that current, too, and just could not get out of it. But you're right, it was a beautiful day for the swim!

And my stomach never really got stable to about 30 minutes after I took off the wetsuit. How were all those folks able eat those Subway sandwiches?
2008-06-09 12:17 PM
in reply to: #1452595

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Extreme Veteran
398
100100100252525
Sea Isle City, NJ
Subject: RE: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim
Great job out there Chip. That current was the pull of Mother B calling you home!


2008-06-12 3:41 PM
in reply to: #1452595

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Veteran
288
100100252525
Owings, MD
Subject: RE: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim

Great swim!  Congratulations! 

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