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Great Chesapeake Bay Swim - SwimOther


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Annapolis, Maryland
United States
Great Chesapeake Bay Swim, Inc
74F / 23C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 16m 46s
Overall Rank = 246/419
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 29/47
Pre-race routine:

Threw kids in the car and had normal breakfast, banana, OJ, power bar during 1 hr ride to park. Put down water gatorade and cytomax while getting packet and suiting up. Damn humid for 7am.
Event warmup:

None really except light stretching.
Swim
  • 2h 16m 46s
  • 7744 yards
  • 01m 46s / 100 yards
Comments:

Great race. Had some pre-race nerves but was feeling good. Had a perfect line from beach past last rock to bouys marking spot where we enter the spans. Took it easy in the chaotic start. Space didn't open up until nearly a mile into the race. Pre-race currents said east side currents would be moderate but miles 3 & 4 would be harder so I decided to shoot down the center of the spans. Worked well since most everyone else seemed to decide to stay close to a span. Got into a groove and made great time. Wasn't sure what to expect in terms of chop and current but hit some swells and heavier chop once i reached the shipping lane. Wasn't too bad, just had to adjust. Missed 1st and 2nd mile markers as well as the 1st boat but felt too good to stop anyway. Knew exactly when I hit the 2nd lane as the current seemed to pick up and had to angle a bit up the bay. Started wondering when the 2nd wave would catch up and it was around this time.... they were fast. Missed 2nd boat and finally saw the 3 mile marker. I realized at this point I would at least make my goal unless I bonked. I wasn't flying through the water but I was handling the current and chop ok. Started getting more crowded at this point and was in a pack until the end. And that's one long last mile. You see the end of the bridges but it seems you never get there. I tried counting down the number of bridge supports (they're numbered) but they'd go down then jump back up for a while. Someone was has a sick sense of humor.

Got to the end of the bridge and hit some squirrelly chop. Made a final effort on the last 0.4 miles. Didn't have much in the arms left but tried to make sure form was reasonable. Seemed like another eternity but made it until my hands hit sand, stood up and jogged to the mats. Looked at the timer and couldn't believe I was almost 15minutes quicker than expected.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. Even a fool like me couldn't help but draft. Sighting was a breeze since the spans are right there. It was be no means an easy race physically, but mentally I had a harder time with the Nanticoke 3miler. The only thing I'd do is train harder. I wasn't sure that my training was adequate since I never swam 4 miles straight but turns out intervals and one long session a week worked for me.

In the preceeding weeks I decided that I wouldn't do this again but now, I definitely will.
Post race
Warm down:

Eating. Awesome refreshments and food. My favorite was the Subway donation of stacks and stacks of subs....awesome.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

training.

Event comments:

Great race. I accomplished a life long goal and am amazed at those who have done this 10, 15 times. I think we had ideal conditions (rain held off) and the current (on the east side at least) was moderate.




Last updated: 2010-01-28 12:00 AM
Swimming
02:16:46 | 7744 yards | 01m 46s / 100yards
Age Group: 29/47
Overall: 246/419
Performance: Good
Suit: sleeveless
Course: Beach start from Sandy Pt and out along rocks, then cut under and between Bay Bridge spans. At other side, cut under south span then quick left along rocks in to Hemmingway's Marina.
Start type: Run Plus:
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Average Navigation: Good
Rounding:
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2010-06-15 5:47 AM

Member
19

Sykesville, MD
Subject: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim


2010-06-15 7:59 AM
in reply to: #2922028

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Veteran
125
10025
DC
Subject: RE: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim
Congratulations! YAY!! I think I've decided; I'll do that tri they run at Nanticoke, and this for open water. That 3 mi wasn't easy last year, and REALLY messed w/ me this year. The Bay was so much more manageable. I was scared at first that this being an "easy" year I'd be screwed in a tougher year. But now I'm remembering that I didn't even head to the left hand span for the 3rd & 4th miles like we were supposed to. It just seemed so far out of the way to head over there, and no one else was doing it. In the 3rd mile the current wasn't sweeping me under the right bridge span, so I actually DECIDED not to head up stream. In the 4th mile I regretted it a little, but I was just tired. In the river, I never felt like I was in control enough to DECIDE anything. I had no idea where the currents were or what direction they were pushing or what direction to head to do anything about it. In a tougher year, I could always just do what they told us and head up stream for the ebb tide in the second half. You don't give yourself enough credit as a swimmer! You're friggin fast!!
2010-06-15 1:19 PM
in reply to: #2922225

Member
19

Sykesville, MD
Subject: RE: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim
It certainly helps one's confidence when you feel like you're in control of a course..especially one like the bay swim. I think I'm done for the year although I've heard of some other swims that sound interesting. I'll probably do Columbia, Bay Swim, and an oly up in PA next year if I can. If I'm feeling crazy/stupid, I might do the Nanticoke 3mile again just to prove I can do it

By the way, did you use a wetsuit?

Edited by mattk 2010-06-15 1:21 PM
2010-06-15 2:20 PM
in reply to: #2922028

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Veteran
125
10025
DC
Subject: RE: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim
Nope no wet suit. I've been discussing doing Alcatraz next year w/ a friend from California, but other than that I don't think I'll ever wear a wet suit again. 66 in the River in May was a little shocking for the first second after I ditched the suit. But not chilly, even just sitting still talking to the guy on the boat I handed the suit over to. I'd swim a little colder than that I think, even for a 3 or 4 mi race. Probably even down into the high 50s if it's a shorter race. Alcatraz I think is 50's, and only a 1.5 mi. If it's high 50's maybe I wouldn't even need one for that? Just not worth it for me. I rented one last year for the Nanticoke River, and again this year. Over the past 2 years I easily would have gone through 10 different sizes, so I haven't spent any significant money on anything requiring a decent fit. You should see the sorry, mis matched state of my ski gear!! I never bought/don't own a wet suit. Water temperature will just be a factor I use in picking races I want to do. There are plenty around, I don't HAVE to do a fridig lake in March or anything. What's the Columbia swim? I've planning to do an Olympic in September; but spent soooo mcuh time swimming so far this year, now I feel behind in the run and the bike. Which I suck at anyway. I'll probably still do it, and disappoint myself. But I might also register for a later Olympic in October so I can compare the two, and hopefully do better in the later one w/ more time to prepare. Congratulations again! I need to join a masters group! I just don't have the discipline for doing drills on my own. Just getting in the pool for distance was driving me to hate it after a few months. Just a week out of regular 6K swims, and I'm already forgetting that and considering next year!

Edited by asgate99 2010-06-15 2:23 PM
2010-06-15 5:08 PM
in reply to: #2922028

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Expert
803
500100100100
MD
Subject: RE: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim
Nice Job on the race!

You noticed the chop just past mile 4 also - it almost felt like finishing a run on an uphill. Usually once you exit the bridges it's home free, but I also agree that the last mile goes on forever. Each time you sight for the finish line it looks farther away than the previous look!

You mentioned the numbering of the bridge supports, check out this guy's article...there's a couple paragraphs about the numbering pattern on the supports. Funny you noticed that, I did, too, when I first swam this race.

http://www.crosslink.net/~cherylw/walker.htm

Here's a link w/ lots of info/articles on the Bay Swim, including the one above:

http://www.crosslink.net/~cherylw/bayswim.htm


I see you're in Sykesville, so am I. What pool do you train in? Where do you run/ride?
2010-06-15 8:00 PM
in reply to: #2923450

Member
19

Sykesville, MD
Subject: RE: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim
I can understand your frustrations with the suit. I rented a sleeveless this year and found it worked well for me, but I was getting a little hot in it. Definitely could have done the swim without one but I was a little worried about the jelly fish.

By Columbia, I meant the Columbia triathlon in May. It's an olympic distance centered around Centennial Lake. It's supposed to be one of the hardest oly's on the east coast, mostly due to the run course. It's pretty challenging with all of its hills. I want to beat my previous time.


2010-06-15 8:23 PM
in reply to: #2923905

Member
19

Sykesville, MD
Subject: RE: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim
Thanks, I think a lot of my performance had to do with the great conditions and a sleeveless suit. I'd love to break 2hrs next time but that will take a lot of hard work. I checked out those links and they are have some great info...thanks!

I do most of my training around work which is just north of DC (all of my swimming is near work actually). My neighbor keeps trying to get me to join the Merritt but I haven't looked into the rates yet. When I ride around home, it's mostly on roads north of 26 and west of or along Rt 97. There are some nice hills, scenic roads, and fewer cars in that area. If I don't run at work it's usually around the neighborhood.

I'll probably be taking it easy for a week or two but if you're interested in a ride or run sometime let me know. I also ride with some friends in the area (they are more avid trainers than myself, jhulax & James_Blackwood) and I can let you know next time we go out if you want to join us. Just shoot me a message.

2010-06-17 8:29 AM
in reply to: #2922028

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Regular
117
100
Gettysburg, PA
Subject: RE: Great Chesapeake Bay Swim

Well done Matt.  Sounds like you had some nice conditions out there.

4.4 miles is a hell of a long way to swim.  Did you eat/drink anything during the swim? 

Looking forward to a few nice swims in Brant Lake.

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