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A question about those in the boat watching you swim
swimmer25k
Charter Member
Taking a quick survey here of a simple question of substantial controversy. Or, not...
I've been involved in this sport for over 20 years now. My first race was serving as a trainer for 1984 and 1988 Olympian Jeff Kostoff at the USS 25K Nats in Wrightsville Beach, NC. Huge seas. Jeff was sick and barfed Carolina BBQ all over me in the kayak. I learned that day that the swimmer/escort relationship is paramount for a success.
I was told to never let your swimmer see you eat while their racing because it will get into their heads, make them angry, and negatively affect their swim. I've usually followed this when I've been a trainer, but have never been asked to keep it under wraps by the swimmers.
I've done probably 40 races in excess of 15K with escort paddlers/boats. I've always told them to eat and have a good time. It keeps me my mind occupied in the middle of 42K arm cycles. Some people get bent out of shape seeing their crew enjoying a buffet of gas station sandwiches, Pringles, and Gatorade.
What do you think and why? There's no wrong answer!
I've been involved in this sport for over 20 years now. My first race was serving as a trainer for 1984 and 1988 Olympian Jeff Kostoff at the USS 25K Nats in Wrightsville Beach, NC. Huge seas. Jeff was sick and barfed Carolina BBQ all over me in the kayak. I learned that day that the swimmer/escort relationship is paramount for a success.
I was told to never let your swimmer see you eat while their racing because it will get into their heads, make them angry, and negatively affect their swim. I've usually followed this when I've been a trainer, but have never been asked to keep it under wraps by the swimmers.
I've done probably 40 races in excess of 15K with escort paddlers/boats. I've always told them to eat and have a good time. It keeps me my mind occupied in the middle of 42K arm cycles. Some people get bent out of shape seeing their crew enjoying a buffet of gas station sandwiches, Pringles, and Gatorade.
What do you think and why? There's no wrong answer!
Comments
If I am 8 hours into a swim and craving a juicy steak... and I see a crew eating one.. there are two options.. one* get mad two* ask for a bite.
It all depends. I don't think there is any one answer.
I found, like Susie, that it depends on the swimmer. Some care, some don't.
And in the case of JC Malik on his Catalina swim last year...he smelled bacon and chose option two!! :-)
Stop me if you've heard this one...
A grasshopper walks into a bar...
https://elainekhowley.com/
-LBJ
“Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde
They can eat whatever they want.
The one thing that has bothered me during night swims is not seeing my crew. I know they are always watching, but I get feeling of being alone and physically vulnerable when I can't see someone on the boat keeping an eye on me (totally psychological, as all of this is).
My crew can basically do anything they want and as someone who doesn't travel well by sea, when things start to go downhill on a swim, my mantra is " I'm feeling shit, but at least I'm not on the boat".
I love being on boats, so that mantra never works for me.
Suzie,
Funny you should mention swallowing a steak. I often begin to promise myself a feast when the end is in sight. Burger, steak, beer, fries, etc. You name it. However, almost every time I've had the spoils of my swim in front of me I really didn't enjoy it or passed on it all together. Maybe the fact that I've been swilling electrolytes, carbo drinks, and gels since before the Sun came up does something to your appetite.
I'll share a small story. Dr Keith Bell hosts a nice 20K at Lake Travis outside of Austin, TX every October. You can swim as a relay or as a solo. The first two years I was on a relay and soloed from 2006-08. I beat all of the relays the last two years. I had a pretty good race with a team from the Dallas Aquatic Masters led by uber fast Bobby Patten. I finished in about 3:45 in 2008 with DAM about a minute behind. The race finishes at a bar on the lake. We all worked pretty hard and were way out ahead of the 3rd place team. Well, I got my huge burger for winning the swim. I was at a table sitting ALONE staring at my 1/2 pounder and getting nauseous thinking about all of the Gatorade I drank during the day along with being sunburned pretty bad. Bobby (who is a world class ball-breaker) came up to me alone at my table and said, "The best thing about winning is getting to eat with all of your friends". He patted me on the back, said, "Enjoy your victory meal, Champ!", and walked away. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry at that moment because I was cramping up and dehydrated. I miss that feeling.
The only thing that annoys me, and this makes no sense, is prolonged time texting/phoning the mainland. Usually they return with something nice to say, and the only reason they are on the phone in the first place is because of me, so I have no clue why this is so annoying to me, and feel very guilty that it annoys me.
No matter if the person is on a boat, in the water, in a kayak, or walking on the beach (or even EATING!) I just like having someone there. Maybe it is because a phone takes them away momentarily.
As with everything else, each swimmer is very different.
Not a lot of experience to go on, but I'm cool w/ whatever a kayaker/crew wants to eat. Maybe if it was something very pungent smelling, that would be an issue (during a mile o.w. swim, I could smell a barbecue taking place on shore, and it got me a little queasy, but no big deal since I was near the finish anyway--on a longer swim, I could see that being a problem). As others have said, I'd rather someone be happy and eating than hungry and miserable--which wouldn't be fun for them or me.
We enjoyed the bacon!
Ton of great info... Serving as an observer for my first marathon swim - Kerry Y. swims the Galveston Island beachfront.
Thank you for reviving it
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I only had 2 minimum over 8hours swims and I can confirm that I haven't asked my crew not to eat in front of me and I consider indeed that they need to eat and take of themselves as much as they do for me. If the topic is about a kayaker, they don't have anywhere to hide, while if there's crew on boat, they could do the eating somewhere you don't see them.
Again, I haven't asked that, but I confirm I had huge mental hunger issues during my last swim, when most of my thoughts were around how I will eat the hole menu, upon arrival. Even though the crew, much more experienced than I was, at no point has done any eating in front of me.
So... even if they don't eat in front, I still had those hunger issues and as long as they are just eating, and not showing off how good and tasty the food they are eating is.. it wouldn't bother me more
I don't care what my crew do. They give up their time to spend hours on a rocking boat, watching paint dry. They can have a cream tea and Champers in front of me, if they like, as long as they chuck me a bottle occasionally and tell me off if I get shirty.
Ummmmmmm.......... "shirty"?
Is that a synonym for "bitchy"?
Erm......
I do so love learning new slang!
Great topic - Nora Toledano said in her book that she needed her crew’s full attention and that the swimmer became a bit selfish when in the water (and she’s one of the nicest persons I know). Personally, I try not to mind what they do, but as an observer / crew, I also try to hide if I’m eating anything.
Don't care what my crew do. They are awesome for just turning up.
On one swim I did get worried about them. It was cold, windy and pissing down rain. They were on a small boat, soaked and looked totally miserable.
I was having the time of my life.
I wanted to try and cheer them up so when I came in for a feed I began yelling encouragement. "You guys are awesome! Keep it up. You can do it!"
I never talk on swims. I think my encouragement freaked them out a bit.
:-)
Eternal thanks to Andrew, Gwen and Helen ( @Helbe )