Like many adult onset swimmers in triathlon, I swam “just enough” in training. I did maybe 8-10k a week for my first 10 years and maybe 10-15k the last few years. Pool times got better, but race times stagnated at 32 mins +/- for 1.2 miles and 65-70 mins +/- for 2.4. My stroke was charitably described as “forward drowning”.
This year, I’ve been dealing with a prolonged case of plantar fasciitis, which gave me the motivation to try and get serious about my open water swimming. I signed up for this race (http://www.swimalligatorlight.com) in late May and immediately felt great about the decision. For the first time in a long while, I was training for something without focus on result/pace/splits. I was just excited to swim!
Training went well. Under my coach’s guidance, I built up to the point where I was swimming 30-35k per week for the last 6-7 weeks. I did several masters sessions and did form work for the first time in a long time (I still suck). Since I couldn’t bike or run, I just did the time and found myself enjoying the process. I did longer days in the pool, ocean and a couple of lake swims. Longest training swims were 11k in the pool, 12k in the ocean and lake.
The race is down in the Florida Keys. You swim out and back to an offshore lighthouse, with lots of wildlife sightings expected. Fortunately, we had nice flat water and the sharks stayed away (1 swimmer reported a hammerhead sighting). On the downside, there were a ton of jellyfish. The first 100 stings really got me out of rhythm, as I tried to swim around them, but after a while I just cruised. The hits to the face and mouth still sucked.
Generally, the first 1/3 of the race was fantastic. Clear water, making progress offshore, taking nutrition, etc. The middle 1/3 had some highs (swimming out around the lighthouse was really cool) and some lows (the jellies sucked). The last 1/3 improved with fewer jellies, but I started to get get tired and I fell a bit behind on nutrition. The finish was fun and the post race party was really cool. Final result was 5:02 for 9.27 miles open ocean. I never felt like finishing was in jeopardy, but then again, I was not able to increase effort late in the swim, I just kinda had only 1 gear (2 gears if you include stopping to eat and chat with my kayaker).
I’m not sure how this will translate to triathlon when I can get back to biking and running (hopefully soon), but I am optimistic that I will be a faster open water swimmer over shorter distances. Plus, it was hella fun! I’ll definitely keep the swim yardage up and do other swim marathons in the future.
