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Training News
June 2008 |
June 7, 2008:
Night Swimming
Okay. Raise your hand if you've ever bombarded in the face by schools of fish.
More on that later.
Last night marked my first ever swim in complete darkness. Chris, Ahelee, and myself swam while Brian and Scott hovered over the water diligently looking after us. We entered just north of the San Clemente Pier with no time or distance in mind. Ahelee said "we just need to get in and go with the flow." Everyone agreed and with blinking red lights on the swimmers and head lamps and glow sticks hanging off Brian and Scott we waded into the sea.
Getting past the surf break deemed rather difficult for Scott who was greeted nicely with a 6 foot wave that washed him all the way back to the sand. Trying to stay focused but laughing as Scott's paddle board along with Scott himself, represented by a glow stick flurry all rushed past me, I pressed on to the end of the pier. The group rendezvoused and continued north, parallel to the shore; this is where the craziness began.
1.) Bio- Luminescence (a.k.a. fireflies in the water) -- Every disturbance in the sea water lights up the plankton, so every stroke, every kick, every paddle looked exactly like small fireworks in the water. Being in a pitch black ocean with your entire body lit up, it felt like God had a spotlight on us.
2.) Fish- thousands of them. Jumping out of the water and into Brian's kayak. Swimming up and head butting me in the face. I even had one try to swim down the crack of my swimsuit. Obviously, when you're trying to stay focused- copious amounts of little fish cruising over you does not help.
With the moon and stars lighting our way we made a U-turn about a mile north and headed back to the pier...body surfing the ways back into the beach.
10:30 p.m. ---> it's good to be alive.
"You know what the sun's all about when the lights go out"
June 25, 2008:
Coast to Coast
This past Thursday I packed my bags including my swimsuit and headed for New York City. The 3000 mile trek included visits with long time friends and family, as well as Atlantic Ocean swim sessions. As always, I was late for my flight and scrambling through the Orange County airport. I found my bag getting searched through the TSA security line, I believe the conversation went like this---
TSA: what's this?
Dave: that's vasoline sir.
TSA: why are you carrying vasoline?
Dave: for chafing sir.
TSA: you're free to go.
After a red eye flight and some tourist site seeing. I cruised back to a place the was very comfortable...the beach. Brighton Beach to be exact, the most southeast end of Brooklyn. From here I joined several open water swimmers with huge race resumes including: the English Channel, Catalina Channel, and Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. I was amongst some of the greats on the East Coast. Feeling quite nervous about the temperature of the water, I was re-assured when a local swimmer called out it was in the high 60s! No Seals...No Sharks...Warm water? I'm in good Shape...wrong.
Before getting in to warm up another local swimmer came out of the water holding her right arm. She sat on the beach in tears and lifted her arm in the air for the rest of us to see. Gnarly Jellyfish stings from her armpit to wrist left her practically crippled on the beach. I was not happy. Swarms of Portuguese Man-of-War had infested the Brighton Beach area and I was looking for a way out. The rest of the field were not concerned and the group got in for the first lap of our swim. We swam along the beach and past the infamous Coney Island. My attention went directly from Jellyfish to hot dogs and ferris wheel rides--life was good again. Our turn around point was the pier just south of the amusement park where the fisherman proceeded to throw large chunks of raw meet off the pier which again, motivated me to swim a great deal faster. On the back, I enjoyed cruising past the basketball sized Jellyfish that sat 3 feet below the water's surface. I reached the beach first, towel dried, and called it a day.
This coming weekend marks the 1 year anniversary of the OC Blazeman Ironman, a race that last year, I drove from Ohio to compete in. Even though I will not be completing the entire 140.6 miles this year, I will still participate in the 2.5 mile swim. Plans include finishing and then driving to Long Beach to compete in the largest open water swimming event in the U.S., a 5k distance swim in Belmont Shores.
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