26May12

Went to Pineview this morning.  A storm was coming around noon and I wanted to get some miles in before it hit.  Got to the lake and Kim and Gordon were at least 20 minutes away.  I didn't feel like waiting so I got a head start on them.  I did a buoy route which is just around a mile and you can see a swimmer doing this route easily from the parking lot.  When I got back to the "beach" I met up with Gordon and Kim and we took off for a "dam route".  It was pretty calm until we were heading straight at the buoy line.  The next 3/4 mile was straight into the wind and against the current.  It seemed to take forever to get to the buoy line.  The chop was constant and I lost air many times to water being shoved down my throat instead.  Water felt really cool too.  My toes got cold but the rest of me felt fine.

Me, Kim, and Gordon

 Once we got to the buoy line we headed back.  Going back was MUCH faster.  The wind and waves were pushing me so much that my SSD hit me in the back of the head several times.  It was pretty funny actually.  When we got back to the start, Kim was cold and said she was done.  I wasn't feeling that great either but I knew I needed the miles.  My shoulders felt like tar and I was hoping the GU I just took would help.  It did.  I felt much better going out the 2nd time and was even slightly ahead of Gordon.  I'm under NO illusion that I was faster than him.  It was just that his PFD was dragging him backwards with a much stronger force than mine was.  We were within decent sight of the buoy line when a pretty dark cloud came in.  It was already raining on us and making the water colder.  Gords said it had dropped to 60. Yesterday it was 63-64.  I felt good but the clouds didn't look to inviting.  I just didn't want to get caught out in the middle of the lake if lightning started.

Look close and you can see my hand on his shoulder.  It looks like I'm trying to push him down....and I WAS!  MUHAHAHAHA

I waved down Gords and I told him it wasn't worth it and he agreed.  Times like these are when I feel like such a wimp but I keep saying "Safety First"!....what a dork!  Got back and really wished for more but I could swear I heard a thunder roll when we were almost done.
Got back to my car and I was FREEZING and shaking pretty bad.  I was only in my speedo, towel, and a wool cap.  I was shaking the whole way home but I kept myself cold on purpose.
GPS read 4.09 for today.

On a side note, it is exactly one month from now when I'll be swimming the Catalina Channel.  I can't believe that it's this close already.  I have to start working on my taper before I know it.  I definitely feel that I'm ready but it just seemed so far away and now it's getting very close!

25May12

Decided to go to Pineview after work today to check it out.  Got there and did a temp reading of 63 degrees.  This made me very happy.  Wasn't feeling that great but I had to get something in so I did the dam route.  Halfway there my goggles broke.  That was fun!  I got to the side and fixed them then finished my swim.  I was a bit chilly for the first few minutes of the swim but it was only a very slight chill.  The rest of the swim I felt great.  I was EXTREMELY distracted today while swimming and I couldn't seem to focus on anything relating to swimming.  Still wasn't feeling that great after 2 miles so I got out.  I'm really short of my weekly quota but it's been a nutso week so I gotta not mentally beat myself up over it.  School ends next Wednesday and I have Monday off so making my 20 mile quota shouldn't be a problem.

2 miles OW

24May12

Went to the pool this morning and met up with Kim.  Did a moderate 4000
1000 warmup
500 kick
ladders by 50 up to 250 then back down.  Pull on 50's going up the ladder
500 kick
500 CD
I skipped a good dinner last night and went to bed real early.  I felt rested but could feel my empty tank. 

Went to GSL this afternoon.  It's a bit cooler today so I did a Gridley Straight.  Bit of wind and chop but nothing major.  Felt like I swam pretty well.  I should have done another lap but I just found myself wandering into the marina after one lap.  Got to see and chat with Gords and Chad some.
I am a bit behind on my weekly quota.  I am going to have to do over 5k tomorrow then probably 2 swims on Sat.  I was sick on Monday and depressed yesterday.  Ahhhh life....stop getting in the way of my TRAINING!!!

4000 yards in morning and 2.2 miles OW in afternoon

22May12

Yesterday was my 7th wedding anniversary so I took the day off.  Slept in while snuggling then came right home after work to take my wife on a long date.  It was nice.  We went to dinner then I took her to an indoor skydiving place nearby.  She was REALLY scared but did it anyway.  She loved it in the end.  The video was WELL worth the 15 bucks!  Then we went to a movie.  Got home late and I was settling down for sleep well past my bedtime.
Got to the pool a bit late today and was still sleepy.

500 WU
1000 K
500 pull with new Finis bandless agility hand paddles - actually kinda like these.  My fingers didn't feel any pain from pressure spots like some other paddles put on specific areas of fingers while pulling.
10 x 100 on the 2 minute.  Hit under 1:25 for each and last one I hit 1:15
500 CD

3500

Lynn Kubasek showing the paddles we got at swim camp.  This is my observer for Catalina!

I plan on hitting GSL this afternoon for about 2 more miles.  Nothing much just an easy afternoon swim.  I need to slowly make up for me slacking yesterday.

I almost forgot!  Karen Rogers who is the official Queen of Lake Tahoe called me yesterday.  We talked about camp and how she was recovering from the parasites that dug in her skin and made her feel so bad.  She was sorry that she missed Gordon and me when we were at Tahoe but we understood why.  She wants us to come back real bad.  I did ask her (seeing that she IS the Queen of Lake Tahoe) if it was okay, since Gordon and I did an hour in the lake and over one mile, if it was okay if we could call ourselves the Squires of Lake Tahoe.  She laughed hysterically and gave us her blessing.  Gordon and I may be the some of the tops dogs of GSL but we are now also the Squires of Lake Tahoe!  I am happy with this title.  :)

Went to Antelope Island today on the way home.  I wanted to do an easy 2 miles but it turned into a small adventure.  Water temp was in 70's and I wasn't too happy about this.  I need to find colder water!  On the way out of the marina, a flock of seagulls were hovering over me.  These 20 or so rats with wings stayed right above me for most of the swim.  I'd randomly stop and yell at them, "Hey, Piss Off"!  I swam NE until I was parallel with the small bridge that leads up to the marina.  I then swam straight towards it.  Once I got close enough, I felt the push of the water from the flow from the water under the bridge.  I swam in place against this current for a few minutes.  It was kinda fun swimming on a treadmill.   I moved north of the bridge then got a gel and something to drink.  I headed back and almost immediately the wind picked up.  It was already overcast but the wind started to get real strong.  I was being pushed all over the place.  Swimming with my SSD is safe but it does create drag.  I had to keep swimming in opposite directions of the marina opening in order to get pushed into it.  Once inside I was able to swim to the ramp easily.  I noticed all the seagulls were just hovering in place against the wind and the US flag was straight out.  Glad I was getting out.  I didn't have a GPS but I'm very comfortable saying I did 2 miles.

20May12 - Going Home

The swim camp weekend is over.  I thought about and talked about the good and bad of the past weekend.  I'll start with the good.

GOOD THINGS
1) Very casual environment.  There was a definite attitude of swimming when you want, how much you want and with whoever you want. 
2) There were NO egos there.  Many world class OW swimmers were there and not one of the people at the camp thought or acted AT ALL like anyone was superior or inferior to anyone.  We all celebrated each other's swims and abilities no matter what they were.
3) Great people there and good friendships were established.  I met many people there that I can't wait to see again and swim with again.
4) No secrets about anything.  People were willing to share any and all tips about training, feedings, planned swims, goals, etc etc.  Everyone was open about all they are doing with swimming.
5) Good food.  Food was plentiful and shared freely.  I was never hungry at the camp or had to worry I was unwelcomingly taking from someone.
6) Jamie was so laid back about everything that he just started having to tell people, "Whatever it is you want, the answer is YES.  Just go do it".  Jamie was a great host and you felt very welcome and wanted while you were there.

BAD THINGS
1) The swim out at Clearlake wasn't planned well.  Some problems came up that I feel could have easily been avoided.
2) Dogs.  Some pets are well behaved, and others are not.  I have specificaly not named people or animals that didn't behave that great because I don't want to throw them under the bus but if you can't control your animal, they shouldn't come.  I'd prefer a no pet policy for future swim camps.
3) Several of us got red bumps/blisters all over our arms and backs from something in the water.  THIS IS IN NO WAY JAMIE PATRICK'S FAULT!!!!!  I can't stress that enough.  It did happen and it caused us discomfort.  Something was in the water and made many of us itchy and scratchy freaks that were always picking at ourselves.

Overall I had an amazing time and I sincerely hope that it is at Lake Tahoe next year.  Jamie and Karen talked it up something fierce but no words can do justice for how beautiful that lake is.  I won't hesitate to tell people to try the camp out no matter what their OW ability is. 

My overall grade is an A-

19May12 - Lake Tahoe

Gordon and I were invited to stay with Karen Rogers at her house near Lake Tahoe.  We had planned on going there Saturday to swim with her in the lake because she and Jamie talked so much about how great the lake is on Wednesday.  Unfortunately, she was not feeling well at all from whatever was in the water and the bumps and itch had come back with vengeance.  She just wanted to rest after having to go to the hospital for a shot.  Gordon and I decided to go anyway and just camp at Lake Tahoe.
We took off after breakfast and some goodbye's.  It was tough leaving after spending so many great days with people I absolutely loved hanging out and sharing swim stories with. 
We got to Tahoe and checked out the water.  Temp read 54 degrees.  I'll admit I was nervous about the temp.  The coldest water around where I live is 65 and even though I was able to swim in 54 awhile ago with little problems, my body has adapted to water a bit warmer so this would be a change. 
I got in and didn't find it too difficult.  My breathing took some time to adjust and I knew I was going to be cold.  I had forgotten to take my swim cap with me and I SEVERELY regretted this decision.  My head hurt really bad from the cold and was causing me to focus more on that than my swimming.  I got everything under control after awhile and was able to swim.  As long as I was swimming, I was fine.  I was cold and generally uncomfortable but I was okay.  When Gordon and I stopped to chat or take pics, I felt myself immediately freezing up.  The last time we stopped, I my teeth started to rattle and I started to shake pretty bad.  I had to sprint for awhile to get warm again.
After I knew I had done over a mile, I headed in.  Gords went for a bit more and I swam in until I could sit on the bottom and I was completely covered up to my neck in water.  I forced myself to sit there for another 10 minutes and just deal with the cold.  I was MISERABLE but I knew I needed it and if I got into any danger, I could just stand up or yell at the people sitting on the beach 10 feet away that were looking at me like I was an idiot.
When we were both done, some older women came up to us and were genuinely impressed that we were swimming in the water.  They asked what we were training for and then wished us the best of luck.  It was nice.
I know I did over 1 mile but I'm just going to mark one mile for today.

When we got to Reno, I realized after putting my info into USMS Go The Distance site that I've passed the 200 mile mark today!  I'm also in the top 10 for my age group for distance this year.  It was pretty exciting for me.  I was also only 2 miles short for my weekly quota of 20 miles.  Considering the quality of swims I have done this week, I don't feel bad about theoretically coming up short on quantity.

18May12 - Interesting Day

There may be some language in this so be warned.
Slept in a bit this morning.  The group was going to Clearlake so I didn't feel a need to swim at the lake nearby.  It was nice to sleep in and relax.  Spent most of the morning on the outdoor couch talking to people and slowly enjoying breakfast.
We finally headed out to the lake.  We were just told the name of the lake and nothing else.  We just had to follow the convoy and hope we didn't get lost.  If we had, we had no idea where the lake was.  No one even told us how far away it was going to be.
When we got to the lake, we all had to sign wavers.  As we were signing wavers, one of the people at the camp had this REALLY obnoxious dog that was running everywhere.  The owner thought it was funny apparently and just let him do whatever he wanted despite the fact that everyone else found the dog being there annoying as hell.
We kept getting conflicting reports on who was going to be in the boat and where everyone needed to be.  We were trying to keep it casual but half of us didn't know where we needed to be.  Finally Jamie asked everyone off the boat.  When we were all standing on the dock, Jamie lost his cool and started screaming at us to get in the water.  All of us looked at him like he was a nut.  Okay, but where the F are we going?  Where do we get feeds?  Where do we turn around?  Are we on our own?  Are we in a group swim?  What direction are we going?  NONE of this was covered. 
I just jumped in and followed the rest of the swimmers hoping for the best.  Not the safest way to start a swim.  I was going for about 1/2 an hour when the boat pulled up and asked me to get in so we could get caught up with the fast swimmers.  I wasn't too happy about this but I did it anyway.  Cathy, Gords, and idiot dog owner got in also.  We were moved in front of the fast swimmers and given the option to get back in.  I'm here to swim and not hang out on a boat so I jumped in immediately.  Jamie looked at Cathy, Gords, and me and said VERY CLEAR, "Just stay 100 feet from shore and follow it around the bend then keep going".  It's exactly what we did.  We ran into some other swimmers and they were heading back.  Cathy made a HUGE mistake of being nice and giving her last gel to another swimmer.  After the swimmer ate the gel, she said thanks and she's going back to the boat!  WTF??  You don't eat someone's food then head to where a feeding is!  The 3 of us kept swimming and we finally got to a point where we felt we needed to turn around.  No one else was near us and the boat was really far away.  This wouldn't have been a problem if Gordon had been allowed to keep his buoy system he has.  It had food, GPS, and drinks but Jamie asked him to take it off soon after the swim started.  Not sure why but another bad decision. 
We started to head back and saw the boat getting farther and farther away.  This made me quite unhappy and Gords concerned some too.  Cathy was just flat out pissed.  She kept stopping to voice her frustration and I understood but I had to keep getting her to swim and save the vocal anger for later.  I completely understood what she was feeling because I was cursing in my head non stop while we headed back.  We all stopped a bit later and realized the boat was GONE!  They fucking left us!!!  Now we were really pissed!  Didn't anyone tell them about us?  What about a head count?  Are they going back?  Are we alone?  Should we keep swimming or get out?  WTF is going on???
We all agreed to swim to a certain point and then make the next plan.  We got to the bend and sure enough, not a person or the boat in sight.  Cathy was in a lot of pain from her recent ankle surgery so she wanted out.  I wasn't going to let our group split up so I stayed with her.  Gords is smart enough to realize him going off solo is silly so he joined us too.
We all got out and had to hitchhike back to the car.  WE HAD TO HITCH HIKE ON A GROUP SWIM!  That sentence alone should be enough to demonstrate how bad the organization of this swim was!  Gordon had his car and agreed he would be the one that would get the ride back then come get us.  So there we were, 3 people in speedo's waving at people on the side of the road.  Most honked and yelled silly things at us.  Gordon was wearing a tiger striped RobAquatics speedo and he by far looked the most ridiculous.  One hippy couple finally stopped and let Gords get in.  He was back quickly and Cathy and I got a ride back to the rest of the group. 
When we got back, Suzie Dods (who is such a great person) came up to us with genuine concern and asked how we were doing.  She saw me first and she could tell by the look on my face that none of us were that happy.  I told her I don't want to talk now and I just want to get some hydration.  She was fantastic and immediately gave the 3 of us bananas and some juice.  After a few minutes, we all packed up and headed back to Jamie's house.
We were all safe and that is good but it's REALLY embarrassing that Steven Munotones was there and he was in charge of the Open Water Safety Conference last year.  But after what happened....REALLY??? 
Gordon and I spent a lot of time talking about what went wrong and what can be learned about it.  Granted, no one wanted to be rude or step on anyone's toes but this WAS a learning opportunity.  A debrief of what happened would only be good and a lot could have been learned from it.  The fact that everyone danced on egg shells instead of addressing it didn't make much sense to me.  I wanted answers, not to blame anyone but to learn from it.
Here are some things that went wrong and how they might have been avoided.
1) No map was shown of the lake.  No idea was given on where we were going to swim or what we specifically were doing....besides the obvious swimming.
2) Only one boat was there.  For the number of people swimming, one boat wasn't enough.  If money was an issue, I seriously doubt it would have been a problem if everyone was asked to chip in another $20 so we could get another boat. 
3) The boat we did have did not have a first aid kit...or at least I did not see one.
4) Why were 3 people left behind?  We were on our own for over an hour with no help besides ourselves.  Granted, we are all experienced swimmers and there was no real danger of drowning but the fact we had to hitch hike says it all.
5) A dog was there.  The owner showed no intention of keeping it under control and when it had to be restrained to keep from chasing after geese, everyone was annoyed.  Someone even got hurt on their leg while trying to restrain him in the boat.  NO DOGS!!!

It is in my opinion that a 2nd boat was severely needed for this swim.  If only one boat was able to be procured, then it should have been an "accordion" swim.  That is, the fastest swimmers are told to go to a certain point then turn around to swim back to the slowest swimmers.  The boat will be in designated spots at designated times for feedings for all.  This way when the slow people are far apart from the fast swimmers, when the fast swimmers turn around to swim back to the back of the group, the accordion gets smaller.  Once we are all together, we all get a feeding then the process repeats.  All can be watched and accounted for also.  A printed Google map of the lake and where the boat will be for each stop would have eliminated much of the problems that occurred.
To me, the most important thing missed was a debrief after the swim.  So much could have been learned from this and a real opportunity to make swims like this safer and more enjoyable in the future was lost.

Despite the problems, I felt like Cathy, Gordon and I bonded pretty well and did a good job of keeping each other safe.  Despite being upset or disappointed, we all thought clearly enough to do what was necessary to get back safely.

After getting back, I was pretty tired and really thirsty.  Had a great lunch then spent the rest of the day hanging out and chatting with people.  The option to swim again came up but I was too worried about the lake since so many people were getting red bumps and even had to get prednisone shots from the lake.  No one is at fault for whatever was in the water but I just was content to stay out of it.
Went back to my tent after my eyes refused to stay open any more to Gordon snoring...YES, he snores while camping.  He doesn't believe me but boy does he ever snore!

4 miles today