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  • j9swimj9swim CharlestonSenior Member

    Clubhouse 10 miler in September as part of Kingdom Swims in Vermont or Swim Around Charleston end of a October.

    ismuqattashthelittlemerwookie
  • ismuqattashismuqattash Long Island, NYMember

    @j9swim said:
    Clubhouse 10 miler in September as part of Kingdom Swims in Vermont or Swim Around Charleston end of a October.

    Thank you!

  • miklcctmiklcct London, United KingdomMem​ber

    @Swatz said:
    Hi everyone I’m Steve and been a closet OW swimmer for many years on and off. Never joined a ‘club’ or been in an association since a kid. I live in both (or between) Vancouver and Siquijor, Philippines and have swam many long distances (10km+) in both locales. In Canada I am trying to swim the length of lakes that take my fancy and in Siquijor I am attempting to swim between local islands but have a long term dream of swimming the length of the Philippines island crossing island crossing to island and then island crossing over several years once the current situation around the pandemic hopefully gets back to some normality. 3 years ago I swam a 24km unaided to Apo island and last week a last minute (no training) staged swim around Siquijor island - 89.4km. Would like to connect with other ultra distance swimmers either in BC Canada or Philippines.

    Also want to learn some tips for 8hr plus swims and connect with people who have done multi day swims unaided etc.

    Do you know Lloyd McBean who's currently in Philippines?

  • marbergmarberg NorwayNew Member

    Hello fellow swimmers, my name is Martin and I am from Norway.

    I started my swimming journey back in 2016. Iv'e always loved the water and have a dad thats a former triathlete who competed in Norseman noteably. Fast forward five years and I am now training for my first OW race next summer. I view this first race as an opportunity to learn and have some fun. A dream of mine is to create my own OW event and grow the sport in Norway.

    JSwimMLambymiklcctevmoj9swimrlm
  • thscheethschee Taipei, TaiwanNew Member

    Hi everyone I'm fairly new to the discipline and is currently based in Taiwan. It was for the reason of COVID lockdown that I decided to stay longer in the water (gyms closed). I live by a river so acess to it is only a minute away. Never done a OW race before but have been constantly immersing myself on 3-5km swim this summer. All race have been canceled this year so I hope to do it in 2022. I do plenty of short swims in open waters along the coast though.

    evmokejoycemiklcctthelittlemerwookierlm
  • donsolodonsolo United StatesNew Member

    Just joined. I live in Texas and have been training for the swimaroundkeywest.com swim in June 2022. Was lake swimming 2x/week at 6 miles each time and working on feeding routine but now that the lake is cold I am back to pool swims. I seem to be stuck at an average pace of just over 2 minutes per 100 but I am sure I'll learn as I go. Would love to get peoples' wisdom.

    rlmismuqattash
  • AngieSwimsAngieSwims United StatesMember

    Longtime lurker and recent MSF member. Started OWS in 2016(??). My friends and I swim several casual 10km a year and a handful of 12 miles swims for fun. I recently (August 2021) swam my longest swim of 24.4-ish miles of the Lower Willamette river in Portland, OR. It was just over 14 hours and involved a tide change. I love swimming in tidally affected rivers, all the fun of tide concerns but not much in the way of wildlife. Anyhoo! I'm planning to repeat the swim in 2022 and submit it to MSF. I would love to link up with a mentor for solo swim planning. You can read about my swim escapades at www.angieswims.com

    evmorlmLakeBaggerKatieBunCopelj26
  • LakeBaggerLakeBagger Central OregonSenior Member

    @AngieSwims said:
    I'm planning to repeat the swim in 2022 and submit it to MSF. I would love to link up with a mentor for solo swim planning.

    Awesome—Just wrote back about this on the long swim planning thread. Congrats on being officially out of the lurker stage :)

    AngieSwims
  • big_colbig_col Australia New Member

    G'day,

    I am 'used to be' - was like many here, a high school and uni swimmer. Was okay but not great. Kinda on the fringes of things back in the day in Canada. Had some serious health problems a handful of years ago do to diet related issues. Problem was, I ate everything when I was a swimmer and when I stopped swimming I kept on eating. So, the result... removing 30cm of intestine. So I needed a way to look after myself and went back to the pool here in Australia. I was hanging out with a triathlon crowd so tried my hand at that but quickly found out my race was over after the swim. I did an Ironman to say I did one and for the challenge but I never felt comfortable out of the water.

    I am lucky I live on the East coast of Australia and my small community has a good aquatic centre with a 50m and 25m pool. Then there is an ows group that meets every Friday morning all year round to splash out a few km's.

    I needed a new goal this year after a few of my old one suffered in COVID lockdowns. So, now that everything is opening up again I have signed up for Swim the Gold Coast. It is a 21.5km swim in May on the Gold Coast in Australia. I have done a fair few shorter ows swims around 3kms +/- and a 10km one as well. So some experience but not a heap.

    My reasoning is that I suck at running so a future in tri's is just hopeless and I have always thought that I would one day love to do the English Channel but I have to step up to it. So, first the Gold Coast (good marathon intro distance but warm ish) then I would love to to the Rottnest Island Swim in WA (lots of open water away from land with cooler temps and sharks), and the Derwent River Swim in Tasmania (longer distance and cooler water). I figure that would give me a good indication of whether or not I could handle a Channel crossing.

    It is good to have a bucket list.

    evmothelittlemerwookieLakeBaggerrlmCopelj26
  • JiggheadJigghead Johannesburg, South AfricaNew Member

    Hello All,

    I'm looking to up my distance this year. I've done hundreds of 2-3km swims and am now looking to boost a bit.

    Next swim is in February for the Midmar Mile, where a few of us swim 8 single miles over a two day period in order to raise money for charity. This will be my seventh year participating in this event, but it's going to be my best because my 16 year old daughter has just become eligible to participate and we'll be doing it together.

    When I say together, I mean there will be moments when we're in the water at the same time and she'll hang back for the last one so we can finish together. I'm happy just to be participating though, as I broke my back in August and wasn't sure the doctors would give me the go ahead to swim at all, so no time chasing this year. it's all for a good cause though, and it's super fun.

    thelittlemerwookie

    I'm raising money for childhood cancer sufferers:

    Check it out: https://kydrin.co.za/goals/1209

  • michalbraunermichalbrauner CzechiaNew Member

    Hi everyone. My name is Michal and I live in the Czech Republic. I started a couple of years ago and found OW swimming back in 2017. I'm really enjoying it :-) I've also found that winter swimming is awesome too :-)
    The longest distance I swam is 26 km for now and I'm training for EC this year.

    MLambyj9swimevmomiklcctrlmBogdanZthelittlemerwookie
  • Hi all. I've listened in for a long time, and so appreciate all the help and inspiration I've picked up from this group along the way. Best of luck to everyone's upcoming swim season!

    evmothelittlemerwookieOpenh2orlmMLamby
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin

    Welcome, new Forum members from March!

    @Nick_P, @Kevinsim, @Rocio, @Kswims, @syamala_goli, @MGuydon, @Earthling, @Darbs

    MLambythelittlemerwookierlmBogdanZ
  • MelisaMermaidMelisaMermaid United StatesNew Member

    Newbie to marathon swimming here! So happy I found you all :) I’ve been a swimmer all my life, no college swimming though as I was an active alcoholic and could’ve cared less at the time! I’m recovered for almost 16 years now, got into triathlon and did the 2015 Ironman in Louisville, had a hip replacement and knee surgery after that and now I’m back to just swimming (with some bike and weight cross training) for the past two years..
    Longest swims? 4 + miles with the current with some locals from the Jersey Shore. Upcoming race? The Alligator Lighthouse 8 mile race in Florida this September. There’s some other locals who are doing it, so I have some people to train with, but I’m concerned about training, especially how to increase my yardage over the next few months, and nutrition. I know that everyone is different when it comes to nutrition, and after some reading here, the same holds for amount of yardage to do for each distance race.
    So I’m looking for some suggestions— eg, it was suggested to me to do one long swim per week with a certain distance as a goal, and then make up the rest of my yardage with my other swims. My pool swimming with my Masters Swims are improving as I can hold at least a 1:30 for 100yd intervals. I currently aim for 12-15k yards per week with only pool swims for now as the water is just warming up enough in the rivers here to use our thermal suits!
    My goal is to finish the race in 6 hours, and we have to be half way through at the turn in 3 1/2 hours or we get pulled and can’t complete the race. The race info said you should be able to hold a 1:45 pace to do the race which I’m confident I can pull off. But I don’t just want to “pull it off”… I’d like to finish and finish well. I’ve read about the currents and the wind… and I’ve done some gnarly swims in the ocean last year so I’m confident in adverse conditions with no wetsuit, however I’m so much slower in my OWS than in the pool!
    Anyway, again, any suggestions as to where my yardage should be by weeks 1-17 would be helpful. (As would advice about sunscreen!)
    Thanks a bunch— this is a great forum!
    -Melisa

    rlmevmoKatieBunMLambycurlythscheethelittlemerwookieismuqattash
  • heartheart San Francisco, CACharter Member
    edited May 2022

    Hello! I'm not a new member but I haven't been around in several years. My name is Hadar and, many years ago, I was a marathon swimmer. :) My last marathon swim was the Thames Marathon in 2016. Since then, I've been busy raising my little son (est. 2017), doing punditry on TV and the radio, and working an increasingly busy job...

    During the pandemic, while litigating a big civil rights case and raising our son with no childcare/help, I stopped working out completely, ate lots of horrible food, hardly slept, and was subjected to enormous stress and anguish associated with the case. I put on a lot of weight, my heart rate considerably rose, and I got to a point where I fell in the street and could not get up.

    The next morning, I bought lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, and began reversing my health outcomes. Through a whole-food, plant-based diet I lost 60 lbs, putting me back at my high school weight; reversed all the adverse metrics; and regained some cardio fitness through walking. I increasingly built up to running, and ended up running the Oakland Marathon in late March. I also relearned cycling and now commute everywhere on my e-bike (and am slowly trying to get better on a road bike.) When the pools reopened I went back to swimming, and I now train in the pool on weekdays and in the San Francisco bay on weekends.

    I don't know that I'll be back to very long swims, as my family and work schedules don't easily lend themselves to lots of training. I've also found that multisport (running, cycling, and pilates in addition to swimming) seems to agree with my body more, in the sense that it distributes the aches and pains throughout. :) But I would like to build back up to doing a 10k swim once in a while and I miss the fantastic company in this place. For one thing, I know I belong here because, as I train for triathlons, I'm mystified by the abundance of gear and everyone else's need to wear wetsuits! I'm also starting work as a volunteer lifeguard and swim instructor with SF Rec and Park, which makes me want to spend more time among water people.

    curlyJSwimevmothelittlemerwookierlmismuqattash
  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    @MelisaMermaid said:
    Newbie to marathon swimming here! So happy I found you all :)............
    .........Anyway, again, any suggestions as to where my yardage should be by weeks 1-17 would be helpful. (As would advice about sunscreen!)
    Thanks a bunch— this is a great forum!
    -Melisa

    It seems to me that you have a good basic foundation and you are not unrealistic in your goals. I don't have specific suggestions, but I will direct you to this link that has a wealth of info. I also find if you google open water and marathon swimming questions, it's amazing how many searches send you to this site. It's becoming has become the encyclopedia of our sport.

    I think one of the important considerations isn't necessarily yardage, but what are you doing with that yardage. A successful swim will require skill, strength and stamina. (The three S's of swimming :) ) If you direct your workouts to improving those three components, you will always improve. If you just focus on swimming a bunch of yards you will be able to "pull it off", but I don't think that's what you want to do. Good luck in your race.

    MelisaMermaidrlmismuqattash
  • MelisaMermaidMelisaMermaid United StatesNew Member

    Thank you! I’m continuing to do more research on this site for sure.. I’ve found that I need to do more endurance swims… which are starting to happen now that the warmer weather (and water!) is coming back to NJ. My swims are now all Masters workouts mostly double workouts/2 hours each a few times a week. The single workout I do concentrates on form which was really my focus during Dec-March. I really appreciate your comment and advice!
    Melisa

    LakeBaggerismuqattash
  • marysingermarysinger Vashon, WANew Member

    Hello!
    I guess I've been lurking for a little while (a year). This is a fantastic forum - I find so much helpful information here.
    I came back to swimming after a 20+ year break, right before the Pandemic, and immediately fell in love with open water swimming. And thanks to Covid, I started working from home and could dedicate much more time to it than had I been commuting.
    I did my first marathon swim Around Coronado last year (highly recommend) and then started looking for my next goal. I'm swimming the Border Buster in the Kingdom Games later this month.
    I swim in the Puget Sound in the Seattle, WA area (mostly wetsuited).
    Thank you all for the advice and information provided in this forum.

    LakeBaggerevmothelittlemerwookieismuqattash
  • hswhsw beaufort, south carolina New Member

    Hi, I am doing my first long swim in October- the Swim the Suck 10.7 mile river swim. I don’t live near freshwater so most of my training will be in the pool. I am guessing the swim will take me about 5 hours but I am training for 6. I am looking forward to learning from the experience of this forum.

    LakeBaggerevmoMelisaMermaidMLambyPappyjoeJSwimthelittlemerwookieismuqattash
  • BSmithBSmith Seattle, WANew Member

    Hello! I am also from the Seattle area (Hi @marysinger !) and while I have been swimming skins in colder open water for many years now, I have not done an official marathon swim. With some encouragement from friends (again @marysinger!) I am swimming Around Coronado in October. I am both nervous and excited (nerv-ited!) to tackle this distance. I also look forward to not just lurking on this forum as I dream of marathon swims, but actually contributing at some point!

    evmoLakeBaggerPappyjoeJSwimthelittlemerwookiemarysingerismuqattash
  • sadhvisadhvi United StatesNew Member

    Just joined after watching videos from Sarah Thomas Lake Champlain swim. I live in Grand Isle, VT and swim every day until it gets too cold. I am 80 (weird but true). I used to do the Boston Light swim back in the day and other long swims in New England, plus the swim leg of biathalons. Now I'm happy to do a couple of miles by the end of the Summer. I joined for inspiration and equipment tips (anti fog sprays, goggles that don't leak, etc.). It's amazing to me how distance swimming has changed since the 1980s.

    CazzwimevmoLakeBaggerPappyjoeJSwimthelittlemerwookieMLambyj9swimismuqattashmarysinger
  • BrandyBrBrandyBr Glen BurnieNew Member

    Hi, I am new to the forum. I am interested in re-joining the Annapolis Breakfast Club (ABC) Swim group this spring for Chesapeake Bay Swim training. I did the 4.4 in 2014, and I want to do it again for my 50th birthday. I have fond memories of swimming in the Magothy River with the group!!
    I would like to be added to the distribution list please.
    Brandy

  • BrandyBrBrandyBr Glen BurnieNew Member

    Hi! I am looking for anyone in the Glen Burnie area who would like to swim together at North Arundel Aquatic center.

  • metricfrogmetricfrog FranceNew Member

    Hi everyone -- I'm joining the forum mostly to lurk. I'm interested in swimming this 5k race:

    https://www.defimonte-cristo.com/en/

    Personal profile, as per @evmo's initial post in the "Training Advice for Newbies" thread:

    -- 39M, 65-67kg, 175cm
    -- usual swim week: 5km over 3 pool sessions
    -- max manageable swim time per week = 3 sessions ~ 11km total
    -- usual 1500m time: 28' (1:53/100m)
    -- no competitive swimming background, obviously
    -- no OW experience + very limited access to OW locations
    -- ideal race goal (5k): < 1h35 (1:53/100m)
    -- water temp. probably 66-73F (undecided re: wearing a wetsuit)

    I signed up for a 5k because (1) I'm interested in upping my swim mileage for a few weeks and see what happens, and (2) I like running HMs, so why not try the swim version :smile:

    LakeBaggermarysinger
  • Cat93Cat93 LondonNew Member

    Hi everyone, I'm Cat!

    I joined the forum back in August when I was donig some research into swimming the English Channel and I've been lurking/reading intently since!

    Like many of us here, I swam A LOT through my youth, and competed at a decent enough level until my retirement at the ripe old age of 19. Since then, I've barely been in the pool in the past 10 years but decided it was time to get back on the horse with a view to swimming the EC for charity to mark my 30th birthday.

    I began my training in October, and secured a slot to swim in August 2023 in November! Now that we're actually into 2023 its all becomming very real so I thought I'd come out from the shadows and get invovled a bit in this forum!

    I'm also swimming CoC in Dover in June 23 and Torbay in Devon in July 23 - anyone else??

    LakeBaggermetricfrog
  • KatieBunKatieBun CornwallSenior Member
    edited February 2023

    Doing Torbay. Hope I actually do it this time. 2014, I didn't start because my shoulder was hurting and it was rough and too close to my EC. It was cancelled during Covid, when I'd actually booked it again, and then the next year clashed with another event I'd already booked. :D

    Cat93
  • Cat93Cat93 LondonNew Member

    Amazing - hopefully I'll see you there!

    Just curious, how long was it before you EC swim in 2014?

    It will be my first ever marathon swim and hoping it will serve as a good confience boost and learning curve before the EC three weeks later!

  • KatieBunKatieBun CornwallSenior Member

    @Cat93 said:
    Amazing - hopefully I'll see you there!

    Just curious, how long was it before you EC swim in 2014?

    It will be my first ever marathon swim and hoping it will serve as a good confience boost and learning curve before the EC three weeks later!

    Cat, it wasn't the proximity to my tide that worried me. It was the fact that my shoulder was a concern and I didn't want to risk it getting worse so I bailed before the start. There were 7 weeks between the swims and I did actually go to Cork Distance Week 5 weeks before my tide, when the shoulder felt much better.

    It's an excellent taster before the Channel....or so everybody who's done it tells me. I'm just doing shorter stuff now, so it suits me.

    See you there!

  • DonnyDDonnyD Pennsylvania, USANew Member

    New Member here. Hopefully an Adult Onset Swimmer in training. This is my fourth time trying to learn to swim any distance successfully. Now at age 58. I was taking my son to pools in advance of his lifeguard training course and I figured I'd give it one last shot. Swam my first continuous 200 yards last week, which is a new record. I'm fit and competitive as a runner and cyclist, so fitness isn't an issue. All technique and mental control. I did get through a 1 mile swim in a triathlon 20 years ago, but there was a lot of breast and side and doggy paddling thrown in there. Been hitting the pool three days per week now so that I can take advantage of the township pool this summer. I'm one hour from the Atlantic so I hope to hit some open water this summer also.

    I've read a lot of posts in the past few weeks and there is a lot of great advise. Thanks to everyone who shares with the community.

    BTW.... many posters talk about varying levels of badassery in their posts. Everyone who has rearranged their lives to take on a big goal, whether they make the finish line or even the starting line or not, is pretty badass in my book.

    evmoLakeBaggerKatieBunkejoycej9swimcurlyBogdanZ
  • j9swimj9swim CharlestonSenior Member

    @DonnyD
    Welcome! Lots of adult onset swimmers here, not everyone is swimming sub 25 minute miles. But we all trying to get better. I did my first mile in 2010 in a wetsuit and I still mostly come in dfl for anything long but I love it and keep doing it. Try and find a pod to swim with, you’ll become a better and more importantly happier swimmer!

    DonnyD
  • mlw58mlw58 Lancaster, OHNew Member

    Hello, new to Forum. Been swimming since i was six and I'm now 64, so do the math!! I really got into long distance as a teen, my coach/older brother noticed I was really, really not a sprinter and to try the longer stuff and the rest is history. I won a few national USMS open water races years ago, have done plenty of OW events like Big Shoulders and the annual Lake Erie 2-miler, did an 8-mile river swim in MD, but I got sidelined with a series of retina detachments (five) and then I got diagnosed with a shoulder tear. Tried all kinds of non-surgical remedies from plasma injection to shock wave therapy, cortisone injections and PT, but...surgery April 10. Crossing my fingers I can get back to my ultra-long swims eventually. I love long, long swims, peppered with some sprint work, I read somewhere on here a guy said is there such a thing as a soul swimmer and I have to say if so, then I am one. Anyhow, marking my 2024 calendar with Swim to Hell and a few others. Can't wait!

    minakejoycethelittlemerwookieBogdanZ
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin

    Welcome, March new members!

    @JennH, @Chrisdmart325, @Vswim, @DonnyD, @Samo, @Adrienne, @coreyj, @Sebastian

    LakeBaggerthelittlemerwookierlm
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