Does anyone know of any good pools to get some workouts in near Clearwater Beach, FL?? OSU triathlon will be there for a week starting the 18th of march and were looking for a spot to get some hard swims in during a training trip/spring break. Also if anyone wants to get some hammer rides in let me know.
Cheers
If you mean saltwater swimming, bring a wetsuit because the water is still in the high 50’s to low 60’s.
If you want a pool, there is a YMCA that may work with you.
ideally both that and pool swimming. so i’m also looking for a pool if that wasnt made clear
Well you can swim at any beach. Just make sure it’s between 11am and 4pm. Before an after those times are feeding times if you know what I mean.
And again, contact the YMCA and see if they will work with you all for a week.
Southwest Rec center in Largo, about 8-9 miles from Clearwater Beach is great poo. Masters daily in AM: m/w/f at 5 and 6 am; t/thur at 6 am. Good group.
Water temperature is pushing 70 at the moment. Guys in my training group have been in the water in wetsuits for weeks out of Pier 60 in Clearwater Beach. If you’re looking for a pool, try the Long Center in Clearwater, which is 15-20 minutes from the beach. Olympic pool, indoors, but call for hours where you don’t have to compete (as much) for lanes with the kids from the swim team. Usually the worst case scenario is that you’d have to split one of the lanes left for patrons/public use.
Well you can swim at any beach. Just make sure it’s between 11am and 4pm. Before an after those times are feeding times if you know what I mean.
And again, contact the YMCA and see if they will work with you all for a week.
The chances of you getting hit, even during “feeding times”, are EXTREMELY minuscule.
That said, I did an OW swim on Clearwater Beach a few weeks ago around 5:00…and it was that very thought (along with a big mouthful of saltwater that left me retching) that drove me out of the water. You can reason with the stats all you want, but when that thought is in your head, and you are dressed like a seal and the only person in the water? Yeah, primal fear rules the airwaves.
;^)
Yeah, those stats are very distorted. They say you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning, BUT…
Look how many people in the world are always around lightning. That would include everyone on the planet.
How many people actually swim in the ocean or able to on a daily basis?? See what I’m saying? The actual population at a beach everyday is a mere fraction of the amount of people that are in rain and thunderstorms every day.
I like to think about sharks as little as possible. That’s why I swim between 11-4. Why not reduce risk even more? Early morning swims and late evening terrify me. (scuba diving I don’t care! I know I don’t look like a snack UNDER water.)
After that triathlete got attacked and killed by a Great White while training with his tri-club friends around 8am, I seriously don’t play around.
Being from Michigan, and not much access to ocean OW swims, this definitely on my mind during Clearwater last year at my first ocean tri. Before the race, I didn’t realize you head straight out and back from shore, so I am sure over pretty deep water. I wasn’t sure if it was better or worse that the water wasn’t particularly clear, but a little murky…
Yes, Clearwater and Miami were both scary swim courses. I like the parallel to the beach swims more than the out and back swims. If you’re a mid packer, no worries, but being out front would make me nervous. I’m sure the Clearwater 5150 will be very similar to the 70.3 Championships.
I’m not real fond of the lakes down here either. You’ll NEVER see me swim in a lake down here other than race day. With all the snakes and gators, I’m not sure they aren’t MORE dangerous than the ocean. 
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