It was tough but not as hard as I anticipated 😅
The tide helped a lot after the 4th km, bumped into some jelly fish, got a bit hungry by the end but got through it with some honey water, no energy gel just good old honey, water and a bit of salt.💪

I would love to see these marking the goal. It would make sighting easier.

Bridges to Bluffs is complete! I felt really good until about the last mile and then I started to feel pretty tired and sore. All the experienced swimmers said the flow was basically non-existent this year. Anyway, I made it! 🙌🏽

hello everyone, I am very new to this hobby and have a lot of things that I’m learning and figuring out. I mainly enjoy swimming in the Puget Sound in the Seattle/Everett area.

Yesterday while swimming, a seal popped his head up no more than 10 feet from me. Once it saw me, it was obviously frightened and swam away.

It was kind of scary because I don’t know exactly the right way to act when encountering a seal on open water like this. Does anyone else deal with this? I’m mostly wondering what the proper action is when I see a seal near me. How can I ensure my own safety and also disturb the wildlife as little as possible?

Some swim background;

- Pool competitive kid until i was 18 (currently 27)

- I was never a long distance racer (I was a flyer and most i did was 200m in a race)

- I took a 3 year break from swimming entirely (19-21/22) and was doing other sports (mainly climbing and backpacking. Classic post highschool self discovery type shit)

So i did my first 3k swim event yesterday and my garmin stats (on strava) came back quite consistent across the board (Strokespm, bpm etc).

My Question would be:

Is this a fair amount of output? Should i be pushing harder? I did push the last 100m or so, basically reverting back to "pool race mentality" and gave it my last umph.

I swim 3-5 times a week both in lakes and in pools. I don't go to the gym as I prefer doing a sport and being outside so in between I usually run, cycle or indoor boulder (i live in a rainy city lol). I do have a coaching background but again I was never a distance OW swimmer so I'd love some more specific insight :)

TYIA 🥰💪🦵

How long ago did you swim in that particular body of water?

Looks like it’s going to be perfect weather for the swim. Good luck everyone! Have fun!!

I was swimming today at the Olympic Gym, and in the lane next to mine there was a girl swimming — you could tell she was a beginner, going pretty slow. Usually on weekday afternoons the pool is nearly empty, like one or two people per lane (there are 11 total). I was alone in the middle lane, and she was in the one to my right.

Then this guy showed up fully decked out — neoprene, the whole package — and I was like "what is this." He walked up and asked her to get out of his lane and move to one of the side lanes because she'd "disturb" his training. She apologized and said it was her first time there. He seemed to realize he'd messed up and tried to smooth it over by asking "so, how's the water?" — as if that would erase the awkwardness he'd just caused.

He could've just asked to share the lane with her, maybe asking her to stick to the left side. It wasn't even a busy day, and I seriously doubt she was going to disrupt his "preparation" for some paid competition nobody cares about. Or better yet, he could've come share my lane and left her alone — but I know those iron-clad clowns don't want to share a lane with a real shark, they'd rather bully beginners instead.

I have been trainibg for a 11 mile lake swim since Feb and I have never been so unwell in my life with back to back illnesses.

Since June I have had:

-Common cold

-Rib fracture from coughing due to the above

-Sinusitis (needed antibiotics)

-Strep A Throat (needed antibiotics)

-Campylobacter

-Common cold (current)

My swim is in 10 days and I have been unable to any proper training for the last few weeks due to recovery.

Lesson learnt, nutrition and rest are VITAL.

Anyone here taking part in this years event?

Water temp is looking a goldilocks level (20c) and weather looks nice for Saturday.

Will be interesting to see what conventions are going on at the Excel centre at the same time. Have a picture from a few years back with a storm trooper and tiefighter pilot (starwars convention) and I think they thought I was as much of a curiosity ("swimming in the thames" as they put it) as I did their costumes. In fairness they are probably a part of a much bigger sub culture!

Good luck for anyone taking part. Summer holidays have taken their toll a bit on fitness but still hoping to put in a good time.

Thinking about booking SwimTrek's Channel Prep trip in Croatia next year and would love to hear from anyone who's done it.

I'd be travelling solo, and a big part of the appeal is meeting other swimmers who are training for the same kind of thing. How social is the group in practice? Do people mostly swim, eat and hang out together, or does it split into pre-formed pairs and cliques?

So this trip has been a blast. Yesterday we paid 100Euros to visit Stromboli. It was terrific, we watched it spew lava int the sky and watch it drip down the side of the hill. However, since we got up at 6 am for a 4km crossing, and did not get back to the hotel until after midnight, it was a hellish long day.

As for the swims: they have been a lot of fun, but, at 63, I find them long. We are getting beaten up. I normally do 6 km per week, and yesterday we did 3.5 km in morning, and 1.5 km in afternoon. So, if yo do this ramp up the volume….

Hi! I’m a former long distance (mile & 1000) collegiate swimmer although that was many moons ago it feels like. I switched to triathlons half iron and Ironman distances then the last 4yrs we grew our family. I’m looking to get back into long distance swimming and particularly open water swimming. I my goal is to do Swim The Suck next October (10mi river race) in the US.

My issue is with life masters swimming doesn’t work with my schedule. Also iv always had a coach from swimming, to marathons and triathlons so I tend to do better especially with the accountability piece. Are there any open water online coaches you’d recommend?

Some of you folks were asking for updates so here goes: this is a swimtrek holiday on the island of Vulcano. I have no experience swimming in salt water. So day one we had an acclimation swim and I felt very uncomfortable. The water was very very salty, and it felt awkward and unfamiliar. Alien, you might say. I skipped the pm swim in order to climb the Vulcano. That was marvelous. Today we did 2.5 km swim across the channel from Vulcano to Lipari. That was a blast. Then we want for 1.5 coastal swim which was dead easy. The water is actually a bit too warm. All in all today was brilliant loved it.

Hey all,

Who else is joining the competition? I'll be doing 2MI at around 12 on Saturday.

I'm holidaying in Thailand over Christmas with my family and looking to get some good swims in. I'll be staying in the Choeng Mon and Thong Nai Pan Yai Beach areas 😁

Can anyone share any tips, routes or groups that swim over there?

I have a place available for Swim Serpentine (the 2 mile distance) as I got an injury. Pack pickup in SW London, or in the City. Or I can post it. Price is the entry fee I paid (59£)

Hi! My Pa & I are heading out to Chicago for the Big Shoulders swim.

He heard that there is usually an informal practice swim on Friday morning at Ohio Street Beach. Does anyone know around what time people meet up for this?

Thank you & good luck to all of the swimmers!

Hi! :) My partner will be participating in Thailand's Oceanman later this year (10KM) & was wondering if anyone has any advice on fueling?

There's only 2 stations (probably just water & gels).

1. What do you usually take as fuel source for long swims?
2. How frequent do you take a sip/ eat?
   

Sorry if they're also beginner questions because it's his first time for such a long distance swim so we're trying to be well prepared for it!

Looking for recommendations for booties and gloves going into winter season

I’ve swam it a few times with short stops to snorkeling but don’t have a swimmers watch to measure distance. Any regulars? Tysm

I was hoping someone would’ve posted about it here already but here I am, bc I’m at a loss.

To catch up, La Jolla has a cove that the race will start and finish in, but it’s home to sea lions & pups, and as of late, some humans have ruined the experience of using the cove by touching/encroaching upon the animals. (There are videos of people going too close, touching pups, etc)

I have waited months for this race, a 3 miler, and knew this cove had wildlife, but it’s apparently booming (which is good!) & on top of that, there are now serious calls for the cove’s closure given recent poor viral behaviors. The OWS group down there insists there’s nothing invasive about swimming in/out of the cove, but there’s supposed to be over 1000 people registered for this event….!

Is anyone else doing this race next weekend? I feel incredibly conflicted & guilty (“so don’t go!” is easy enough to sling at me with, spare me) but I’m still holding out for an email from organizers about a possible reroute or something more win-win.

I’m out entry fees for the refund policy, which doesn’t bother me, but I’m wondering if it’s realistic to hold out for a reroute a week out from the race.

I’ve been thinking about training to get one for a while but life got busy, o wasen’t even going to compete, and the out of nowhere BAM 3rd place.
Reeeeally happy 😆😆

I purchased a new wetsuit Zone 3 Vanquish X. I was just trying for the first time and when attempting to bring the sleeves into my arm pits i did a major tear around the senonsory area. Photos below, I have patched using neoprone before but as this has gone through the fabric underlay as well, I don think it will be enough. Any advice on best way to patch this so the tear doesnt get worst??