The Great Chesapeake Bay Swim, part 2: Things That Worked For Me

The Great Chesapeake Bay Swim was so much harder than I had imagined.  4.4 miles across the Chesapeake Bay, in between the bridge spans.  Through changing conditions, varying tides, and with the absolute determination to do everything in my power not to disqualify myself, I completed the swim on Sunday 12 June 2011. 

I plan to write my race report and lessons in three parts.  Part 1, the narrative, was published on Monday the 13th, with the story still fresh in my mind.  This, Part 2, will focus on what worked for me.  And Part 3 will be what I will do differently next time.

What Went Well

For the sake of ease, I will just list this out.  Kind of boring, but I hope that someone reading this, in preparation for their own long swim or the Bay Swim, will find this of benefit.  Also it gives me a reference for when I go back and do the Bay Swim again (Yes, that swim is powerfully seductive – and I met a guy there who had done it 23 times… As crazy as it sounds, this may be a new annual thing for me… Why not?!)

1. Train lots. And with paddles

My training was hampered by a few things.  I knew my volumes were not as high as I had wanted, but to compensate I had one session a week that focused on building swim strength.  In this session, I used paddles and pull buoys to work on pull strength.

My god I was glad I did this.

When I was pulling through the changing tide, my arms felt good, super strong.  And through the chop I had it covered.  At the choppy stage I actually said to myself “Those 400s were the best sets ever to prepare for this swim!”

What were my 400s?  Well, I did 10 x 400m, alternating between freestyle for 400 and pull with paddles for 400.  I did this a few training days and they brought my arms to absolute exhaustion.  But it worked.  Nothing on the day of the swim was harder than the 4000th meter of this set.

Oddly, as I was in mile 2-3 and enjoying the slack tide, I was thinking about how great this set was, and I was thinking it would be even better to up this to about 14 or 16 x 400, alternating.  This training set was just that good.  I wondered if I had done more of these how much stronger I would have been… 

Anyway, this is a damn good way to prepare to pull yourself out of current and through chop.  Especially if you do not have the chance to train in current or chop, you need the swim strength work.  And it is a good shortcut to get swim ready if you have a schedule that truncates time in pool, like I did.

2. Practice both crocodile sighting and water polo strokes

I learned the crocodile from Dan Bullock.  And polo is what Coach T uses in our swim sets.

I hate water polo stroking.  I curse those sets at club swims.  But I did it faithfully all training, to build my upper body strength and to site in bad wave conditions (ok it was the pool but I visualised). 

And crocodile. It is not the most efficient way to swim, but I try to crocodile (pop my eyes only out of the water to see where I am going) about every 6 strokes, but on the bay swim I did it about every 2 strokes.  I almost naturally crocodile now. It is cool to see what is in front of you, even in a pool – to check out the clock or where the next guy is in front of you to plan passing. And on the Bay swim it helped me to sightsee a bit (oops, I admit it, I kind of played tourist and didn’t race this!) – I saw so much of the course!

Because I do these strokes a lot, and it is natural for me now, I did not feel any of the neck and back discomfort that Amy details on her race report. 

Even if you hate it this stuff, do it and train with it.  You will use these strokes a lot in the swim.  Like every stroke at some points as you work through chop or current.  A typical training set had me incorporate polo and crocodile for at least 200m in warm up.

3. Read about the swim

At some stage of my swim preparations I found a blog called Swimming to Hemingways.  This blog totally helped me.  It gave me something to read to try to imagine what the swim would be like.  It had tips.  I had read about the swimming perpendicular to the pylons so although I couldn’t believe I’d have to do it, in the back of my mind I was half expecting it.

Google and read race reports.  Subscribe to the Hemingways blog.  Reading helps you to embed aspects of the race in your mind, so although you are surprised, you kind of knew it was coming.  Kind of.

4. Find a support group / training buddies of people who have done the swim before or who are doing it

Via Twitter I found a big group of people (6 of us) who had signed up for the swim.  At the end 3 of us did and completed the Great Bay Swim, the others changed swim distance or withdrew due to injury.  That support group was awesome.  I had people to chat with pre swim about workouts, about pre swim rituals, about wetsuits or no wetsuits.  I had workout buddies to share set ideas with. 

And I was super lucky to talk with Steve O’Donnell.  Steve lives in Maryland and has done the swim a few times – he also happens to be on the board of the charity I support, the CMT Association, providing support to folks with CMT and searching for the cure for the most common neuromuscular disease.  I spoke with Steve a number of times.  He has the what I can only describe as infectious optimism.  He explained his swim strategy to me, and then told me not to forgot that “you have this.”  Perfect person to get advice from!

Because I reached out, I now have friends I met at the swim who know

EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN and EXACTLY WHAT IT FELT LIKE

doing this swim.  Trust me, the experience almost defies articulation.  But my friends Amy and Amy get it.  Steve gets it.  They know.  And this is important, as this is a very special experience.  You will want someone who understands it to just be able to chat with, decompress with.

5. Never have a moment of self doubt

This is so much easier said than done.  Remember when I went on Strong Like Bull cycle training camp?  Well at Strong Like Bull I would look at mountains and think “I am going to cycle that? You are kidding.”  I did not have the natural faith in my ability.  Although by the end of SLB I realised I could do a lot more than I had previously thought was possible.

With the Bay Swim, I never had a doubt. I knew I would do it.  I love swimming and feel comfortable in the water.  I think if I had any doubts, I wouldn’t have done it. 
Do whatever you need to do to put yourself in a place where you are absolutely confident – be it pool based 10k swims to do more than the distance, a few open water long swims, meditation, counselling.  Do whatever you need to do.  Make sure to show up with absolute faith in your own ability and with your head in the right place.

No Doubts.

6. Find a place to stay that puts you in the right frame of mind

When I checked into my original hotel, it was just a disaster.  Not so much because of the place – Loew’s Annapolis is perfectly adequate.  But it was loud.  My first room was by the elevator.  The second facing onto an interior courtyard and they were having a wedding on Saturday night (before the swim).  The third overlooked the dumpsters.  Um.  It wasn’t working for me.

So I vowed to myself that after a quick bite to eat I would just find a B&B to stay in that would be relaxed and comfortable and smaller and quiet.  I looked on TripAdvisor and found the Royal Folly.  When I knocked on the door (they weren’t picking up the phone) Pat (one of the owners) opened up and apologetically showed me the top floor “it is a bit warm up there” – but it was perfect.  I had the whole top floor to myself – a cozy room, a separate tv room, and a shower. 

Absolutely ideal.

Stay in a place where you feel comfortable and if you haven’t seen it before, don’t feel bad telling the place where you are staying that you need to move if it is not right for you.  Loew’s totally understood and there were no charges for me cancelling “because it was not working out for me.”  I wound up loving the Rolly Folly – perfect for peace and tranquillity of mind and body!

7. Being prepared with kit for all occassions

When I packed my kit bag to travel to Maryland, I made sure to bring both of my wetsuits, multiple swimsuits and goggles, bodyglide (to prevent chafing) and sunblock (factor 100 as well as factor 50). 

I had used each of the things I brought before.  Nothing new on race day (well, I did take a squirt of Amy’s Pam to join in the craziness that happens pre-race, but I don’t think it provided special mojo or protection for me, I’ll stick with bodyglide thanks).  But I liked having many options with me – a sleeveless wetsuit as well as a full wetsuit, my tri shorts and top as well as normal speedo swimsuit.  I could wake up and choose something that suited my mood and my sense of the conditions.  It made me comfortable. And I knew I had all the bases covered.

8. Love your goggles

OK, I have to be upfront.  Zoggs UK was kind enough to provide me with training goggles (the Fusion Airs) for this swim.  And a t-shirt.  But this does not influence at all the following piece of advice – especially since I bought my race goggles…

Love your goggles.  You will be wearing them for a few hours.  You want them to fit right, not tight but no leaks.  You don’t want goggle headaches from nose pieces or from tightness of straps.  You want to be happy with the light you see.  You want to love your goggles.

I searched for my ideal swim goggles for open water swimming for years.  I finally settled on the Zoggs Predators in 2010 and I have not looked back.  They fit me right, and most important this year, the 2011 models include a polarised lens option.  The Polarised lenses were awesome, cutting the brilliance off the Bay water out completely.  I could see, perfectly, where I was going.  And I had no leaks and no headaches.  This was key for 3 hours in the water.

Find your ideal goggle. Experiment and borrow from friends. And then make sure you love them. You don’t want to be messing around fiddling with water leaks or fogging or headaches when you do a long swim.

9. Get in the water the day before the swim

I am always kind of fanatic about my events.  If at all possible I like to see where I will cycle or swim, ride the course, whatever.  It puts my mind at ease.

Since I was staying in Annapolis I wanted to go to Sandy Point State Park, where the swim was, and get in the day before the event.  I wanted to go in around the same time as the start so I could feel what the water would feel like, try to experience some of the conditions.

I did this with my friend Ann, and it really put my mind at ease.  The water was lovely and the swim would be great. I knew it.  Thanks Ann for coming with me on Saturday.

10. Stick with what you have done with training

On race day there were a few things running through my mind. 

Wetsuit or not: it was really hot, lots of people had wetsuits but didn’t wear them – I had swum in mine in a heated pool so knew I could swim in warm water for distance with a wetsuit, but I also knew I would need some water mid swim.  A lot of people were digging on the folks swimming with wetsuits – it’s too hot, you’re going to roast, you are wimps.  You know what I mean?  I said to many people “do not do anything different than you do in training.” And in my training and pre-race prep I had decided to swim with a wetsuit (as a side note, wetsuits are mandatory for paratriathletes, no matter the water temperature).  So I stuck with my suit, just how I had trained, and it was perfect.

On the swim there were snack boats.  The boats offered water, as well as bananas, Nilla wafers, saltines and Muscle Milk.  Now some people train with food, others don’t.  I did.  But I had only trained with EFS First Endurance drink mix, water and Hammergels.  So I declined everything but the water, and had Hammergels in my wetsuit so that I could take nutrition on the course and have what I was used to.  Even though the bananas looked tempting…  I resisted the temptation.  I didn’t want to be burping up bananas on the swim. 

Yeh, if you haven’t done it in training, don’t do it on race day.

11. Mantras, phrases, images and songs help

You hear people say all the time that they use phrases and words to get them through events.  For a swim, I’ve never really used this.  I tend to focus on the sound of my breath or the feeling of the water on my forearms.  I have used mantras and tricks for running, to gut through the tough parts.  But I hadn’t tried it with swimming.

On the Bay Swim I did.  I was really happy that my friend Josie shared with me her Ironman Lanzarote mantra “I can I will.”  I used it for a while just to thank Josie in my mind for being a huge supporter.

I used the Nemo “Just Keep Swimming” song, but it was the image of Dory darting around, effortless, full of colour that helped me.  Be like Dory.

I had Kelly Clarkson in my head at one stage.  Since U Been Gone. I blame watching The Voice.  But it helped.  To have a tune to hum.

 

“Since you been gone, I can breathe for the first time, I’m so moving on, thanks to you…”

And breathe I did. That tune screams empowerment to me. So I felt motivated and pumped up humming it.

I tried other words.  I my Egmond run I used the word “thankful” one syllable on each step.  It wasn’t working for me though while swimming.  For this swim my key word was “Amazing”.  Split into four strokes, pulling on each syllable, “ah-ma-zing-___”, over and over again.  It was really fitting, I liked this one.  It worked.  The swim was amazing.

And at one stage I saw my parents.  Mom got seasick and hated the Chesapeake Bay, so she was shaking her head at me and laughing but clapping and yelling go.  That didn’t work for me – although I knew she was proud knowing she didn’t like the bay meant that I did not want her to be with me on the swim (sounds harsh, but that was my thought process).  Instead the image of my dad stuck with me.  I “saw him” on the rock banks, fishing, from miles 3 to 4.  I felt like I was swimming to his lure, reeling myself into shore.  It was a good image.  It helped me.

Don’t worry if you think you are losing your mind by doing this – it is just a coping mechanism.  Amy did something similar with thinking of people as motivation. Whatever works.

Just be prepared with your own storehouse of words or mantras, or images and songs.  They help to pass the time and focus the mind. 

12. Minerals and Hydration

I travelled to the swim.  So everything I am going to relay is based on what to do that is easy to do when travelling to a race.

I was lucky in that my favourite morning meal – oatmeal/porridge – is available everywhere, including Starbucks and McDonalds.  So I was not worried about my pre-race breakfast.

Hydration.  I started power hydrating a week before the swim.  The pee ran clear, literally, for each day for 7 days before I swam. 
I cut out all alcohol from Thursday night before the swim.  I had two glasses of wine on Thursday, but did not drink at all from Monday of that week.  I love my wine, but I know it dehydrates me.  I do this before every major race.

My nutritionist Vicki Edgson encourages me to pre-hydrate before long flights too, and to cut all alcohol out for 24 hours minimum before flying, to minimise jetlag.  So yeah, my hydration and alcohol approach also has an added benefit when it comes to travel and jetlag.

I power loaded magnesium.  I was taking two tablets a day (instead of my normal one) for a full week before the race.  One of the theories about my leg cramps is that a lack of magnesium can trigger them.  With medical and nutritionist advice I am comfortable supplementing like this, and I developed the loading strategy with Vicki. 

Carry electrolytes with you.  I had a half a Nuun before the swim because I was so hot, and I had half immediately after to replace what I lost.  Electrolyte balance is also really important for me when it comes to cramp prevention (have I said before I get really bad calf cramps? )

Post swim they handed out Muscle Milk.  I had Muscle Milk post the MS150 ride and liked the protein / sugar combo.  I guess it is like drinking a chocolate milk.  So I took two bottles at the end, and the chocolate drink helped me to quickly come back to life (the end of the swim was really disorienting for me).  That said, I would have loved a coconut water/Cherry Active/sparkling water cocktail like I make at home (so refreshing and yummy).  But I was travelling so this was not an option.

It took me a full 24 hours to feel like my body was back in balance again.  I have this happen after I do any major effort – from the Rallye des Gazelles to the London Triathlon, I just can’t eat really after a hard day.  Force yourself to eat and get nutrition, but listen to your body too.  I know that for me, I need carbs after something like this (I wanted Bolognese but could only eat about half a plate).  I also want proteins.  But then I crave sweet (fruit!).  And I start to cycle to salty (pretzel snacks!) and potassium (banana bliss!) and magnesium (leafy salads!). Since I can’t eat full meals for about 24 hours, I try to snack on something hitting a key recovery group (protein, carb, mineral) about every two hours.  Eventually my stomach and body feel able to eat full meals again, and I am ravenous.  I then give myself about 24 hours to eat whatever I want with abandon.  And now, about 48 hours after doing something the swim, I am backing to eating normally.

13.  Recovery

Reading Ankur Shah’s “Sometimes We Walk Alone” he said something that has stuck with me: 

Sleep is free medicine.

Yes, indeed it is.

I am taking every chance I have right now to rest, sleep and recover.  My body is really tired.  I felt zero compunction getting up and leaving a company dinner at 10.30 last night as I just needed to sleep.  Everyone understands this – or at least I let them know what is up so that they could understand and support my choices.

My training plan has me back on the bike and doing core work today.  But seeing as I am flying back from Montreal, and I also massively rolled my ankle while sprinting to my flight on Monday, that may not happen for me.  And, well, I feel tired.  So it may not have happened even if I was at home and uninjured.

Don’t rush things if you feel tired.  I still feel exhausted, so may be easing back gently – or as gently as my aspirations allow me to…