ocean swims & sharks?

Stay away from the shark.

I would definately make sure that you swim with someone and not alone.
Can you stay close to the shore and swim along it to decrease your chance of getting close to any marine life?
I don't swim in (or live near) an ocean, so guess I am not going to be of great help here.

Great. I was only worried about drowning. Now I have to worry about getting eaten too?

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suggestion... keep working on speed, and if you start getting tired, think about that shark, it should speed you up a bit.....

while running tack in high school i got bitten by a dog... and ever since then i'd pretend i was being chased to give me a little extra mental boost when i needed it...

but obviously the shark has the potential to be quite a bit more dangerous... But i really wouldn't worry about it
Your probably a million times more likely to get chased by a big rabies infested dog while biking/running than you are to be attacked by a great white, or even any kind of shark

happy swimming!

Thanks for all of your replies. I was laughing out loud! Just what I needed! Thanks Lara for the info on the swim club. I have class at that time on Monday nights, but when that's over I'll definitely check it out.

Just an addendum. I suppose if you swim with a group the chances of the shark getting YOU are drastically reduced.

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To prevent a shark attack, mix 1 cup lemon juice, 1 cup melted butter, 5 cups of crushed crackers, a pinch of salt and pepper and spread liberally over your body.

Wait, that's to ENCOURAGE a shark attack...

My wife (who's training to be a Vet) tells me that the most likely place to get bitten by a shark is if "you're a white person, wading in water off the coast of Florida on the Gulf Side". She tells me that you can look this up somewhere. Also, I wonder...has anyone ever seen/worn one of those "shark reppellant beacons"? Seriously, you strap it to your ankle. They invented it in Australia, I think to fend off Great Whites, due to the incidence of attack of the Eastern Coast.

Get a law degree. Sharks don't bite lawyers.

Lara,
Interesting, I saw this map as well but I'm questioning it's accuracy.
This map shows 0 attacks in Orange County. Can that be right?
I saw another map that showed the furthest south an attack ocurred in CA was in Santa Monica.
I think there's some discrepancy as to who was attacked by a shark, and who drowned and was later found dead with shark bites.
In Austrailia, covering up the actual number of shark deaths is a national pastime, because of course they don't want to scare off tourists. Maybe they do that here a bit too?
Either way, it is interesting that there are about as many attacks in NORTHERN California, where the water is much colder and there are far less swimmers/surfers, as there are here in Southern CA.

Maybe that has something to do with people wearing wetsuits more often, thus 'resembling' a seal? I saw the map too, and it seems there would be many more attacks in warmer waters (where more surfers would be). Fortunately, we don't have to worry about sharks in Colorado. Just mountain lions...