A few minutes before 10am Saturday, I jumped off a dock on the far southwestern tip of Manhattan and into the Hudson River. After a brief countdown I began a journey that would bring me around the Battery, up the … Continue reading
~15 minutes after the start of the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim:
Preface: On “ultra” Tampa, in brief (w/ GPS tracks) Part 1: The Team Without a team, a 24-mile swim doesn’t happen. Simple as that. And the swim’s success – it’s efficiency – depends on the quality of the team. Long … Continue reading
NOTE: I wrote this as preface to my Tampa report, but it got a bit long so I decided to put it in a separate post. It’s not really specific to Tampa, anyway. What’s a marathon swim? Without any historical reference … Continue reading
I thought I should get something out now (however brief), with a more comprehensive report to follow. Yesterday was an experience that… will take a couple of days to process. I fulfilled my goal of finishing the Tampa Bay Marathon … Continue reading
RESULTS. My second visit to the Nike Swim Miami went much better than the first, even if my time (2:27:51) didn’t really reflect it. I felt strong from start to finish and held my stroke rate consistently in the … Continue reading
This deserves its own post. Karah’s husband Ben made this video from helmet-cam footage he took on a stand-up paddleboard. Pretty good stuff. I love the haunting Nick Drake music in the second half. Swim the Suck Tennessee River Gorge … Continue reading
Despite my best efforts, the 2010 open-water season is now over! Like Rob, my original plan was relatively modest compared to the end result (though it seemed ambitious at the time). At first, I aimed to run the gauntlet of … Continue reading
RESULTS. Daily News of Open Water Swimming article. Swim the Suck would be my last race of the year: an epic season finale, the longest swim of my life, and a test run for even longer events next year.
RESULTS here. Preview post here. Daily News of OWS article here. The phrase “little red lighthouse” may evoke something quaint and isolated – possibly in Maine – but make no mistake: This is a big, urban swim. After a summer of so many rural … Continue reading
And now, for a belated report on the Diamond Lake Open Water Challenge, in which I partook two Saturdays ago, September 18. I had been waiting on the official photos from the day, but no such luck. The images below … Continue reading
The more I think about it, the more I suspect that the Cascade Lake Swim Series & Festival was the highlight of my Great Summer of Open Water. I was reminded of this when I recently discovered Bob Needham’s report, … Continue reading
RESULTS here. Official write-up here. Rob Aquatics write-up here. What the gods giveth, they can – and do – taketh away. This is Chicago, people! Big Shoulders ’09 was a picture-perfect beach day, with calm 73-degree water. This year, the … Continue reading
Another Friday, another long-ass postal swim at the UIC Natatorium. This time, for 10K: 200 laps of a 50-meter pool. The 10K Postal Swim is as much a psychological challenge as physical. Even 5K is a pretty brutal distance to … Continue reading
See background post below, or here. What: 5,000 long-course meters – for time When: Friday, August 27, 2010. 5:45pm CDT Where: Flames Natatorium, University of Illinois-Chicago Why: Why not? Training context: Monday, 4900 LCM; Tuesday, 5600 LCM; Wednesday, 4100 LCM; … Continue reading
As my former Sharks teammates know, I attempted the USMS 5K Postal Championship (5,000 long-course meters for time, in your home pool, between 5/15 and 9/15) back on June 27, two days before my wife and I moved from Columbus … Continue reading
Results here. In contrast to most of my summer race schedule, the Madison Open-Water Swim is a nice, big urban race – a worthy younger sibling to Chicago’s Big Shoulders. An Ironman-length swim with actual iron in the vicinity!
Two more fun pics from my recent Oregon adventure. First, here’s me with Dave Radcliff – 1956 Olympian in the 1500m and owner of multiple FINA Masters world records. He and his wife Nancy are old friends of my parents, … Continue reading
RESULTS here (PDF). Bob Needham’s write-up here. “Over the hills and through the woods” has been a common theme in my summer open-water tour. My latest stop was no exception – though the hills were a bit higher, the woods … Continue reading
I’m usually not one to back down from a race. So, my decision to scratch yesterday’s 2-mile Lake Erie Open-Water Swim was not without regrets. I had some chores to take care of down in Columbus before the renters move … Continue reading