Awakening the dolphin

Last night I went to an amazing panel discussion on women in open water swimming. It was, appropriately, called "Awakening the Dolphin Within".

Four of my incredibly talented and accomplished swim buddies served on a panel to discuss everything from training plans to how to pee while swimming. It was sponsored by Guila of Say Yes To Life swims.

The super cool aspect of this panel was that, even though I know these women, swim with them, and rewarm with them over donuts on a regular basis, I learned a ton and was inspired by their stories.

They spoke of training plans.  The hours they put in.  For an English Channel crossing, Melissa trained 35 hours a week. That's a full time job! Learning to understand what pain was "back off" pain and what pain was "suck it up cupcake" pain was important. From this I can take away two things.  One, I never want to swim the English Channel (this is not news). And two, I can learn when to push through pain.  I'd been reflecting on this question even prior to the panel. My sprained ankle back in September left me in a boot for 10 days, and with severe atrophy of muscles and weakening of my ankles and knees after.  I'm in physical therapy now to correct the issues. I've realized that I tend to respond to any pain with 100% rest.  I plan to talk to my physical therapist about when I should be doing active rest, or even pushing against the pain.

They spoke of bodily functions and swimming.  One of my most viewed pages in this blog is the one about peeing in the pool. I didn't realize, until this panel, that some folks struggle to pee while swimming. This has never been an issue for me.  There was also a discussion of #2 and of menstruation and sea life.  I did learn that it is better to have people see you poo than to get pulled for stomach cramps. AND blood and pee are the same to sea life, so if you can pee while swimming, you shouldn't sweat your period.

They spoke of the ways that swimming helps with depression.  I don't want to tell someone else's story about this topic. I do agree that sometimes, the water is the only place that the world make sense.  Major stresses can be solved by a good swim.

For me there wasn't a call to action, so much as a pointing out of how lazy I sometimes am about my workouts. If I were to push a bit harder, what could I accomplish?  This has especially been on my mind this week because I did a mile in the pool on Tuesday.  It took me about 8 min longer than I expected.  This is a huge slowdown.  And I want to get back to the speed I believe I can swim-- or even faster.  To do so, I'll need to work harder.  To swim faster you have to swim faster. It may be time to kick back into "training" mode.

I'm glad I spent my evening with these lovely and accomplished ladies. It woke up my dolphin!

I'll post the video when it is available.

Viadoom Swim/Walk

Usually I swim with the Notorious Alki Swimmers for my weekend swim.  As the name implies, we swim at Alki beach. Seattle is now, in the midst of "Viadoom" while, for three weeks, the Alaska Way Viaduct is closed and the replacement tunnel is not yet open.  I'll skip the politics of this in this forum, but suffice it to say, the impact on traffic, city wide, is anticipated to be significant.

I usually take the viaduct to Alki (or home) and so planned to meet up with a few north-end swimmers at Golden Gardens instead.  Three of us showed up on a beautiful, sunny, flat day.  The water was clear, and the sun was out. I almost worried about sunburn!

Golden Gardens is known for having a bit of a current as you swim around the point. I'd done it many times before and, although I'd felt the current, it had never been an issue.  Until this time.

I also have a new toy (I'll post on that soon) that is a GPS and gives me real-time auditory feedback on my pace. This ended up being very helpful, and a great safety tool, in this situation.

As I got used to the temperature, and started getting into my pace, the GPS was telling me that my "laps", which I'd set to 50 meters, were about 1:09 to 1:25.  I knew this was fast for me, but since I usually swim in a yards pool, it was hard to track how fast.  The swim was easy. I was watching the beautiful sand and sea floor. I had a goal of about a  mile, but after 650, the other two swimmers were coming back, so I turned around with them.

The next lap jumped from 1:20 to 2:20 then to 4:20. I wasn't sure, since the GPS is new to me, if this was a sign of the current, or of the GPS malfunctioning. You can see the change in pace around lap 11 here:

Either way, I decided that it was safer to start swimming towards shore, so I'd be closer in if I needed to bail.  This was a good idea.  It took me minutes to get near shore. And then, the current was pushing me so hard that my slowest 50 m was over 5 min! I got close it to shore and started to walk, in shoulder deep water, to see if I could get free from the current.  I couldn't.  But I tried for a few min.  I realized I was making no progress, so I got out, and walked back to my gear. My friends met me half way back with my shoes and towel. You can see my route here:

Notice that the color of the line is an indication of pace.  The green is faster than the blue. The darker the blue, the slower I was going.  Basically, from the turn around spot, I dramatically slowed down.

What did I learn from all this?  

First, swimming with friends is a good idea, I knew they were watching out for me and aware of where I was.  

Second, the GPS ended up being a real safety device. I wasn't sure I'd like the every 50 m updates, but in this case, it highlighted for me much quicker than I would have noticed alone, that my pace had dropped dramatically. 

Third, the habit of swimming parallel to shore is a smart one. I knew if I couldn't break the current, I would be able to turn around and swim across and with it to shore. Another safe choice.

Finally, once again, I got into an uncomfortable situation and got myself out of it safely.  As I push my limits swimming, I need to also balance that with swimming safely. This was a good test of my response intuition and I'm proud of how I responded. I never felt unsafe. I was confident the whole time that I knew what to do.  That was a good learning experience.

And really finally, there is no shame in walking.  I don't regret it. And I still think of this as a fabulous swim. Every swim teaches me something new.  This one was about current, and planning.

New Year Swim- 2019

People like to spend New Year's day doing something fun, unusual, or signficant.  New Year's 2000 (Y2K-- remember when we worried about that?) I started a 5 mile run at midnight. The motto was "Y2K can keep computers from running, but it can't keep us from running", but probably phrased in a catchier way.

As has become my habit, this year was started with a wonderful swim at Alki with the Notorious Alki Swimmers.  We had large turnout. Bigger than a usual weekend swim.

This is my fourth winter swimming at Alki. I have made wonderful friends along the way.

I'm not one to make resolutions. I gave up the diet mindset years ago. And in general I eat healthy and am not one to overspend. I also have realized that setting mile goals for a year can lead to injury.

At the same time, my goal from however many years ago, when I started this blog, was only accomplished when I joined a community.  This year, if I make it to spring, it will be accomplished four-fold.

Thank you to this wonderful community for helping me get there. And Happy 2019 to all!

If the Whale can do it, so can I!

This Saturday I woke up not wanting to swim.  I didn't want to get out of bed. It seemed like too much of a hassle.

BUT, I had promised a friend that I'd be there, and say hello.  So I got out of bed. I wasn't sure I was going to swim, as I just wasn't feeling it. BUT I put on my swimsuit, just in case.

I got to the beach, and told my friends I wasn't feeling it. I didn't think I was going to swim. I've shown up before thinking I wouldn't swim, and always did. But this time was different. I just didn't want to.

We posed for the photo.

Then, folks started getting ready. I did not.  I drank more of my hot chocolate. Then, someone yelled "Orca!".  Immediately, everyone turned toward the water-- scanning for any indication of a whale.

And there it was. Not an Orca, but a Humpback.  I watched it surface a few times. I saw the blow. It was beautiful, and swimming.

I figured, if the Whale could swim today, so could I.

So I did.

Being Present in my Body

As a larger woman, or perhaps as a woman, or perhaps as a human in today's world, it is easy to disengage with one's body.  There are so many messages about what a body supposed to be or look like, that one has two choices: spend a lot of time feeling disappointed or guilty for not reaching those goals, or disengage from one's body.

The water has so many tactile sensations, buoyancy, flow, cold, salty taste (or chlorine), particulate (hopefully not in the pool). I can feel my leg hair, the tightness of my goggles, the movement of my muscles. I hear each breath. The splash of the water.

This past weekend I listened to see if breast stroke sounds different from crawl.  The breathing and bubbles do. It is harder to tell about the sound of the water, as when one puts their head under, the sound changes.

When I get out of the water, I am present in my body. The messages about what it is supposed to look like are irrelevant.  What matters is what it feels like and what it can do.  I have an amazing body.

Swimming with the fishes-- Waikiki again, but the true on this time

The spouse and I decided to spend Thanksgiving in Hawaii. Probably the best decision I've made in a long time.  This was the view from our hotel room balcony:

That's the Waikiki harbor, with an excellent perspective for sunsets, though I think we watched all of them from the beaches.

As the swimmer that I am, the highlight of the trip was swimming with the fishes!!  Hamama State Park has a nature preserve in it with amazing coral reefs.  You take a bus out to the park, pay the $7.50 entry, watch a 9 min video on safety for you and the reefs, and then walk down a hill with this view.

And this one:

You can see the shape of the reef from above.

Blue water is sand.  The reef is the darker area. It was great to see this view of the reef, because it was a map of what I would swim through, and really helped me get my orientation.

I own snorkel gear. In part this is because I want my prescription goggles. And in part because using a snorkel that has been in someone else's mouth is ick. 

I was one of the few with a swim cap on. Combine that with the Yellow rash/sun guard, and my orange buoy and I was easy to spot while swimming!

But what really mattered was what I was spotting.

The highlight was the sea turtles.  Day one I had a turtle almost to myself for 20 min.

We had a good long conversation about turtle-y things.

But the second day, the turtle had paparazzi.

This made me sad. Although, technically, the guy was within the rules-- he was not touching the turtle-- he was awfully close. The turtle was swimming away from him. Unlike the one I'd made friends with the previous day, who was happy to eat and talk to me.

I easily spent two hours in the water each day.  When the wind would pick up, the conditions would get worse, and I'd get out for a while and hang out on the beach. It was such a pretty place, easy to spend a day.

Another highlight of the trip was the drive to the North Shore, where we watched surfers at the Bonsi Pipeline. 

And met some beach chickens.

And I drove a VW Bug Convertible.  Wow I had a hard time giving that car back.

After so much sun, and 70* ocean water, the return to Alki will be hard!

Wikiki Beach Swim- Labor Day 2018

For something like ten or so years now (we debate this often) I've gone away with the same group of friends.  We rent a house somewhere, and spend a weekend together, playing games, day drinking, exploring the area, walking, hiking, and, most importantly, swimming. 

This year was no different.  The group choose the Long Beach Peninsula for our getaway, and that meant a lot of time on the Pacific coast.

On Sunday, my friend D and I went in search of a spot to swim.  An open-water-swim friend had given me intelligence that swimming near the Coast Guard station at Cape Disappointment would not disappoint (see what I did there?). However, times have changed, and we were unable to get anywhere near the Coast Guard station, and were, therefore disappointed. Another friend who was with us suggested that "Wikiki Beach" which is also in the park, ought to be a good place to swim, or it wouldn't have that name. Of course, the more well known Wikiki is known for surf, not swim.

So we arrived at the water and found this:

That's my 6-foot plus friend standing in the surf.  I'm not a big-surf kinda gal so was apprehensive, but he was able to get past the breakers and still be only waist deep, so I decided to give it a go as well.

Wikiki beach is a narrow strip of beach. Not a lot of space to enter the water, but once in, there is a long breakwater to swim parallel to.

Getting past the breakers was my challenge. D found the water cold, but I thought it was pleasant (lots of Alki time helped with this). For the first few min of the swim, the current was clearly pushing us back toward the shore.  It also, however, was pushing us toward the rock wall to our left.  D and I had a conversation about the current, and safety, where we could bail in an emergency.  I mentioned that I thought the rocks on the Jetty, though sharper, would be easier to climb out on than the cliffs on the other side.  D said he wasn't too fond of either choice.

I mention this because, as an experienced open water swimmer, I'm always monitoring my surroundings and ensuring I have a plan in place in case I am unable to get out of the water where I have planned.  When I swim at Alki, I watch the beach so that I know where I am, and where the easy exit points are (part of the beach has seawall, with periodic stairs for exit). I haven't, yet, needed to use a "plan B" but it is part of being safe and aware of my surroundings.

We swam for a while and stopped to take a few photos.  One of the joys of the selfie in the water is that one really never knows how they are going to come out. It is so hard to see the screen in bright sun, with fogged up goggles that I just have faith that I got something.  So here's what I got:

Me, lighthouse behind

D and me. 

Shortly after the selfies, since I noticed we'd drifted toward the rock wall, I suggested we swim parallel to shore, and get closer to the Jetty. Then we could turn and swim out along the Jetty. We did. The water was amazing. Clean, salty, but not too salty. There wasn't much visibility, nor was there much flotsam in the water. There were a bunch of people fishing from the Jetty, so I have to believe there were fish.

Shortly after we turned, to swim out, parallel to the Jetty, I noticed the current was with us, pushing us further from shore.  D noticed as well, and commented on this to me.  I immediately suggested we turn back to the beach.

I've had a rule for myself in open water swimming.  The rule is that if I am thinking "Should I do X or Y" the answer is ALWAYS whatever the safer choice is.  So in this case, when the choice was swim further or turn around.  Turning around was the safer choice, and we did that. If I had been in water I knew better, the current might not have been enough to get me to turn. But this wasn't familiar water, or familiar conditions. And safety is always the right answer.

Shortly after turning around, D commented to me that he wasn't sure we were making any progress.  I pointed to a fisherman on the jetty with a bright orange jacket on.  I suggested he swim 25 strokes and notice where the fisherman was after.  Sure enough, we made progress in those strokes and could see that.  This is a technique that I'm always using to judge speed in the water, relative to shore.  Currents are strong and not always predictable.  When there is a clear spot to sight off of, and get a sense of pace, it is helpful for monitoring progress and safety. 

After about five minutes of hard, into the current swimming, it was clear that we were back in the area where the current was pushing us toward shore.  We got to body surf back in.

All smiles after the swim

 Folks on shore commented that they couldn't believe we were swimming where we were.  D commented that he was worried for a few min, and glad I knew the technique to monitor our progress.

This comment from D brought up interesting reflections for me.  D has always been a better athlete than I am.  But he isn't necessarily, in any given year, in good swim shape.  The prior year, when we'd swum in the Columbia River, I'd suggested to him that he tell me when to turn around, as I was at the peak of my swim shape.  I hadn't thought that through this year.  This swim was, likely, more ambitious than he knew he was getting into.  I need to remember that I'm in better than average swim shape. Since I swim with so many swimming superstars, it can be hard to remember that I'm still really strong.  My swim friends set a high bar.

For future Labor Day trips, I'll want to set swim goals that are more moderate for me, rather than a push for me, so that they are more accessible to D.  In the end though, I'm proud of us for doing it, and glad I/we made the safe choice all along.