login
Bay Bridge this weekend
-
No new posts
 2010-06-09 10:15 AM |
Veteran  125   DC |  Subject: Bay Bridge this weekendAnyone doing it? Know anything about expected current? I can tell you that the water has been like 75 this week. Expecting Jellyfish? I am terrified of jellyfish. Anyone done it in the past? I'm seriously freaking myself out. I would truly appreciate it if someone who's done this before would look at my logs to honestly say if they think I'm ready. The logs should include a diastrous 3 mi open water swim like a month ago. I'm at a total loss as to what to do the rest of this week w/ swimming. Regular short 6K weekday swim, longer 8K weekend swim to make up for the long weekend swim I missed by doing the tri this past weekend? Taper like a runner and do even less than a regular 6K? |
| 2010-06-09 10:39 AM in reply to: #2910721 |
Master 1565  SMIBville | Subject: RE: Bay Bridge this weekend I've done it before. Your volume and long swims look great. You should be just fine. Take the rest of the week easy. No more long swims, just short and easy with a few efforts at the pace you plan on swimming at. Eat well, rest well. Be super cognizant of the instructions they give you about the current. And while you're swimming make sure you know where you are between the spans and how the current is pushing you. If there is any decent current it won't take long to push you outside of the span if you aren't paying attention. If that's the case, you'll have to switch from swimming towards the eastern shore to whatever direction keeps allows you to make forward progress without getting pushed too far north or south. I haven't seen any jellyfish out in the bay yet. They'll be here sooner or later, but hopefully they hold off for another few weeks! Make sure when you get a chance to look up and see where you are. The views out in the middle and looking up at the bridge spans are pretty amazing. Have fun! |
| 2010-06-09 11:30 AM in reply to: #2910721 |
Veteran 125 DC | Subject: RE: Bay Bridge this weekend THanks! I appreciate it. I figure if I'm going to sit here at work obsessing, I might as well get accurate information from people who know what they're talking about. |
| 2010-06-10 8:21 PM in reply to: #2910721 |
Master 3546 Millersville, MD | Subject: RE: Bay Bridge this weekend I'm going fishing at the BB tomorrow and will report on Jellyfish status. Question for you. Have you ever been stung by a sea nettle (that's the type of jellyfish we have in the bay)? I have dozens of times and consider it a mild irritation, not really painful. Are you wearing a full wetsuit? That, plus some vaseline on your exposed skin, should 100% prevent a sting even if the nettles are around. |
| 2010-06-10 8:59 PM in reply to: #2910721 |
Pro 5169 Burbs | Subject: RE: Bay Bridge this weekend I've never done it (it's on my bucket list), but just wanted to wish you good luck !! |
| 2010-06-10 10:55 PM in reply to: #2910721 |
Expert 803 MD | Subject: RE: Bay Bridge this weekend I'll be there. This will be my 5th time across. Your logs look just fine. No worries there. Don't do anything else other than light swims Friday or Saturday. You can't gain any fitness between now and Sunday, and you don't need to anyway since your training volume is very good. Don't swim 6 or 8K, instead get in and just do some light warmups, keep the volume way down. Rest and be confident you put in the yards. Hydrate lots on Saturday and Sunday morning, as there aren't many opportunities to drink during the swim. There are 2 'banana' boats with water and banana pieces, stop and use them if you want, but they are easy to miss and I've swam right by them in years past without ever noticing. I do slip a gel or 2 into my wetsuit and take it around mile 3. I've been in the Severn River all spring, just upstream from Sandy Point, and seen no comb jellies or sea nettles this season. Comb jellies (non-stinging & nearly invisible) usually precede the sea nettles by 2 weeks, so it's a very good sign they are not out yet (as of Monday). BTW - as Josh said, sea nettles 'stings' are more like a minor rash and are nothing to really worry about. Bring the best waterproof sunscreen you can find (I use Bullfrog) and layer it on with a fire hose if you can. The early start this year should help w/ sunburn, but you still need protection. Have a bag for post-race with shampoo and a clean towel. They set up fire trucks as shower stations and you'll want to clean up after the swim. Other than that, just show up as relaxed and rested as possible. Once the swim starts settle down into a comfortable pace, don't overdo it in the first mile. Find your stroke and rythmn and get between the bridges. Here's my take on the race and tactics.... All tactics should be based on your observations of current direction, strength, wind direction and strength, and what they tell us in the pre-race meeting. Some years there is a flood tide in the first half of the race (south to north), others there is an ebb tide in the 1st half (north to south). As you start the race and get out into the bay, you'll know since it will attempt to push you to either the north or south span. Get as close to the UPSTREAM (relative to the direction of the current) span as you can and work to stay there as best as you can. In the past I've made the mistake of moving early into the middle of the 2 bridges to get more open water, away from other swimmers, only to find it was a tactical error and I gave up too much space to the currents. Then I spent the middle miles battling to keep from DQ'ing and wearing myself out in the process. Try not to do this. Around the marker for Mile 2 is where you initially enter the deep channel, where waves and current can be strongest (you'll know since the bridge is highest at this point). You might find you'll swim diagonally to avoid being pushed out of bounds by the current. Just use the support columns upstream to sight and keep trying to get back to the upstream span. Don't forget, the strongest section of current is less than a mile wide. Once you cross it it should get easier for you. Avoid the support columns and islands, especially around the highest section over the deep channel and especially on the downstream span. Tidal flow rushing around these supports creates fast currents and eddies that can make it very hard to swim away. When you see the mile markers (big orange or yellow balls) attempt to swim around them on their UPSTREAM side, just as a goal to check that you're in control of the currents, and they are not controlling you. Once you cross the midpoint, the current direction will likely change, though in my experience it's not as strong on the Kent Island side of the bay. Every time I've done this swim, once I've made it to mile 3 I've felt it was all downhill from there. Mile 4 and beyond you can get into a nice groove and just swim heads down for a nice long time. Sighting for this race is fairly easy - you can see bridges every time you breath and if you need to side diagonally, the bridge supports are easy to spot. Drafting is pretty easy for this race, also. I am in the 1st wave most years and I often leapfrog from one swimmer to the next, especially as the faster 2nd wave starts swimming by the slower 1st wavers. Perhaps we'll see each other down there. I'll be there with my 4 daughters, if I can get them to wake up early enough to come down with me. |
| 2010-06-11 8:23 AM in reply to: #2910721 |
Veteran 125 DC | Subject: RE: Bay Bridge this weekend Josh - thanks!! Nope, I won't ever wear a wet suit. Last year I wore one in a 3 mi race, and it wrecked my back. 6 weeks of muscle spasms. Tried one again in the same race this year, and had to ditch the suit w/ a guy in a boat half way through the race. I finished the race w/o it. I could feel it tightening up my back, and putting me in a weird swim position. Econ, I really appreciate the info on the currents!! Especially this part: “make sure you're in control of the currents, and they are not controlling you” I struggle w/ that. In that 3 mi river swim the past 2 years there was a triangle shaped course. People complain about one leg of the triangle, swimming directly against the current. I have no problem w/ that b/c at least you can stay on course. The other 2 legs people liked better, but ALWAYS pushed me off course. Those legs took me exponentially longer each lap than swimming against the current. I couldn’t even tell you which leg had the current pushing you which way. I just ended up off course. This year, ONE of the times I was off course, for what felt like 45 min frmo the time I even noticed and got frustrated trying to battle my way back. It probably wasn’t as long as all that, but just felt awful to be so far off on my own in open water w/o other swimmers or guys in the kayaks. It scared me. Edited by asgate99 2010-06-11 8:24 AM |
| 2010-06-11 8:52 AM in reply to: #2910721 |
Master 3546 Millersville, MD | Subject: RE: Bay Bridge this weekend For some peace of mind, you may want to look into this product. I've heard it actually works... http://www.buysafesea.com/ You could also take a benadryl before the race as a precaution, though I've not really heard of anyone having a bad reaction to a sea nettle sting in the bay. I suspect 1) there won't be any 2) you'll be fine even if there are a few 3) you'll realize it was no big deal even in the rare possibility you do get "stung" but the above are some practical things you could do for a little extra peace of mind. |
| 2010-06-11 9:05 AM in reply to: #2915331 |
Veteran 125 DC | Subject: RE: Bay Bridge this weekend Josh - I appreciate it! You are WAY nicer than my friends about this. I don't deny that it's an irrational fear. On vacation off of Zanzibar a couple of years ago, there were these red jelly fish that the locals warned us about. I never got the full story about what they were capable of, but I took point on jelly fish watch the whole week for swimming off the boat. No time for ordering and shipping that stuff for this weekend, but I might take a detour to a westmarine or something to look for it. Any ideas on just how nasty the Bay water is? I've also been obsessing about how it will smell/taste, and wreck whatever suit I wear. Been thinking about jolly ranchers or something to combat the taste and wearing a suit I can just throw away when I'm done. I'll shup up now. Clearly, I'm making myself crazy w/ everything I can come up w/ to worry about. |
| 2010-06-11 3:42 PM in reply to: #2910721 |
Master 3546 Millersville, MD | Subject: RE: Bay Bridge this weekend Yup - you're brain is your own worst enemy here. The water tastes salty, that's it. I wouldn't describe it as particularly nasty... though there is rarely more than a foot or two of visibility around the bay bridge. We're a bit early for an algae bloom. Take a deep breath -- you'll be fine. The hardest part is swimming across, and you've got that part covered given your training. All this other stuff are really non-issues, unless you make them issues! Good luck. PS - didn't see any jellies today, but it was flood tide when I was there. |
| 2010-06-11 11:50 PM in reply to: #2915377 |
Expert 803 MD | Subject: RE: Bay Bridge this weekend asgate99 - 2010-06-11 10:05 AM The water is only mildly salty this time of year, nowhere near the salinity of the ocean. Compared to ocean water it almost seems like fresh water. Contrary to what many people think, the water's basically clean - not like we're swimming in a sewage overflow or anything. Visibility is pretty low, meaning with your face in the water you'll only be able to see a few feet in any direction. If you just rinse or wash your suit, it will be fine - no need to throw it away. I would avoid the jolly ranchers, but that's just me. I don't think it's necessary. |
| 2010-06-14 7:17 AM in reply to: #2910721 |
Veteran 125 DC | Subject: RE: Bay Bridge this weekend Thanks again for all the info. As predicted I was making myself crazy for no reason. It was good, and I would do it again. Not completely sold on the idea of repeating it. That was a LOT of time over the last 6 months in the pool, when really I should be working on running. But the swim itself wasn't too hard and wouldn't be the reason not to repeat it. It was fun! |
| 2010-06-14 8:43 AM in reply to: #2910721 |
Master 3546 Millersville, MD | Subject: RE: Bay Bridge this weekend Congrats on a great race and valuable lessons learned. Most of us here are jealous of you now! |
| 2010-06-14 8:56 AM in reply to: #2919504 |
Expert 1743 Glen Burnie, Maryland | Subject: RE: Bay Bridge this weekend asgate99 - 2010-06-14 8:17 AM Thanks again for all the info. As predicted I was making myself crazy for no reason. It was good, and I would do it again. Not completely sold on the idea of repeating it. That was a LOT of time over the last 6 months in the pool, when really I should be working on running. But the swim itself wasn't too hard and wouldn't be the reason not to repeat it. It was fun! Great job Avery. I'm glad you enjoyed it. |
|
|
|
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK