Park to Park swim 2016

The Park to Park swim is a 1.5 ish mile swim across Lake Washington. Like a lot of open water swims, I clarify the distance with an "ish" because swimming a straight line is unlikely, and therefore the measured distance and the actual distance can be two different things.

I have done this swim 5 times previously- '10, '11, '12. '13, and '14. I was registered last year but had a back injury about 6 weeks prior and was unable to swim that distance at that time.

This year a friend of mine who is close to my pace, and hasn't done many open water events, asked if we could swim together. After a "shake down swim" two weeks prior to test pace match, we decided to give it a try.  It was wonderful to have a partner in crime when this event got tough, and tough it did get!

We gathered at Mathew's Beach around 7:15. I found a bunch of my Notorious Alki Swimmer friends. I'm so glad I joined NAS last year because it has given me a posse of like minded people. We took a few photos before hand, and this is by far my favorite! (NAS isn't all women all the time, that's just who we had for the photo).

What beautiful and colorful women!! Love to  join with them (that's me on the far left in my new bathing suit!!)

We joked about how silly it was to wear the ankle bracelets.  Between that and the number on the arm, we felt a little like prisoners.

The swim was supposed to have a line of buoys guiding us across the lake, but the wind had done a job on them in the few hours before the start and they were all way down the lake.  The staff was doing their best to re-place them before the start, but it was impossible.  This should have clued us in as to what we were getting ourselves into.

This year, because they gave us timing chips, they decided to do a mass start.  Those were were "competitive" started at the front, and the "recreational" at the back. People slowly walked through the start chute and into the water to start swimming.  It was pretty chaotic and still took a while for us to all spread out and find our groove.  D and I started at the back, wanting to just take it easy.

The water was warm, and started out flat.  We got into a good groove and were cruising along. I checked in with D a few times on pace and how she was doing.  She was swimming strong and having a good time. 

As we eased into the middle of the lake, the waves picked up.  D commented that she kept seeing "whale spouts" and I said I would believe it in these conditions.  The swells rose to about 2 feet, with white caps on top.

At one point I suggested D turn around and look behind us.  We were about half way across. It is amazing to see how far back the previous shore is, and it is reassuring when the shore ahead really doesn't seem to be getting any closer.

A few times, I saw a white cap crash above me while I was under water for a stroke.  The way the light played on the water they would appear to be sea-creatures of some sort.  I decided they were mermaids, and good luck.

The waves really were relentless. I reassured D that she was earning her Bad-ass points for the day, as this was the worst conditions I'd ever done Park to Park in.  She appreciated the reassurance, cursing the friends who talked her into it saying that lake swims are supposed to be calm and flat.

I was glad for both of us that we'd done so much training at Alki.

The safety crew were having a hard time managing their boats and paddle boards in the high winds and waves. At one point a safety kayaker was struggling with his boat and almost ran over me, D, and another swimmer.  I put up a hand to fend him off, as I knew I could push the boat away, protecting all of our heads.  He was able to maneuver away without my touching him (yay for following channel rules) but it was a bit harrowing.  After this incident, I realized, again, how incredibly comfortable and strong I feel in the water these days.  I never felt that I was at risk from that kayaker as I knew I had the ability to judge if I needed to push him away, grab on, or dive under.  It is great to see how confident I am in water these days.

D and I made it to the finish.  Tired, and with more water in our sinuses and stomachs than we would have prefered.  Everyone gets rockstar points for completing this swim.  It was a challenging one.

Final time was 1:14:08.  Slower than I'd anticipated, but I'll take it considering the conditions.

Gear Review: Rash Guard

Last month I had a mole removed from my shin.  Turns out the biopsy was "pre cancerous". I've always had pale skin and burned easily, but this has made me want to up my game for sun protection.  Enter the rash guard for swimming.

I purchased this top last summer from Lands End.  They claim spf 50 sun protection in and out of the water. I fist purchased this one in my normal street clothing size (and in blue, which they don't seem to have anymore).

I love the feel and the drape. But it was too big to wear in the water, it flapped around a lot during real swimming.  So then I got the yellow one, sized down to be tight (and I got yellow for visibility in the water). The bottom line is it serves its purpose.

I like the top best when I wear the swim safety buoy over it. The belt helps to hold it in place, otherwise it rides up a touch.  For the most part the top is unnoticeable in the water, which is what I want.  It stays a bit cold when wet and out of the water, so I need to remove it quickly, though it dries quickly on the line.  I've also had some moderate chafing issues with it under my arms.  Nothing a little body glide can't fix.

In the long run, I'm glad I have the shirt. It means I don't have to worry about the sun on my back, which is, of course, the hardest place to spread sunscreen yourself. I'll wear this happily all summer, and the blue one for summer festivals when I want to be cool and have sun protection.

The chop!

This weekend I had a bridal shower that kept me from Alki (and was totally worth it, Mazel Tov to the bride-to-be!!).  A mimosa before a swim may not be the best of ideas, but it helped me be festive. Since I couldn't make it to Alki, I posted on Facebook for a friend to swim with in the afternoon.

I met up with L at the big lake in the middle of the afternoon.  Seattle is in the middle of a heat wave, so it was in the high 80s and everyone wanted to be on the water.  With a strong wind and TONS of boats the lake was really choppy. I'd estimate there were 1-2 foot swells, and in many directions. The wind was mostly out of the north.

L and I did the mile round trip to the dog park. The swim out was much rougher than the swim back, with the wind. I had to stick to breast stroke, even though I want to work on my flutter kick, as freestyle would have made me seasick.  However, I observed how comfortable I was in the waves.  I remembered a swim from my 42nd birthday, a year and a half ago, where I was in similar chop and wasn't sure I was going to make it. I kept thinking I should give up and get out.  This time that wasn't even a consideration. I knew I could handle the chop.  It was great to note how far I'd come.

The funny sight on this swim was three men swimming and trying to keep their beer bottles out of the waves.  Each one had one hand, with a bottle, raised well above his head.  They did offer to share, so at least they were nice about it.

Kitsilano Pool AKA: My happy place

It was a three day weekend in the US, so the spouse and I took off for territories north to visit friends and family and eat vegan dim sum. One of my favorite things to do in the summer in Vancouver, BC is swim in the Kitsilano Pool. This pool is 137 meters long, salt water, outdoor on the beach, and absolute bliss.

The pool is so large I struggled to get a photo that showed the whole thing.

The water was perfect. Just warm enough to swim but not overheat. Clean. Clear. Only mildly salty. It was windy outside which made it a little cold when I got out. But perfect while swimming.

I did a mileish of laps, with 274 of just kicking. I've been wanting to improve my kick strength. The lap swimming is done by staying to the right of the two black lines you can see in the photo. Slower people go outside, faster inside. You can cross inside the line to pass if you need to.  Generally it was pretty well organized, even with a few dozen people swimming.  The pool is so long, you get spread out!

This pool is always on my list of places to go when I visit Vancouver between May Long Weekend and Labor Day!

Taste of the Water

In the past week I've had the pleasure of swimming in Puget Sound, Lake Washington and the pool at my local gym.  One of the things that struck me about the first swim back in the Lake, after a winter in Puget Sound, was that the water isn't salty!  It know, it isn't profound. It is definitely something I knew, intellectually.  But the realization was visceral.

I don't love the taste of Puget Sound. I know some of my fellow swimmers do. But the salt bothers me.  Lake Washington, doesn't have the salt taste, but it isn't really a clean taste either. It is always a bit "green" like there is something growing.  Which there is.

The best tasting lake I've swum in recently is Crescent Lake in Olympic National Park. The water had no taste at all.  It was amazing. So clean!  The color was remarkable too, blue, and clear deep enough to trigger my fear of heights as I came close to shore and could see the bottom again.

Crescent Lake

So although I don't try to drink the water (though I often get a face-full on a windy day) I am aware of the taste of what I swim in. Just one more reason to avoid polluting our waterways!

Body Image and Bathing Suits

I've posted a lot of photos of myself in a swimsuit or wetsuit here on this blog.

So you probably all have a sense of what I look like. One of the things that swimming, and this blog, (and possibly being in my 40's and maybe having a good F-off Fairy) have done for me is given me an "I don't care" attitude about being photographed in my bathing suit.

I look at these photos and generally think "that was a great swim".  I'm focused on how much swimming helps me love my body. When I saw this meme, I thought "YES, that's it!!"

When I swim I remember who I am.  I get to absolute pleasure of feeling the power of my body move me through the water. I get the playful feeling of buoyancy lifting me off the ground. I get to be an orca.  I get the feel of the water on my skin. I get to sense the changes in temperature, in wave motion, in smell. Swimming helps me love my body and all it can do.

During a recent group swim, I heard one of the other swimmers refuse to be photographed in her bathing suit without a cover-up.  This made me sad.  Swimming is about celebrating my body.  Rejoicing in its strength. Enjoying the sensuality of the water.  Any photo taken just documents that joyful experience. Nothing could make me happier.

Rules of the water

Seattle has been under Viadoom 2016 for the last two weeks.  The Alaska Way Viaduct was closed as Bertha, the resident tunneling machine, dug her way underneath.  This created traffic chaos, and therefore a spin off group of the Notorious Alki Swimmers.  5 of us met at the usually meet up time this weekend, but at a different beach-- Golden Gardens.  This north end beach allowed us to not have to travel the viaduct to Alki and to still get in an open water swim.

However.  It was boating opening day.  So as we pulled up to Golden Gardens, we were greeted with probably 200 sailboats parked just off shore, luffing.  Our swim started around 9:30, and at precisely 10am, they all tacked and started to sail away.

Except there was no wind.  And there were TONS of boats in a very small area.  So some of them tacked toward the beach.  One of them came withing about three strokes of me.  The captian waved at me, so I know he saw me.  But it still made me uncomfortable.

Since boating season is now officially open, and swim season lasts all year, this is a good time to review the rules of the water.

Seattle Parks website outlines the rules for open water swimming as follows:

SMC 16.28.010 indicates that swimming is prohibited except:

1. in designated swimming areas
   
2. within 50 feet from shore, unless the swimmer is accompanied by a boat that is designed for both swimmer and boater, is within 25 feet of the swimmer and have lifejackets for all persons on the water

SMC 18.12.180 states that watercraft cannot operate within 75 feet of a swimming beach, and powered watercraft cannot operate within 300 feet of a swimming beach.

75 feet of a swim beach. This sailboat was MUCH MUCH closer.  I could not have been more than 20 feet out, as the line of sailboats was probably less than 75 feet out. 

I looked for further information to make sure I was in the clear.  Seattle Police list the following information about swimming:

RULES FOR SWIMMING

Swimming (SMC 16.28.010)

Swimming in all the navigational waters of Seattle shall be prohibited except:

• A: In designated swimming areas; or
• B: Within 50ft from shore or a pier; or
• C: Within 25ft of a vessel

Swimming is prohibited in:

• Government Locks
• Montlake Cut
• Fremont Cut
• Under any bridge
• Within the confines of any guide wall
• Within 300 feet of a ferry slip
• Within 300 feet of a boat launch ramp

So basically, I was in the clear.  The sailboat was in the wrong.  However, being right is not helpful if you've been hit by a boat.  I will continue to practice defensive swimming-- wearing bright colors, keeping aware of boat traffic in the area, doing my best to make eye contact with the boaters, etc.

There were at least three times as many by the time we swam!