Shark sighting in Santa Monica Bay

I used to swim here about once a week, just about all last year. I've seen lots of dolphins, but never a shark.

Shark sighting in Santa Monica Bay has surfers buzzing -- latimes.com

More info is available here.

Total Immersion Swimming

After attending a Triathletix swim clinic late last year, and seeing how helpful it was in improving my technique, I purchased the latest Total Immersion DVD titled Easy Freestyle. I made the purchase with the idea that it would help me perfect the drills necessary to fully ingrain proper swimming technique. I purchased the TI book a few years ago when I first took up swimming, but frankly it is really hard to understand the drills and how they are supposed to be done from a book, even a book full of drawings. Video is much better. Although I have to say that the video might be difficult for a novice. There were several things that were discussed in the video that I don't think I would have even understood except for the fact that I attended the swim clinic.

Here is a video taken off of the TI blog, featuring the author Terry Laughlin. The thing to notice is how little splash he makes as he swims. There is almost zero movement of the water. Incredible.

I Can Finally See Myself Swim

After three seasons of swimming I have stopped making any gains. I decided to seek out professional help and recently took a swim clinic offered by Triathletix. They also offer a swim DVD. While the DVD has the same drills and teaches the same techniques, I wouldn't recommend it. It is too short, has rather low production values and simply isn't worth the price. I think that the clinic on the other hand is definitely worth it. There just is no substitute for someone looking at you and pointing out what you need to work on. Also, it is very difficult to master the drills (and lets face it, the drills are useless unless you master them) if someone doesn't watch you and point out what you are doing wrong.

I think the most important thing I learned in the class was how to time the catch with the rotation of the hips. The Total Immersion books that I first learned from talk about this, but without someone actually demonstrating it, it is really hard to get. I still have a lot of work to do on this aspect, but at least I feel like I have the tools to get there.

On the last day of the clinic, we did some underwater filming so that we could see how we are implementing the techniques. Below is the result.

As a result of the clinic, I swim with more relaxation and ease but also go farther with each stroke. Before the clinic it took me 20 strokes to go 25 meters and after the clinic that was reduced to 16 strokes.

Gladstone Swim

One of the great things about my tri club is large number of organized open water swims during the week. My two favorites are the "Speed Circuit" swim on Wednesday mornings in Ocean Park and the "Gladstone" swim on Friday mornings in Pacific Palisades. Last year I alternated between the two every other week. I'm going to be entering into a swim focus segment of my training so I probably will go back to doing that or maybe attend both every week. I think doing two open water swims would be fine so long as I do at least two pool sets during the week were I can do drills and intervals.

Last Friday was my first time at the Gladstone swim for the year. It's called Gladstone because we all meet in the parking lot next to the Gladstones For Fish restaurant. It is smaller group of people and more low key than the masses that show up for the Wednesday swim, but these guys are all really talented. It's actually pretty intimidating because I'm so slow compared to all these guys. Most of these guys regularly podium, in fact one of the guys I met at this particular swim was the silver medalist in his age group at ITU worlds. Pretty impressive.

Last year we would just jump in one side of the small "bay" and swim across to the other side, regroup and then swim back. At least that's what everyone else would do. I usually only made it halfway before I could see them coming back and so I would quickly turn around so that I could finish my swim in a reasonable time. This time was different. The workout leaders are trying to be more inclusive of differing abilities and also people who wish to train for different distances, so they set up buoys at various distances and we could do various courses depending on our goals. I went with the "Olympic Distance" group. Here is a Google Earth picture of the two loops we did.
The first loop is in red. We went out to the first buoy, around to the second buoy, swam back to the beach and then ran back to the start. The second time we went out around the two buoys and then back to the first and then in. You can see that the first loop I overshot the buoys and was farther out. The second time I was in the middle of the pack and was in a better position.

These tracks were recorded in an i-gotU GPS data logger. I have been playing with this thing for a while and enjoying the cool bike course profiles in can create, but it really shines when tracking open water swimming. The device is really tiny and light so it can easily fit under your swim cap. It has a one button operation so you can turn it on and off while it is under your cap and it is sealed and water proof. As far as I know it is the only way to get a good handle of your speed and distance while swimming in open water.

Great White Shark Attack!

When you swim in the ocean you never can totally get the possibility of a shark attack out of your mind. A few times I have been totally freaked out in the water when I saw a nearby Seal or Dolphin. Last week some friends of mine saw a humpback whale. I don't think I'll be swimming in the ocean for a few weeks.

SOLANA BEACH, Calif. - A shark believed to be a great white killed a 66-year-old swimmer with a single, giant bite across both legs Friday as the man trained with a group of triathletes, authorities and witnesses said.

Dave Martin, a retired veterinarian from Solana Beach, was attacked at San Diego County's Tide Beach around 7 a.m., authorities and family friend Rob Hill said.

Martin was taken to a lifeguard station for emergency treatment but was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a statement on the Solana Beach city Web site. His injuries crossed both thighs, San Diego County sheriff's Sgt. Randy Webb said in a news release.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography shark expert Richard Rosenblatt says the shark was probably a great white between 12 and 17 feet long.

"It looks like the shark came up, bit him, and swam away," said Dismas Abelman, the Solana Beach deputy fire chief.

There was a single bite across both of Martin's legs, Abelman said.

The attack took place about 150 yards offshore. Several swimmers wearing wetsuits were in a group when the shark attacked, lifeguard Craig Miller said. Two swimmers were about 20 yards ahead of the man when they heard him scream for help. They turned around and dragged him back to shore.

For more of this article click here.

Fortunately Shark attacks are rare in Southern California. The last attack in So. Cal. dates back to 2004. Most Shark attacks in California are in Northern California where there are plenty of seals and sea lions to snack on.

Local Tri Club Featured on the Morning News

I usually swim with my local tri club on Wednesday mornings. I didn't make it last week, but it looks like about 60 other people did and it made the morning newscast. Pretty cool.

Wipeout

My first open water swimming experience was with an LA Tri Club sponsored clinic called Ocean 101. The clinic was hosted by two really great guys, Tim Bomba and Steve Herbert, and they still do it every week for club members who want to become comfortable with swimming in the ocean. For me though, I was never uncomfortable with the ocean. It didn't scare me. Mostly, I think this was because I had never been in the ocean much in my entire life. I never surfed, and when my family went to the beach we mostly stayed out of the water because it was just too cold. But I had certainly heard the concerns of others and figured I would play it safe and learn something before just diving in.

And learn I did. The most important thing I learned that day, and something everyone who wants to swim in the ocean should know, is how to deal with crashing waves. Waves have tremendous power and large waves can be quite intimidating. If you screw up you can really get messed up bad.

So how do you deal with waves? You duck. The wave is caused by the collision of the surface water coming on to shore and the water from the previous wave that is receding back from shore. This collision causes the water to well up into a wall and then finally crash down as the wall of water tips over. The majority of all this movement is happening at the surface. Down below, just above the ground the water is calm. So have to time the wave, and just before it crashes, dive down to that calm water, slowly count to five and then resurface. If you have skills, you can do the dolphin kick and even make some good progress while you are down there. The counting is critical. If you surface too fast you will come up right into the torrent above you. If you come up too slowly, you may come up while the next wave is crashing.

So it is not so hard, but what about on the way back to shore. Here you have to really careful because if you don't pay attention to what is behind you, a wave can crash right over you. Today I was swimming back to shore and as I got closer I kept looking back to see any waves that might be coming. Then I saw a big one. If the wave is going to crest past you then you can try to ride it in. If the wave crests before you then watch out! I saw it starting to crest, and I had to think of what to do. I thought I was far enough behind me that I would catch the remnants and that it wouldn't be two bad, so I didn't duck. I thought I could ride it out, but instead, I got hit hard. I remained calm, and luckily I wasn't thrown against anything, so I wasn't hurt at all. But I did loose my swim goggles, and I damaged my pride. So my swim ended a little earlier than planned, and I went for a run. Hey, I needed new goggles anyways!

Tip: You can prevent the loss of you goggles by putting your swim cap on after your goggles. The cap helps to keep the straps in place and will prevent their loss if you get hit wave, or by another swimmer.

Swimming Time Trial PR

I am very slow in the pool so whenever I can get even a little faster it makes me really happy. I have been down on swimming over the winter, because it is hard to get motivated to get out into that cold water in the early mornings. And it is not just the cold. The warm, smelly water of the indoor pool at my gym is not too pleasant either, and frankly swimming can be pretty boring if you are just going down the lane over and over again. Drills can help with the boredom, and swimming with others definitely helps, but my favorite way to swim is in the ocean. Sure its really, really cold. But you get the excitement of the crashing waves, the camaraderie of the other swimmers and most of all you are just out there in nature. You see the sun rise over the hills, fish swimming below you and even the occasional seal or dolphin. Sometimes you just stop look around and think to yourself, "this is just really cool." So I had my first ocean swim of the year last Wednesday and now I'm psyched up on swimming. I have my next ocean swim tomorrow, and I cannot wait.

But today I had to deal with my disgusting indoor pool, as the normal pool I go to on Tuesdays is closed for maintenance. My gym pool is rather small and filled with senior citizens having a social hour so it is hard to get any solid swimming in, but I decided to have a time trial because it has been a while since I tested myself. Result: I swam 2500 meters in 55 minutes. Still slow, but a solid improvement.

Laps in the Ocean?

Today I tried the "Ocean Speed Circuit" with the LA Tri Club. Basically it involves starting at point A on the beach, swimming out to a buoy, turning around and swimming to the beach at point B and then running on the beach to back to point A. It is pretty popular with at least 50 people braving the waves.

I got to the beach a little early, so I decided to go for a jog. I had 20 minutes to kill, so I ran for ten minutes down to Venice Beach and then 10 minutes back. I tried to keep a nice tempo pace, and am happy to report that I did two miles in 20 minutes. That's 10 minute miles, folks! When I started training, I was doing 14 minute miles and just a couple months ago I was really happy with 12 minute miles. So I started out the day really happy.

Then I quickly had to head out to the beach to catch the other club members. Here is a photo of the group heading toward the water.



The waves were rather mild, but there were a few "big" ones to watch out for. Here we are, really getting into the thick of things.



The water was choppy, but I am learning to deal with that pretty well. What I really seem to have a problem with is sighting. I have a tendency to go left, probably because I am left handed and my left arm is stronger. I need to constantly correct my direction or will never make it to the buoy. Sighting, while coming back to the beach is easier because you can pick a building or tree or whatever and aim towards that object, but when you are going out you only have the buoy itself or other swimmers and these are often obscured by swells.

Here is a photo of me rounding the corner, ready for my second lap. This photo makes me cringe. But hey, I am out there doing it, and this photo proves it!



I did two laps. I probably had another one in me, but I had to feed the meter. Next time I will definitely do three laps.

Thanks to Liz Oakes for the photos.

First Ocean Swim

Today was a blast. I attended a "introduction to the ocean" clinic hosted by the LA Tri Club and Acme Coaching. It took place at Ocean Park in Santa Monica. The conditions were rather mild, with small waves and warm water (around 70 degrees), perfect for an ocean swim.


Here is a photo of us as we proceed cautiously into the water. I'm the big flash of skin over on the right. I do not have a wetsuit, but I decided to go ahead and brave the elements anyways. Luckily it was not too bad. It was cold at first, but I quickly got used to the water. It also helped that I was pretty excited and was quickly thinking of other things like avoiding the waves and not how cold it was.

I was nver a surfer and never much of a beach person. It has probably been over twenty years since I have been in the ocean. I cannot remember ever actually swimming in the ocean, even as a kid, so this was all very new to me. I noticed that even without a wetsuit I was quite buoyant in the water, and I barely had to tread water at all. This is probably partly because of the salt content in the water. I was quickly reminded of the saltiness of seawater when I got hit with the first wave. But I admit my boyancy is also helped by the fact that I have a large belly and love handles to keep me afloat!

We did not do much actual swimming. Instead we first focused on how to approach the waves. We learned to time the waves and then dive under them when they crash. That was probably the most exciting part of the clinic. I did ok, but I did get hit pretty hard with one wave that almost removed my swimsuit!

After dealing with the waves we moved farther out and practiced sighting and swimming straight. The water was much less choppy than I was expecting, but then again the conditions were pretty mild, so it may not be very representative of what to expect in first Sprint in Santa Barbara. I did get a few mouthfulls of seawater, but nothing too bad.

After swimming around a bit we learned how to get back to the beach without getting crushed by the waves. It was the same basic deal of timing the waves and getting below them. We also practiced body surfing and letting the waves carry us in. That was great fun.

I think the clinic was a great experience. I never had a great fear of the ocean (more out of ignorance than anything else) but the strategies in dealing with the waves is something you might now learn on your own, or at least would have to the learn the hard way, so this was a great introduction.

The icing on the cake was that I won a raffle among the participants for $100 off an Xterra wetsuit. Seeing how I don't have a wetsuit and I have my first tri next month, it couldn't have come at a better time. Thanks to Xterra, Acme Coaching and the LA Tri CLub, you made my day!