Sunday, June 26, 2011

Open Water Swimming

Another great weekend of training...this time I hooked up with the Silicon Valley Tri Club (SVTC) for an open water swim in Redwood Shores Lagoon.

Redwood Shores Lagoon

It's quite a drive from the city, but it's lovely as the weather temperature increases 1 degree for every 2 miles you drive south...so a lovely 75 degree weather temp.

The lagoon is a semi-closed system that feeds from the Bay so the temperature can really vary based on the weather in a few days. A SVTC member carries a thermometer with here everywhere so she knows what wetsuit to wear and declared it was a perfect 72 degrees!

The closed system of the lagoon means that it is slightly salty, but not as much as the pure ocean swim approach, which is great for me. I seem to have a habit of swallowing water and then of course gagging. It does not make for a calming experience in the water...

I also am not a straight line swimmer, I have a lovely hook and slide depending on the side I breathe on. The lagoon has a series of 2 buoys that makes it easier in this open water to follow some-what of a path.

Buoys in lagoon making it easier to swim

Our group of 10 had a little chat at the start and the seasoned lagoon swimmers let us know the distances from landmarks and points. I was aiming for a long swim of over 1 mile, and seemed many of the swimmers were going for a 0.9 mile swim. Good to go....but there was an issue mentioned with swimming past the bridge (see map below) of the sea grass that grows abundantly. Yuk!

After the bridge it did get a little grassy but not too bad...looks like the mowing machine had come in...

Grassy Mower for the Lagoon



Swimming was easier than it has been in the past...really feels like I have improved in my technique, slowing my stroke down a bit to focus more on getting a full stroke and power and distance through the arm. But I still need to get the speed combination with the power...guess more swimming with the SVTC in the future.

Final details

Distance: 1.3miles
Time: 1:02 hours


Swim Details for 1.3miles

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