Race report: Bear Lake crossing

What a 24 hours it has been. The Bear Lake swim turned out to be a success, although at times I felt like a total failure. Anyway, here's a breakdown of the day.

The best smile I could muster after the race.

Jen and I stayed at a campground the night before on the Idaho (east) side of the lake. There was nothing else available in the camping department, even though I checked six weeks in advance. We both slept like crap, due to noisy neighbors and a windy night. We both probably got less than two hours of sleep. Not a good start. In the morning, before the sun was even up, we drove around the lake to the marina in Garden City to get shuttled to the start, which was at Cisco Beach, close to where we were camping, but we wanted our car to be on the other side and ready for us when the race was over. On the bus, we chatted with Chad, Goody and his support kayaker, Lang while we drove back around the lake to the starting point. It's always fun to see those guys and I hope to see them more often this winter in some polar bear plunges.

The start of the race at Cisco Beach. I pilfered this photo from Goody's blog.

Jen and I got the kayak loaded up at the start, I did some light stretching and waded around in the water waiting for the start. A wet suit swimmer next to me was complaining about the cold water and it made me laugh, because I thought it was really warm. I looked over at Goody when she said that and he just grinned. I didn't crack any jokes about her finger paddles and flippers she had on for the swim either.

All is well and progress is good about halfway across.

The race started and we were off. I felt very good early, even though I fell to the back of the pack within the first mile or two. I was only in front of one other swimmer at that point. The water was calm, and Jen had me going at a nice pace. It wasn't until about Mile 4 or so that I started to have trouble. There were supposed to be buoys marking every mile across the lake, but some were nowhere in sight, except way off to the left and right of us. We probably followed the wrong one for a good 40 minutes before realizing the buoys had drifted and I wasted some very valuable "shoulder time" as I called it. Because not long after that, the pain started and my left arm deteriorated quickly after that. It got really bad, so I immediately went into breaststroke. For most of the remainder of the race, I alternated breaststroke and freestyle, but for a while, I couldn't get more than 20-30 strokes at a time before going back to breast. I had fallen into last place and the nearest swimmer was beyond sight, so I knew I was very far back.

Plugging away with my breaststroke

At that point, after another feed, I really wanted to stop. The race organizers were in a speedboat and were constantly zipping around me causing a strong wake and it made progress very slow. I was pissed off, in a lot of pain, but Jen wouldn't let me quit, even though I probably took a lot of my anger out on her. She pointed out a buoy to me after talking with the guys on that boat, claiming it was the Mile 5 mark, even though I probably had already done at least six. I could see the marina way off in the distance and those last "two" miles were torture. Every time I looked up, it didn't appear any closer. Later, Jen said I was pretty much swimming in place because there was a heavy current coming out of the marina due to a constant stream of boats exiting the docks. It didn't help that the same organizers were turning up the water all around me. I was beat down, both physically and emotionally.

After what seemingly took forever, my shoulder went completely numb, which probably isn't good, but the pain went away, so I said screw it and went back to freestyle for good. I finally saw another swimmer about 300 yards ahead as I finally approached the marina and Jen just looked at me with a stone face and said, "If you have anything left in the tank, now is the time. You can catch him." That got me amped and I really poured it on with my strokes, even though I was still moving slow. I caught the guy and passed him with ease as we rounded the rocks on the corner of the marina for the final stretch to the beach. I thought I was crawling at a slow pace, but when I passed the guy, I felt like a missile in the water, because he was BARELY moving, making progress in inches, so I cruised past him.

The final stretch.

Jen and I at the finish. Note the guy and his kayer I barely beat behind me.

Zonked. I couldn't hear very well for a while after. My sinuses are still messed up this morning.

I could hear Tim and Jen's parents cheering me on during the final few hundred yards which was awesome. They made the trip up just to watch me finish, which I can't thank them enough for. I stumbled out of the water and gave Jen a big hug. My watch read 4:21.34, which was well ahead of my goal of finishing under five hours. I didn't finish last either, which would have been a huge disappointment to me. Apparently, I also passed one of the relay teams during that two-mile torture stretch, which was kind of cool. I did the whole thing myself and still beat them. That boosted my ego a bit. Jen claims I probably ended up swimming around 10 miles, although I think that might be a bit of an exaggeration. It was probably closer to eight, or maybe nine at the most, but it was still more than I initially planned or trained for. The race was supposed to be a seven-mile crossing.

I'm so glad to have such a supportive wife. Jen was also hurting from paddling that whole way, fighting the same current and wake that I was and the whole time, she stayed patient with my childish complaints and didn't let me stop, no matter how much I whined. Finishing was quite an accomplishment for her, too and I'm glad we did it together. I'm super proud of her.

Jen is the best wife and support paddler I
could ever ask for.

Overall, I'm glad I did the swim, but it was very poorly organized. I had a hard time getting info leading up to the race, the shirts were cheap, there was ZERO food, water, medals or anything for that matter at the finish. The "marked" course was non-existant, due to the drifting buoys, which in a race that long, is a pretty big thing to screw up. Not to mention the damn race organizers buzzing around me in that boat like a fly throughout the last half of the race. I heard similar complaints from many other swimmers at the beach after the finish. The only real praise I have for the first annual Bear Lake Swim, was the shuttle service before the start. That was nice, I guess.

We went to lunch with Tim, Greg and Anita and we both were pretty much zombies until finally getting home at about 9 p.m.. We immediately fell asleep after showering and twelve hours later, we both feel like we got hit by a truck, but it was totally worth it. Now, it's off to the doctor to see a specialist about my shoulder on Tuesday...

P.S.: I didn't realize it until this morning, but I also passed the 200-mile mark with this race. Kind of a cool coincidence.

UPDATE: The results are posted and the "relay" I thought I beat, was actually another individual swimmer, so I finished third from last, instead of second from last. 14th out of 16 swimmers in my division. Sweet!

Total distance: 8-9 miles. Not really sure, exactly.

Here's a few more photos from the race.

We were all smiles the night before.

Bear Lake at sunset. I was ready to cross that sucker in the morning.

Chad and Goody on the shuttle to the start. They both are first-class
 swimmers and a lot of fun to be around. Utah open water swimmers really
have a great support system.

More stairs with Wes and Kelly

Today's blog isn't actually for today. I'm not working out until Saturday, but I went into work early yesterday, so I didn't have time to update with a new post.

Yesterday, Wes and Kelly came over and we went to Roy High's track to run and do some stairs. All in all, it was a good little workout. Wes is coming with Jen and I to Bear Lake tomorrow and he's going to kayak with Jen during my swim. Kelly was going to, but he got stuck working through the weekend. Still glad someone is coming to keep Jen company while I'm in the water. Four to five hours is a long time to sit in a kayak by yourself for.

Anyway, we leave tomorrow afternoon and are staying overnight in a campground at Cisco Beach, right where the race is starting. You won't hear from me until after the race. BRING THE PAIN!!

Total distance: About two miles running

Easy swim with Kelly

After almost two full weeks without swimming, I decided I would test my shoulders today. I absolutely didn't want to risk aggravating them before Saturday, so I took it nice and easy. We hit the pool and I did some slow freestyle sets with breaststroke intervals. My left shoulder hurt a bit during my warm up, but I felt zero pain for the rest of the swim. I ended up doing some moderately fast sets of 100 free, followed by breaks of 50 breast, just to get my heart rate up a little more. In the end, I'm glad I warmed up my shoulders a bit and stretched them out with a few yards in the water. I'll do one more tough dryland workout tomorrow and then start resting for Saturday. I'm super nervous.

Total distance: 2,000 yards

Break from rest

I haven't worked out at all since last Friday, trying to let my body rest up, recover and taper for Bear Lake next Saturday. Today I went to the gym just to get my heart rate up a bit and warm up my muscles.
I kept it short and sweet, riding 20 minutes on the bike and then doing a quick one-mile sprint on the treadmill. I followed it up with some light weight work on my legs and arms, doing nothing that would put strain on my shoulders. No ab work today, though. Maybe tomorrow.

I was particularly inspired today knowing Gords was in the middle of crossing the English Channel, even as I type. He's kicking ass so far, well on his way to accomplishing the monumental feat. You can track his progress here. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=08lOCEPFE797pCPfsKG2qcDWn6FPhNKBE. Also, I watched the finish of the women's open-water marathon at the Olympics on the TV while on the treadmill. Exciting stuff. I'm so amped for Bear Lake, even if it surely will hurt like hell.

Total distance: 5.65 miles cycling, 1 mile running

F*$#@ng shoulders!!!

Well, bad news today. After Tuesday's five-mile swim (almost) I woke up the next day with the worst shoulder pain ever. Which would have been tolerable if it were just the one. But now, my other shoulder has joined in on the act. I've never had a single problem with it until now, and I'm certain it's tendinitis just like the other. Exact same kind of pain.

It's left me with some serious thinking to do. I have to consider the long-term consequences my body might suffer if I continue marathon swimming. Nothing I've tried over the past year has really worked, and icing constantly has kept it manageable, but I can't do it forever. I think Bear Lake might have to be the final "long" open water swim for me. I refuse to give up swimming and I'm pretty sure I can keep at it, training for pool events where the focus is more on intensity rather than volume. So here's the game plan ... for now.

1. No more swimming until Bear Lake. My shoulders are in such bad shape that I can't risk injuring them further before my big swim. I feel my cardio level is ready for the event, so I'm not too concerned about finishing in that regard. I just hope my shoulders can hold up to get across that sucker.

2. See a doctor, and actually get the work done to properly diagnose and treat my problem (MRI and possibly ultrasound).
3. After Bear Lake, take 2-5 weeks off (or whatever the doctor suggests) from swimming. I know I'll be in considerable pain after Bear Lake is all said and done, so I will need to take some time to heal. In reality, if I want to fully heal, I need to take months, rather than weeks off, but I don't know if I can do that again. I really need to work on my kicking if I want to improve pool times, so I'll probably do regular work with a kickboard while I rest my shoulders.

4. Swim in the SDRC Masters meet in mid-November. I hope six or so weeks of solid, intense training will get me ready. I might set daily yardage limits on myself, though, to keep from furthering the destruction on my shoulders. I have a few goals I'd like to meet, beating some times from last year and perhaps trying some new events.

As far as after that goes, I just don't know. I will probably swim in the open water races the following year, but they will have to be the shorter 1-mile events. Anything more probably won't be possible or even good for me.

Anyway, Kelly and I went to the gym this morning and got some leg work in. I rode the bike for 30 minutes, followed by squats, leg presses, lunges, mountain climbers and some ab work.

Total distance: 7.35 miles cycling

Early bird: 8,500 yards sucka!!

I wanted to get in one last big swim for July, so I got up SUPER early this morning for a long swim in the pool. The weather forecast showed a possibility for rain at Pineview, so I didn't want to risk it. That meant I had to get up even earlier, because the lap swim hours at the rec center go from 5-9 a.m. I took a half-dose of a sleep aid to help me fall asleep early and I was up at 6 a.m. sharp.

The clock in my car just as I left the house. Yuck...

I was in the pool by 6:30 and it was surprisingly busy. The lifeguard said it's usually pretty crowded in the early-morning hours. I'm glad I'm not a morning person. Anyway, I was able to snag a half-lane and got to work. I stretched a bunch after warming up my arms before taking off and it helped, because I settled in quickly. Normally, my arms don't loosen up until about 1,000 yards, but I was good to go after 500. I brought some treats (Cliff GuChomps and a PowerBar Energy Gel) to feed on every 45 minutes, trying to down them quickly, so I could simulate open-water feeding.

After the first 45 minutes, I was going strong, just over 1.5 miles. By the second feeding, I slowed down a bit, but only about 2 minutes off my earlier pace, so I was happy with that. By the time the third and final stop came around, my shoulders were getting tired and starting to hurt. Usually, my bad shoulder is the only one that starts to hurt, but both were by this point. I was almost at 4.5 miles, so I slowed down my pace and eventually switched into breaststroke for the final 500 yards or so, not wanting to injure myself. When lap swim ended at 9 a.m., my watch read 2:32.07 and I didn't quite reach five miles, but I came close. It's still my high for 2012 by far.

Note the suction lines around my eyes. And I look sort
of cross-eyed staring into the little camera on my phone. Ha!

I'm glad I got up early and did it, but my eye sockets are hurting. That's a lot of suction on the skin. I look super racoonish today. I am ordering some new goggles this week for open water swimming, which hopefully, will be more comfortable. The ones I have are great and have served me well, but they are meant more for pool training and hurt after a while in longer distances. Gords (who is just about set to swim the English Channel) recommends a few different pairs, and they are both reasonably priced, so I'll probably order one today.

P.S.: I barely eclipsed the 20-mile mark for this month, making up for a crappy June.

Total distance: 8,500 yards (4.86 miles)

Longest open-water swim yet

I got up very early this morning (by my standards, since I work swing shifts) at about 7:30. Kelly and I wanted to get to Pineview Reservoir nice and early, so we could get a good swim in on calm water. We took Kelly's kayak, because he wasn't interested in logging the same kind of distance I had planned.

Passing the dam on my first lap.

When we got in, the lake was completely empty, short of a few paddle boarders and some jumping fish. I wanted to do two dam routes, which is about 2.2 miles per lap. Kelly paddled next to me for the entire first lap, snapping a few photos before his camera died. Sorry Kelly, no pics of you today... I felt good for the most part, taking a feeding after about 50 minutes. Kelly said it looked like I was starting to run out of gas during the last half mile and he was right, I simply wasn't feeling it and my arms were getting tired. Once we finished the lap, we carried the kayak back to the car.

I quickly ate another jelly-cube thingy, drank some water and got back in the water with Kelly. Instead of doing another full dam route, we did a slightly modified version of it, which is about one mile shorter. To my surprise, the feeding and quick break boosted my energy and I felt great for the whole second lap, even sprinting my last few hundred yards or so to the beach. I stretched my muscles as good as I could, while Kelly finished up his lap. It gave me a little more confidence for Bear Lake, knowing that if I take my feedings regularly, maybe every mile or so, then I should be just fine if I train hard for these next couple of weeks.

Empty lake, just asking for me to jump in it.

On a funny and kind of gross side note, I got attacked by a fish early in my swim. Well, not attacked exactly. Sometimes, when I'm swimming long distances, my nose starts to run. It occasionally runs in big elongated boogers that hang out of my nostril until they eventually detach (didn't want to interrupt my stroke to take care of it). Haha. I don't know if this ever happens to other swimmers, or perhaps I'm just a mutant. Anyway, seemingly out of nowhere, a fish was right in my face and took a snap at my nose. At first I thought it bit me, but then I realized it was going for that booger. And he got it... Scared the living shit out of me and Kelly just laughed his ass off when I immediately panicked. Yes, a fish ate a booger right out of my nose.

New open-water long today. I haven't swam that far since the Deer Creek race last year (3.1 miles). I have finished a 5-mile swim once, but it was in a pool.

Total distance: 3.4 miles

Two-mile pool swim

I only had an hour to swim today, so I made it count. I pushed it hard, knowing I'd have to if I wanted to get at least two miles in. After the first mile, I looked at my watch and it read 31:01. I gave it a little more and settled my stroke down a bit and improved my second mile, finishing both in 60:08.

It was geared a little more toward
female swimmers, but I still enjoyed it.

I was counting my strokes every half-mile. The first half, I was at 17 strokes per length, the second at 19, the third at 17 again and the fourth at 16. I must have been tightening up a bit during the tail end of the first mile, but improved in the finish.

I'm really trying to increase my weekly mileage, so my arms don't fail on me at Bear Lake. I just finished reading Lynn Sherr's "Swim: Why we love the water" and I really enjoyed it. She talks about her experiences while training for the Hellespont Swim from Europe to Asia, which is about four miles. It gave me a little extra motivation to really give then next few weeks my all.

Kelly and I are going for another long open water swim on Wednesday and I'm really looking forward to it. Hoping for at least four miles.

Total distance: 3,500 yards

Intense cardio after long rest

I took the last four days off from exercise in order to give my body a break. I'm no doctor, but that seemed like the logical thing to do given how bad my knee and shoulder were feeling. It seemed to work ... well, for my knee anyway. The pain went away, like it usually does after a week or so once it flares up, but unfortunately, despite doing absolutely nothing for four days, my shoulder hurts worse than ever. I'm almost certain there is serious damage in there.

Unlike before, I'm not just going to stop swimming for several months and hope it gets better. That obviously didn't work last time, so I'm going to swim as much as my shoulder can tolerate until I can afford to get an MRI done. More and more, though, it's looking like Bear Lake might not happen. I'm unsure if I'll have enough time to prepare myself for it. An athlete's worst mistake is underestimating a task that big. We will see. I don't want to count myself out just yet.

Anyway, I still would like to do the Layton Triathlon, so I figured I'd do some dry land cardio again. I knew running would just agitate my knee again, so I stuck to the bike for 40 minutes and then hit the treadmill, walking briskly on a heavy incline, which usually seems to kick my ass worse than running anyway. I did that for 30 minutes and then hit the weights. I made the mistake of trying some push-ups, which really made my shoulder scream at me, so I stopped right away.

Let's see what tomorrow has in store. One day at a time ...

Total distance: 11.7 miles cycling, 1.66 miles treadmill

Another mini triathlon

I've been watching the Biggest Loser on Netflix a lot lately, and surprisingly, I've been craving dryland training because of it. So, today, I decided to do another little triathlon.

Rode the bike for 20 minutes first, then followed it up with another 20 minutes on the treadmill, although I walked this time, with the incline set up high. I actually ended up burning more calories that way.

Once I got down to the pool, I met a few people who are training for some upcoming races, including a gal who is also doing the Bear Lake Crossing in August. Based off what I heard from her, though, it sounds like she is severely underestimating how difficult it will be. She's never done open water before and hasn't been swimming more than two miles per week. She doesn't even plan on training in open water until two weeks before the race. But she claims to be swimming her entire life and that somehow qualifies her to not train properly. Who knows, perhaps I'm the one who is underestimating her. I hope she gets it together and manages to pull it off.

Total distance: 1,500 yards swimming, 5.55 miles cycling, 1 mile walking (inclined)