PP2P: Pine Point to the Pier training swim

View of Old Orchard Beach from Pine Point

Wonderful swim this morning albeit very very cold. Thanks to John from the Riverton group for letting me know about this swim, which I have wanted to do for a long time after first reading about it on Nitsirk's blog last year. About 12 of us set off from Pine Point at 8am this morning to swim to the Pier in OOB. It looked very very far away at the start. I wasn't sure I could swim for that long in water that cold.... my guess is it was about 56 degrees judging by various buoys in the area. But hey, I figured, at least the sun is out. As you can see from the picture above, the Pier at OOB isn't even clearly visible (it is all the way at the left hand side of the picture)

However the major battle for this swim wasn't the distance (3 miles), it was the temperature! Half way through I wasn't able to control my right pinkie finger and fully extend it anymore. My feet, face and hands were numb. But I couldn't get out and walk I kept telling myself. Besides, as I was swimming along the shore, I could get out anytime if I really needed to. I kept pushing along. Thinking about widening my stroke kept my mind busy. I have to say I am really glad I finished the swim. I think it took about an hour and 15 minutes. At the very least I feel ready now for P2P (Peaks to Portland) even if this summer weather keeps the ocean cold.

Only 5 days til my first triathlon!....more on that later.

No comment necessary.... 13 days and counting

Wet beach toys on the patio

First ocean swim of 2009

A bit anti-climatic I would say. I have been waiting at least two weeks to take my first ocean plunge. Waiting. And hoping the sun might emerge. Not to be.

Air temp 60. Water temp 59. Waves 3-5 feet. Wind speed 7 knots. Wind gust 8.9 knots. Rip tide active. Not exactly summer. But anything goes in Maine I suppose.



And god was it salty! I had forgotten. It felt pretty cold at first but then the temperature felt okay.

I only swam about 2/3 of mile probably but it lasted at least 25 minutes which is more than the time it would take to swim a mile in the pool. Hey, I am happy I got in given the cruddy weather we've had for the last two weeks. The National Weather Service reported today that this June is the 5th rainiest on record in Maine, and given more rain today will likely be the 4th rainest by the end of the day. Total rainfall for June 2009- 8.36 inches (3 times our usual average for June).

To reward myself I had two of these for lunch (with fresh strawberries we picked this morning) when I returned. Yum yum yum. Maybe summer is here afterall.

Rainy day(s) accomplishments

We've had about 7 rainy days in a row here in Maine. At first it sucked. But then I got productive.

Here's what I got done:

*Cleaned out 2 closets
*Made a plan for the underwater camera
*Painted the bathroom orange
*Painted the laundry room orange
*Cleaned and threw out junk in both said rooms (yuk!)
*Read a cheesy murder mystery
*Cleaned up a mud slathered front door (courtesy of my kids)
*Did approximately 19 loads of laundry (I'm not kidding)
*Gave away 5 bags of toys and clothes to friends and charity
*Went to the library twice
*Saw "Up" (it was good)
*Went shopping for myself with kids in tow
(always an embarrassing event as they inevitably open the changing room mid-change)

Here's what I did not get done:
*Painting the house (will it ever stop raining long enough?)
*Find a new book to read
*Swim in the ocean (boohoo!)

Goals for this week

*SWIM IN THE OCEAN! (29 days until P2P)
*Read 2-3 more "summer" books (I need suggestions!)
*Play with kids
*Build a sandcastle

Can vacation start now? I am ready for it....

Starts

courtesy Mark Savage Photography

This is something I have been thinking about since NE Champs.

Re-learning a proper start.

This image is a great one to catalogue away in my brain for visualization purposes. It is of Kendall Steward a 14-year old who just swam a 1:00.09 in the 100 meter fly at the TYR Swim Meet of Champions at Mission Viejo last week.

Notice her hands- firm and already angling for a streamlined shot in the water.
She is up on her toes, which is clearly something my aging body is going to have to practice a lot.
And she is taking a good aggressive look at where she is headed before dropping her head for entry. This is different than the quick look and reflexive body jerk I learned way back in the 80's.

Ginger supplementation

"Ginger supplementation attentuates peak muscle pain and the decline in range-of-motion caused by intense exercise"

Has anyone used ginger in their racing or training regimen?

Torres: On why I love swimming .. and on aging

Excerpts from Dara Torres, Age is Just a Number

"I also remembered the straightforward nature of life in the pool. You know exactly where your're coming from. You know exactly where you're going. It is easy to state your goals. Tasks and obligations are well defined. Life outside the water is so maddeningly full of complexity and nuance. I liked being back in the pool. The lines are clear and straight."

...lifestyle, not genetics, is the primary reason older athletes tend to slow down... Most people, as they reach their thirties, place more piroity on their jobs and famiies, as well they should. but as a result they downgrade their worout goals from achieving peronsal bests to stayig in shape. this might be the right decision or many. But if you still have athletic ambiitions, ifyou still want to compete and win, there's no reason you have to give up.

"So how long can peak athletic performance last? Accrding to the Cardiovascular Aging Research Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin, both eleite and non-eleite runners and swimmers can maintain personal bests until age 35, after which point (for most people, and the most is important) performance delcies in a gradual, linear fashion until about age 50 to 60 for runners, or 70 for swimmers. Deterioration is the exponential from there. The Cardiovascular Aging Research Laboratory also found that swimmers experience more modest declines than runners, and that swim sprinters, like myself, experience the smallest declines of all. "

Oh yeah, I like that last sentence!