Tuesday Ocean Swim

Dane, Kathy and Cameron met me, Wendy and Sarah at my office after work yesterday and we headed out to Tybee for some open water swimming and T1 practice. We picked up a pizza from Mellow Mushroom along the way for a little post workout "pic-a-nic".

We setup the bikes and our "transition area" halfway out on the boardwalk to the beach. Then Dane and I paced off about 450 yards down the beach figuring we'd probably swim out and back 25 yards each for a total swim of 500 yards/meters.

Yes, the water was cold and yes the air wasn't much warmer. Though getting into the water was a little difficult, once we were all in it really didn't feel that cold. We decided it would be smart to get in and get over the shock before starting the main swim.

We then got out and I put my Forerunner into a ziplock bag and stuffed it under my swim cap. I went ahead and started the timer before putting it into my cap thinking the auto pause would pause it until we started swimming. Well it did, but because I swam so slow, it also kept pausing it during the swim. When we got out it said my total moving time was only like a minute and a half. Oh well, I'll have to adjust or turn off the auto pause feature next time but it still gave me a good view of my track (see below).

The swim went great. Well, except for me falling once during our run into the water. But that ain't all bad. Salt water is great for clearing out the sinuses! Once I started swimming I wasn't cold at all. I could really tell a difference in the buoyancy in the ocean, I didn't feel "sinky" at all. I was able to keep my stroke easy and relaxed and breathed good. I did a little breathing on every other and a little on every third stroke and didn't really get out of breath.

The biggest problem was seeing were I was going. I couldn't see anything out of my goggles. I would have to stop swimming and flip my goggles up to see if I was still parallel to shore and how much further I needed to go.

I came out of the water feeling good, and that has been one of my biggest goals all along, so I'm really proud of that. I ran up to the "transition" and started getting ready for the bike. It looks like my total time for the swim and running to the "transition" was about 9:26 according to MotionBased.

Getting my cycle jersey on was more difficult that I had imagined since it couldn't slide over my wet torso very well. I finally got it on, threw on my glasses and helmet, washed my feet and ran to bike down the board walk and out of "transition".

I'm glad we practiced this 'cause getting into the shoes with them already clipped into the peddles wasn't easy either. I finally got my feet all in and we then practiced getting out and back into them several more times until I felt a little more confident about it. I still think I'm not doing something quite right though with getting into my shoes.

Anyway, it was another great workout and learning experience. The pizza was good and it's always fun to take the family to the beach, even if everyone did a little chilled.

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MotionBased Activity