Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Killer Quad #2
Good luck to Ariel for swimming 5k on Thanksgiving Day. The solo lane6babe to be attempting both Killer Quad #1 and #2 this year; way to go, Ariel!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Epic Row
Two British men finished the first ever human powered row across Pacific Ocean from Japan to US this morning. Check out details of their amazing adventure at their website.
It is a shame that there were so few boats to welcome them to our city. Noticeably absent was the fireboat with spraying water which is usually buzzing around for much smaller accomplishments like mass wetsuited Alcatraz swims.
It is a shame that there were so few boats to welcome them to our city. Noticeably absent was the fireboat with spraying water which is usually buzzing around for much smaller accomplishments like mass wetsuited Alcatraz swims.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Killer Quad #1
Congratulations to the sole lane6babe Ariel for participating in Killer Quad part 1 this year! She finished the hour swim on saturday in great shape. Way to go, Ariel!
Monday, November 2, 2009
november full moon swim
Weather Gods blessed us with perfect conditions for november full moon swim. Flat water, zero wind, no chop. The ladies did not need any more motivation to go in their birthday suits. 8 sea lions decided it was playtime when we were in water. Almost everyone got bumped or chased around.
Censored pictures will be posted soon.
Censored pictures will be posted soon.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
high wind advisory full moon swim
This month's full moon swim was wild. Crazy winds and chop cut down participant list to a handful. Only 10 brave souls showed up to swim. We decorated ourselves with glow bands: as bracelets, necklaces, ornaments at the back of swimsuits, feathers poking out from under swimcaps, etc, and jumped in through the waves. Water temperature was around 62 degrees.
Thanks to Loretta, Eileen, and Lolly for setting up food while we were out frolicking in the water. Warm food, wine, and good company made the post-swim chowdown a pleasant affair.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Tomales Bay Redux
It was a very well organized low-key event by El Sharko.
No fee. No course. No timing. No awards. No sharks or jelly fishes were spotted either.
Good food. Excellent veggie salads in addition to bbq-ed fresh caught oysters. Gretch said that otherwise well behaved swimmers were cutting lines and behaving badly to get to oysters.
Good piloting. Funny poetry reading by members of Wet Poets Society after lunch.
Water was crystal clear, like a lake, and very warm. i saw teeny weeny inch long fishes zipping around in the water. So much for a swim touted as "dangerous swim with white sharks"! During the swim, sunlight refracting underwater was very pretty, the beauty of it was mesmerizing. A ton of green moss lined the sea bed near shore. i thought of Flipper while wading through it :-)
Vincent, a fellow Dolphin, entrusted his buddy Whimpy to me during the swim. It was Whimpy's second open water swim ever. He was quite chatty and stretched distance swam by quite a bit. We swam out to a shark fin buoy which was probably 250 yards away, and Whimpy thought we swam a mile! Then, he decided to do backstroke. When i turned around to see where he was, he was going in circles doing backstroke, like a dog chasing his own tail. We finally made it back to the shore after i insisted he switch back to freestyle. Whimpy was disappointed that i did not let him swim farther, and complained i ate too much while waiting for Vincent and other swimmers to return.
i had a wonderful trip, huge thanks to Gretch for keeping me company! i could not have made it out to the remote location by myself.
Pictures.
No fee. No course. No timing. No awards. No sharks or jelly fishes were spotted either.
Good food. Excellent veggie salads in addition to bbq-ed fresh caught oysters. Gretch said that otherwise well behaved swimmers were cutting lines and behaving badly to get to oysters.
Good piloting. Funny poetry reading by members of Wet Poets Society after lunch.
Water was crystal clear, like a lake, and very warm. i saw teeny weeny inch long fishes zipping around in the water. So much for a swim touted as "dangerous swim with white sharks"! During the swim, sunlight refracting underwater was very pretty, the beauty of it was mesmerizing. A ton of green moss lined the sea bed near shore. i thought of Flipper while wading through it :-)
Vincent, a fellow Dolphin, entrusted his buddy Whimpy to me during the swim. It was Whimpy's second open water swim ever. He was quite chatty and stretched distance swam by quite a bit. We swam out to a shark fin buoy which was probably 250 yards away, and Whimpy thought we swam a mile! Then, he decided to do backstroke. When i turned around to see where he was, he was going in circles doing backstroke, like a dog chasing his own tail. We finally made it back to the shore after i insisted he switch back to freestyle. Whimpy was disappointed that i did not let him swim farther, and complained i ate too much while waiting for Vincent and other swimmers to return.
i had a wonderful trip, huge thanks to Gretch for keeping me company! i could not have made it out to the remote location by myself.
Pictures.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
a full spectrum day
Note from a Southender, via Suzie.
____________
A famous man died today, Ted Kennedy. Whatever one may have thought
of him, he was a huge influence on Americans and to the world as well.
However flawed his life, his importance was undisputed. His death
today was note worthy, his life will be eulogized and his funeral
probably well attended.
A not famous man also died today. The Park Service and Tourists were
in attendance. He was pulled from Aquatic Park waters, laid on the
beach at the public side of the Dolphin Pier. Clothed, cause of death
unknown: Accident? Suicide? Hypothermia? Drugs? Homicide? Will his
funeral be acknowledged? Will he be remembered? My first impression
was he was homeless, but I didn’t look too long, the onlookers did
that for me.
Swimming lately has a sense of danger, doing laps with the aggressive
sea lions. There was added impetus to swim the opening today, avoiding
both the sea lions and the body on the beach. Deciding to ignore both,
I did the flag, taking a wide return through the boats on the way
home, keeping the man on the beach far away for as long as I could. Of
course I swam into a pair of swimmers; after choice expletives we were
relieved we were humans, live ones; nothing like swimming with nervous
expectations.
The sauna had its grim manly humor, the choice of dying in the water
at our cove, the ease of passing out thru hypothermia; close
encounters with strange floating objects, unwelcome meetings with
pinnipeds....
Not the most enjoyable, transcending swim in the Cove today, perhaps
better tomorrow. Aquatic Park will be there tomorrow, we will swim in
it, row in it, the seals and sea lions will play with us. The tourists
will unknowingly sit on the beach where the man lay and enjoy the
view. Life goes on, as well as death.
____________
____________
A famous man died today, Ted Kennedy. Whatever one may have thought
of him, he was a huge influence on Americans and to the world as well.
However flawed his life, his importance was undisputed. His death
today was note worthy, his life will be eulogized and his funeral
probably well attended.
A not famous man also died today. The Park Service and Tourists were
in attendance. He was pulled from Aquatic Park waters, laid on the
beach at the public side of the Dolphin Pier. Clothed, cause of death
unknown: Accident? Suicide? Hypothermia? Drugs? Homicide? Will his
funeral be acknowledged? Will he be remembered? My first impression
was he was homeless, but I didn’t look too long, the onlookers did
that for me.
Swimming lately has a sense of danger, doing laps with the aggressive
sea lions. There was added impetus to swim the opening today, avoiding
both the sea lions and the body on the beach. Deciding to ignore both,
I did the flag, taking a wide return through the boats on the way
home, keeping the man on the beach far away for as long as I could. Of
course I swam into a pair of swimmers; after choice expletives we were
relieved we were humans, live ones; nothing like swimming with nervous
expectations.
The sauna had its grim manly humor, the choice of dying in the water
at our cove, the ease of passing out thru hypothermia; close
encounters with strange floating objects, unwelcome meetings with
pinnipeds....
Not the most enjoyable, transcending swim in the Cove today, perhaps
better tomorrow. Aquatic Park will be there tomorrow, we will swim in
it, row in it, the seals and sea lions will play with us. The tourists
will unknowingly sit on the beach where the man lay and enjoy the
view. Life goes on, as well as death.
____________
Sunday, August 23, 2009
dolphin club alcatraz
The day started very early for flipper and tiny seal as they knew they had to be at the Dolphin Club by 6:15. Flipper arose at an unbelieveable 4 am after a very restless night and left promptly (for once) at 5:15 to be at Bubbles's pad by 5:30. Surprising there was quite a bit of traffic on the way up to the city for that time of day but parking was a snap. For the first time ever we saw people parallel parking along the end of Van Ness and we still are not sure what was up with that.
After the sea lion attack last week we were both apprehensive about swimming and scoped out the scene in the park. There he was waiting no... lurking... next to the flag. This was going to be a stressful day. As we walked closer flipper called out to him to see how sensitized he had been made by helpful humans and he seemed to perk his little ear slits and paddle closer. "Here Puppy. Here Puppy..." Yes, he was either waiting for us to get in and be his breakfast or to provide breakfast. Neither seemed particularly appealing to us so we headed to the club and he followed us along as we walked...
As we entered the club we realized that astonishingly we were actually very early and flipper was the second person there to swim. flipper received a big number 2 on her right arm which kind of freaked her out because she had never had such a low number before. Perhaps this was an omen of things to come...
Bubbles headed over to the kitchen to whip up some of her famous race rice porridge and race rice soup!! Yummy yummy!! We all need recipes of this tradition south indian swim race breakfast fare. flipper had 4 cups of the soup after the swim it was so yummy!
And so flipper hung out at the greeting table trying to help out the sign in folks and fight with the head timer over getting to write numbers on all the cute guys (straight and gay) who were signing in. Eventually flipper was relegated to checking the stopwatches and then told to get some personal time before the swim and take care of my personal prerace stuff. Whatever.
So up those foreboding stairs she went and filled her swim coat pockets with gu and G2 and power drink and goggles and earplugs, 3 caps and whatever else might possibly be needed in any eventuality including unexpected snowfall on the bay. She was ready. Politely no one asked her if she was pregnant but with pockets bulging no one looked more like a pregnant porpoise than she did.
As she waited and tried to get into the zone in the staib room vicky bialis and her friend from seattle paige arrived. They were a welcome addition to the scene and fit in like pros. In fact, the swim commissioner put them to work with official help tasks on the boat.
The briefing began at 7:30 with a whistle from the commish and roll call. Everyone who checked in was there and ready to go. This would be a classic ebb and then flood situation but... there was this slight hitch... there was this large vessel scheduled to come in. So we needed to leave early and jump early and if the boat didn't stop outside the gate some of the slower swimmers might get pulled. But it wouldn't be a sudden thing we would be pulled with plenty of warning. Most reassuring indeed.
We headed down to Capurros and made a left and found the Miss Farallones. The other boat with DC swimmers was the Silver Fox. And at the end of the pier just lounging on the dock were a half dozen sea lions who were apparently starting to use that area as a new colony. flipper wondered if they would be there to greet her as she went through the opening. she hoped not...
The ride out was swift and cool. It was foggy and rather breezy and once off alcatraz island there was a little bit of rocking back and forth. We stripped off our warm clothes and waited, freezing in the wind, for the signal to jump in. flipper had selected the Miss Farallones because she knew there was a good aft swim ladder from which to jump. "Don't jump off the stern...." Nuts. Now she had to sit on the rail somehow and spring off into the water. Oh sure. After some consternation and leg entanglement off she went and quite surprisingly the water was way warmer than the air.
There was a horn blast and away we went, arms flailing, water splashing, kicking, flipper gets punched and accepts the apology and off they go again. Sort of. There was a considerable washing machine at work in different parts of the bay today. As best she could, despite the swells, she aimed for the balclutha. Big mistake. As in the previous 4 attempts she should have made for the Jeremiah Obrien but the commish had said balclutha.... she forgot he is fast swimmer. grr. The ebb is pushing her to the right, seriously right, time and again.
Well there is not too much to report about swimming in gray green water with swells. You keep your head down, your butt up and count your strokes and at whatever interval you choose you check your line. Swimming swimming swimming. She stopped to check her line and feel the current and aha!! The flood. Oh yeah, baby. Time to make for the Fontanas and catch the flood and push you inside. Off she went. Swimming swimming swimming.
Just out of the corner of her eye she saw a kayak. It was a pilot. hmmm. Pilot signals to swimmer. Swimmer stops. "You are too far west..." "what???" Minutes pass as they try to communicate. "But I feel a flood." "NO... that is the wind. There is no flood. Follow me and I will lead you in." Now what does one say to an offer like that one?? "Cool." Private pilot.
Swimming swimming swimming. At one point flipper is doused a good one by a swell and checks to find her pilot, nowhere in sight. Oh there is the pilot behind her on the wrong side. The swell had turned flipper completely around. Oh yes, it was a wicked day on the bay for slow swimmers!! Head down and just swim. Keep the kayak in sight and focus.
Well eventually after much effort the pier is in sight. And I mean really in sight. It is closer than flipper has ever been to that scuzzy, barnacly, mossy, stinky, falling down ucky pier. "The flood is really moving you!!" Yah no sh** sherlock. flipper is now west of the opening and moving east like a freight train. "You have to swim and hard. Straight into the pier." Holy cr**. "Do you want me to swim under the pier or through the opening?" Nothing would surprise the intrepid porpoise at this point. "Through the opening." Praise the lord. Nothing would be ickier than swimming under that pier. And God alone knows what is under there lurking....
It was hard swimming around the end of the pier trying to hug it and not be blown into the balclutha but flipper still had some diesel in the old tank so she pulled hard and went with everything she had left for the flags. (After 3 years of trying she has finally figured out how to sight for the finish.... always a challenge for the porpoise.... finding the exit...)
She went right for the flags and kept on swimming until she was just under them and the water at that point was about 3 inches deep. Time to get up.... Unfortunately the wiley porpoise had become so accustomed to being in the water that standing was a bit of a challenge. So she sat for a few moments and chatted with friends then finally stood and exited not maybe the most graceful of exits but an exit nonetheless. Place 33 of 40.
It was a great challenge and one of the most unique alcatraz swims I have done. The time of 62 mins was way slower than I had hoped but all of the times were slow with the winning swim of around 30 min and the fastest female in at 34. But it was a lot of fun and a really memorable way to spend a sunday morning. Hope to see you all in the bay soon!!
After the sea lion attack last week we were both apprehensive about swimming and scoped out the scene in the park. There he was waiting no... lurking... next to the flag. This was going to be a stressful day. As we walked closer flipper called out to him to see how sensitized he had been made by helpful humans and he seemed to perk his little ear slits and paddle closer. "Here Puppy. Here Puppy..." Yes, he was either waiting for us to get in and be his breakfast or to provide breakfast. Neither seemed particularly appealing to us so we headed to the club and he followed us along as we walked...
As we entered the club we realized that astonishingly we were actually very early and flipper was the second person there to swim. flipper received a big number 2 on her right arm which kind of freaked her out because she had never had such a low number before. Perhaps this was an omen of things to come...
Bubbles headed over to the kitchen to whip up some of her famous race rice porridge and race rice soup!! Yummy yummy!! We all need recipes of this tradition south indian swim race breakfast fare. flipper had 4 cups of the soup after the swim it was so yummy!
And so flipper hung out at the greeting table trying to help out the sign in folks and fight with the head timer over getting to write numbers on all the cute guys (straight and gay) who were signing in. Eventually flipper was relegated to checking the stopwatches and then told to get some personal time before the swim and take care of my personal prerace stuff. Whatever.
So up those foreboding stairs she went and filled her swim coat pockets with gu and G2 and power drink and goggles and earplugs, 3 caps and whatever else might possibly be needed in any eventuality including unexpected snowfall on the bay. She was ready. Politely no one asked her if she was pregnant but with pockets bulging no one looked more like a pregnant porpoise than she did.
As she waited and tried to get into the zone in the staib room vicky bialis and her friend from seattle paige arrived. They were a welcome addition to the scene and fit in like pros. In fact, the swim commissioner put them to work with official help tasks on the boat.
The briefing began at 7:30 with a whistle from the commish and roll call. Everyone who checked in was there and ready to go. This would be a classic ebb and then flood situation but... there was this slight hitch... there was this large vessel scheduled to come in. So we needed to leave early and jump early and if the boat didn't stop outside the gate some of the slower swimmers might get pulled. But it wouldn't be a sudden thing we would be pulled with plenty of warning. Most reassuring indeed.
We headed down to Capurros and made a left and found the Miss Farallones. The other boat with DC swimmers was the Silver Fox. And at the end of the pier just lounging on the dock were a half dozen sea lions who were apparently starting to use that area as a new colony. flipper wondered if they would be there to greet her as she went through the opening. she hoped not...
The ride out was swift and cool. It was foggy and rather breezy and once off alcatraz island there was a little bit of rocking back and forth. We stripped off our warm clothes and waited, freezing in the wind, for the signal to jump in. flipper had selected the Miss Farallones because she knew there was a good aft swim ladder from which to jump. "Don't jump off the stern...." Nuts. Now she had to sit on the rail somehow and spring off into the water. Oh sure. After some consternation and leg entanglement off she went and quite surprisingly the water was way warmer than the air.
There was a horn blast and away we went, arms flailing, water splashing, kicking, flipper gets punched and accepts the apology and off they go again. Sort of. There was a considerable washing machine at work in different parts of the bay today. As best she could, despite the swells, she aimed for the balclutha. Big mistake. As in the previous 4 attempts she should have made for the Jeremiah Obrien but the commish had said balclutha.... she forgot he is fast swimmer. grr. The ebb is pushing her to the right, seriously right, time and again.
Well there is not too much to report about swimming in gray green water with swells. You keep your head down, your butt up and count your strokes and at whatever interval you choose you check your line. Swimming swimming swimming. She stopped to check her line and feel the current and aha!! The flood. Oh yeah, baby. Time to make for the Fontanas and catch the flood and push you inside. Off she went. Swimming swimming swimming.
Just out of the corner of her eye she saw a kayak. It was a pilot. hmmm. Pilot signals to swimmer. Swimmer stops. "You are too far west..." "what???" Minutes pass as they try to communicate. "But I feel a flood." "NO... that is the wind. There is no flood. Follow me and I will lead you in." Now what does one say to an offer like that one?? "Cool." Private pilot.
Swimming swimming swimming. At one point flipper is doused a good one by a swell and checks to find her pilot, nowhere in sight. Oh there is the pilot behind her on the wrong side. The swell had turned flipper completely around. Oh yes, it was a wicked day on the bay for slow swimmers!! Head down and just swim. Keep the kayak in sight and focus.
Well eventually after much effort the pier is in sight. And I mean really in sight. It is closer than flipper has ever been to that scuzzy, barnacly, mossy, stinky, falling down ucky pier. "The flood is really moving you!!" Yah no sh** sherlock. flipper is now west of the opening and moving east like a freight train. "You have to swim and hard. Straight into the pier." Holy cr**. "Do you want me to swim under the pier or through the opening?" Nothing would surprise the intrepid porpoise at this point. "Through the opening." Praise the lord. Nothing would be ickier than swimming under that pier. And God alone knows what is under there lurking....
It was hard swimming around the end of the pier trying to hug it and not be blown into the balclutha but flipper still had some diesel in the old tank so she pulled hard and went with everything she had left for the flags. (After 3 years of trying she has finally figured out how to sight for the finish.... always a challenge for the porpoise.... finding the exit...)
She went right for the flags and kept on swimming until she was just under them and the water at that point was about 3 inches deep. Time to get up.... Unfortunately the wiley porpoise had become so accustomed to being in the water that standing was a bit of a challenge. So she sat for a few moments and chatted with friends then finally stood and exited not maybe the most graceful of exits but an exit nonetheless. Place 33 of 40.
It was a great challenge and one of the most unique alcatraz swims I have done. The time of 62 mins was way slower than I had hoped but all of the times were slow with the winning swim of around 30 min and the fastest female in at 34. But it was a lot of fun and a really memorable way to spend a sunday morning. Hope to see you all in the bay soon!!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Santa Cruz Roughwater
Sea lion symphony
Curious seals
Emerald green water
Seaweed embrace
Foggy skies
Calm ocean
Friendly banter
Good times.
Check out some nice videos of start and finish at this site!
Curious seals
Emerald green water
Seaweed embrace
Foggy skies
Calm ocean
Friendly banter
Good times.
Check out some nice videos of start and finish at this site!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Pier 39 Swim
Beautiful morning on the bay. Water about 62 though it felt colder. Morning started with a 4:30 wake up, then a drive into the city to get the briefing and do the swim. Got my number 15 on my arm and was ready to go. We walked en masse down just to pier 39 where someone let us in and we walked amongst the boats on the boat walk waddling along trying to keep in balance as it rocked back and forth. All of the pilot boats were out in the marina there waiting. Quite a sight.
About 70 swimmers originally signed up but there were not enough pilots so some swimmers graciously piloted. I would have but do not know how to pilot. Gretchen has offered to take me out for a quick kayak lesson to see if I like it. And there is the other alternative... paddle board it the entire way. Yikes!! My shoulders are aching already!!
Anyway, 7:15 and we took a small jump into the water and was I thinking about sea lions and sea lion poop? You bet. Waiting on the boat walk for the signal to jump in and trying to dodge fresh sea gull poop as I walked down there certainly reinforced the very wild nature of this sport. Fortunately, I did not see any sea lions and the water was very calm and looked very clean. So when we were told to get in to line up for the water start, I took a jump, held my nose and there I was in the water.
Was that water 62? I don't know. It felt cold. Anyway, we tread water for a couple of minutes and I was in the middle of the pack which is not where I wanted to be having always avoided that spot in the other swims I have done. And after the start, yes, there was contact but not like the lake swims. So the fast swimmers went on by.
I could see Gretch out of the corner of my eye and since she is an experienced rower I tried to follow her line but she was hugging the left wall and I did not want to be that close in an ebb. She also is pretty fast so she disappeared behind the splashing and zoomed off. So I held to middle and just kept swimming to the end of the pier.
Interestingly in all of these swims I never feel this big push I am supposedly getting and today was no exception. But I figured it was a really nice day for a nice leisurely swim and tried to take it in stride and enjoy it for what it was--a great morning in the bay and on the bay.
Now, I had had my breath taken away as I went into the water. I am not used to a sudden plunge and the thought occurred to me as it always does early in these events that I was not in really that good shape and maybe I should up my aerobic exercise. And yes, girls and boys, I did try the luna moons, energy blocks designed for women, only a fraction of the size of the cliff shot blocks and in a very chic moon shape with little stars. And I am hear to tell you that they taste really good, don't get stuck in your teeth and do seem to work! So I was powered up.
Anyway back to the swim. As luck would have it I found a couple of guys to draft off of. I couldn't get around them so I just swam with them or rather behind them. This one guy had swum over me to get ahead of me and then just couldn't accelerate any faster than just in front of me. I spent most of the swim trying not to swim on top of him, but I just couldn't get around him and he wove back and forth in what seemed to be a real effort to keep me from passing him.
Now, I must tell you as I am simply not competitive as we all know and I don't get riled by physical contact or water or rather lane hogs but the thought that occurred to me was that I would really like to dust this jerk. However, while the spirit may be willing but the body does not always cooperate. So I just drafted along and when these two yahoos started drifting into the channel away from the pier I just kept my line. Don't get my wrong, the second guy really knew where he was going so I followed him as best I could as he seemed to know just where to cut over. But they were going stroke for stroke in some kind of weird competition. And I just kept my line and drafted when I could.
By the time I got to the jeremiah obrien, the mammalian reflex and that beginning race excitement had faded and it was time to concentrate on the next siting point which surprisingly was muni pier. A very easy siting trip for a left breather.
As I swung into the cove and through the opening I hugged to the left and aimed first for the balclutha and then for the end of that other boat that sticks out. But I had to stop a couple of time and raise up my head because I couldn't see the finish--a constant frustration. So I just aimed for the Southend boat launch. I must figure a way to find the way out one of these days.
Well I was putting on some speed, at least for me, as I approached the end and I really stroked pretty hard. And heheheheheh I think I did dust the jerk who was swimming on top of me. So all in all it was a pretty good swim. Lots of fun and a great morning for it. I am so thankful to be able to swim in these things and that they are so well organized and so well piloted.
See you soon everyone!! Happy swimming.
About 70 swimmers originally signed up but there were not enough pilots so some swimmers graciously piloted. I would have but do not know how to pilot. Gretchen has offered to take me out for a quick kayak lesson to see if I like it. And there is the other alternative... paddle board it the entire way. Yikes!! My shoulders are aching already!!
Anyway, 7:15 and we took a small jump into the water and was I thinking about sea lions and sea lion poop? You bet. Waiting on the boat walk for the signal to jump in and trying to dodge fresh sea gull poop as I walked down there certainly reinforced the very wild nature of this sport. Fortunately, I did not see any sea lions and the water was very calm and looked very clean. So when we were told to get in to line up for the water start, I took a jump, held my nose and there I was in the water.
Was that water 62? I don't know. It felt cold. Anyway, we tread water for a couple of minutes and I was in the middle of the pack which is not where I wanted to be having always avoided that spot in the other swims I have done. And after the start, yes, there was contact but not like the lake swims. So the fast swimmers went on by.
I could see Gretch out of the corner of my eye and since she is an experienced rower I tried to follow her line but she was hugging the left wall and I did not want to be that close in an ebb. She also is pretty fast so she disappeared behind the splashing and zoomed off. So I held to middle and just kept swimming to the end of the pier.
Interestingly in all of these swims I never feel this big push I am supposedly getting and today was no exception. But I figured it was a really nice day for a nice leisurely swim and tried to take it in stride and enjoy it for what it was--a great morning in the bay and on the bay.
Now, I had had my breath taken away as I went into the water. I am not used to a sudden plunge and the thought occurred to me as it always does early in these events that I was not in really that good shape and maybe I should up my aerobic exercise. And yes, girls and boys, I did try the luna moons, energy blocks designed for women, only a fraction of the size of the cliff shot blocks and in a very chic moon shape with little stars. And I am hear to tell you that they taste really good, don't get stuck in your teeth and do seem to work! So I was powered up.
Anyway back to the swim. As luck would have it I found a couple of guys to draft off of. I couldn't get around them so I just swam with them or rather behind them. This one guy had swum over me to get ahead of me and then just couldn't accelerate any faster than just in front of me. I spent most of the swim trying not to swim on top of him, but I just couldn't get around him and he wove back and forth in what seemed to be a real effort to keep me from passing him.
Now, I must tell you as I am simply not competitive as we all know and I don't get riled by physical contact or water or rather lane hogs but the thought that occurred to me was that I would really like to dust this jerk. However, while the spirit may be willing but the body does not always cooperate. So I just drafted along and when these two yahoos started drifting into the channel away from the pier I just kept my line. Don't get my wrong, the second guy really knew where he was going so I followed him as best I could as he seemed to know just where to cut over. But they were going stroke for stroke in some kind of weird competition. And I just kept my line and drafted when I could.
By the time I got to the jeremiah obrien, the mammalian reflex and that beginning race excitement had faded and it was time to concentrate on the next siting point which surprisingly was muni pier. A very easy siting trip for a left breather.
As I swung into the cove and through the opening I hugged to the left and aimed first for the balclutha and then for the end of that other boat that sticks out. But I had to stop a couple of time and raise up my head because I couldn't see the finish--a constant frustration. So I just aimed for the Southend boat launch. I must figure a way to find the way out one of these days.
Well I was putting on some speed, at least for me, as I approached the end and I really stroked pretty hard. And heheheheheh I think I did dust the jerk who was swimming on top of me. So all in all it was a pretty good swim. Lots of fun and a great morning for it. I am so thankful to be able to swim in these things and that they are so well organized and so well piloted.
See you soon everyone!! Happy swimming.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Hitched
Dear Star and Jon,
We wish you two good luck on the journey ahead. May your future be filled with love, laughter, good health, and cute little Ironkid Starlets.
love,
lane6babes
We wish you two good luck on the journey ahead. May your future be filled with love, laughter, good health, and cute little Ironkid Starlets.
love,
lane6babes
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Great swim today 5/10
Water has warmed up to 54. No chop at first. Lots of sun and a big flood. We spent an incredible 30 minutes and more swimming boat to boat. Had a lovely chat with Pedro as well. Got choppy right near the end. It was a terrific swim. Missed everyone. Hope to see the pod back together soon!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Parkside Mile
64-66 water temp, no chop, no wind, great morning! It turned out to be a first for many in our pod.
Flipper did her first ever under 40 minute open water mile. Congratulations, Flippy!
Rokky did her first Parkside under 50 minutes! In spite of navigational problems, she finished the race and probably swam the longest distance amongst all participants.
Sergey did his first non-wetsuit race and won a gold in his age group (of size 1). In addition, he also won a $50 raffle prize at the awards ceremony.
i am not pleased with my time of 42, the same as last year. But am happy to get a ribbon for coming in 2nd in my age group (of size 2; do you see a pattern here?).
Many fellow fishes from Menlo and Dolphin Club were spotted and chatted with.
Here are some pictures.
Flipper did her first ever under 40 minute open water mile. Congratulations, Flippy!
Rokky did her first Parkside under 50 minutes! In spite of navigational problems, she finished the race and probably swam the longest distance amongst all participants.
Sergey did his first non-wetsuit race and won a gold in his age group (of size 1). In addition, he also won a $50 raffle prize at the awards ceremony.
i am not pleased with my time of 42, the same as last year. But am happy to get a ribbon for coming in 2nd in my age group (of size 2; do you see a pattern here?).
Many fellow fishes from Menlo and Dolphin Club were spotted and chatted with.
Here are some pictures.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Olympian spotted at burgess!!
Today Team in Training got the service of a 1988 Olympian to demonstrate a proper freestyle. And those of us in lane 6 had a birds eye view. Watching him swim toward the other end he was lost in bubbles from his kicking and pulling so it was not possible to see him until he came back toward us and interestingly enough he did not look that remarkable underwater. I made the comment to him that it looked quite simple. He said... It is. I said I am not really so sure about that. His current time for a 50.... 21. And the guy's name is Brent Lang I believe... Another great morning in menlo park!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Pleasanton Calling
Flipper, Ariel, and i are locked in for Pleasanton Meet. Here is what we will attempt.
Ariel
50 free
50 breast
100 free
1000 free
Flipper
50 free
100 free
1000 free
Bubbles
50 free
100 free
50 breast
200 IM :-)
Flipper and Ariel promised me icecream if i come in dead last in IM :-)
Ariel
50 free
50 breast
100 free
1000 free
Flipper
50 free
100 free
1000 free
Bubbles
50 free
100 free
50 breast
200 IM :-)
Flipper and Ariel promised me icecream if i come in dead last in IM :-)
Friday, March 27, 2009
Jellylorum shines
The babes were there to watch Erica sing, dance, and sparkle tonight in Cats. We are proud of you, Jellylorum!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Its Official
i was minding my own business swimming around in aquatic park on sunday. And guess who i run into in the water? Sergey, in his best wetsuited regalia, getting his first open water lesson from Pedro's gang!
Yay to Significant Others joining us in our playground!
Yay to Significant Others joining us in our playground!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Flipper and Rokky's Alcatraz attempt
Flippy and Rokky had tough conditions on V-day Alcatraz attempt: 45-48 degree water temp and a very strong ebb forced them to be plucked off the water. Kudos for being brave and knowing when to quit.
Here is a video of them jumping off the Love Boat.
Here is a video of them jumping off the Love Boat.
Monday, February 2, 2009
One Hour Postal Swim
Quick re-cap for the record:
Ariel: 2630 meters: Most consistent intervals with nice powerful kicks. She blames the song in her head for not letting her swim faster. Whatever happened to good old "i started out too fast" excuse that Rick taught us!
Rokky: 2625 meters: Smoking the lane lately after smoking some coca leaves in Peru.
Bubbles: 2625 meters: Good enough to please Tim, but Rick wants 3000 next year.
Valiant Flipper timed Rokky at oh-so-early in the morning in spite of a running nose and fever.
Ariel: 2630 meters: Most consistent intervals with nice powerful kicks. She blames the song in her head for not letting her swim faster. Whatever happened to good old "i started out too fast" excuse that Rick taught us!
Rokky: 2625 meters: Smoking the lane lately after smoking some coca leaves in Peru.
Bubbles: 2625 meters: Good enough to please Tim, but Rick wants 3000 next year.
Valiant Flipper timed Rokky at oh-so-early in the morning in spite of a running nose and fever.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Day 2 lima
hello babes--lima has turned out to be a fabulous city with incredible history. this was the regional headquarters for colonial spain here. there are some very impressive buildings and archaeology sites. i would recommend lima highly as a place to tour. however, i would definitely do this place with a tour since the driving here is literally the worst i have experienced and i have narrowly escaped being hit several times.
we toured some remarkable catacombs today in a wonderful monastary that is very very untouched. there is a truly incredible library there that is literally being allowed to just sit there and rot since there is no money to restore or preserve. very sad. the monuments here are some of the oldest on the continent and are very worthy of being preserved. i certainly wish that some celebrity would take an interest and have a fund raising concert.
we got a flavor of the poverty here but will see the shanty town tomorrow.
we especially like the way that the natives have dealt with the conquistadores. the horse statue of pizarro has been moved from the main government square and now resides in a childrens´ park hidden behind some trees. the catholic icons have been nativized with local designs and in the words of one of our guides... history it is ok but you do not have to worship.
this afternoon we saw a newly excavated site that was constructed with adobe bricks and we were amazed to find that the pottery there was adorned with sea creatures to include seals and sandy believes a dolphin.
the air here is dark with pollution though not as bad as china i understand. it looks very grey and similar to san francisco but the fog is mostly smog from the cars and diesel buses of which there are many. still though a very delightful town with really cool buildings from the first part of the 20th century and before.
the food here is absolutely fabulous and rokky and flipper are going to prepare a peruvian feast for the lane 6 babes.
tonight we are going to a peruvian dinner and dancing with dancers from all over the country.
excellent adventure last night just to pique your interest in this town, ladies.... picture this... streetside cafe similar to italy, very cute and attentive waiters and we three could not decide on what to get and of course frustrated the establishment to no end but they did not roll their eyes where we could see them do so. so we became adventurous and ordered peruvian style potates and sweet potatoes. incredible. we had to get extras! we now know what uno mas means and the waiters were shocked to find that we did know a couple of words of spanish. the food was unbelievably cheap. for 2 orders of fried sweet potatoes and 2 huge stuffed potatoes with ground beef and wonderful seasoning and bottled water for the 3 of us it came to $3 each. flipper had to give a good tip because the waiter was a hotty and we plan to return there.
that is it for today girls and after all of the prodding to blog... i see we have no responses. i guess that is because you guys have been doing sooooo much swimming, right? talk to you soon flipper and rokky
we toured some remarkable catacombs today in a wonderful monastary that is very very untouched. there is a truly incredible library there that is literally being allowed to just sit there and rot since there is no money to restore or preserve. very sad. the monuments here are some of the oldest on the continent and are very worthy of being preserved. i certainly wish that some celebrity would take an interest and have a fund raising concert.
we got a flavor of the poverty here but will see the shanty town tomorrow.
we especially like the way that the natives have dealt with the conquistadores. the horse statue of pizarro has been moved from the main government square and now resides in a childrens´ park hidden behind some trees. the catholic icons have been nativized with local designs and in the words of one of our guides... history it is ok but you do not have to worship.
this afternoon we saw a newly excavated site that was constructed with adobe bricks and we were amazed to find that the pottery there was adorned with sea creatures to include seals and sandy believes a dolphin.
the air here is dark with pollution though not as bad as china i understand. it looks very grey and similar to san francisco but the fog is mostly smog from the cars and diesel buses of which there are many. still though a very delightful town with really cool buildings from the first part of the 20th century and before.
the food here is absolutely fabulous and rokky and flipper are going to prepare a peruvian feast for the lane 6 babes.
tonight we are going to a peruvian dinner and dancing with dancers from all over the country.
excellent adventure last night just to pique your interest in this town, ladies.... picture this... streetside cafe similar to italy, very cute and attentive waiters and we three could not decide on what to get and of course frustrated the establishment to no end but they did not roll their eyes where we could see them do so. so we became adventurous and ordered peruvian style potates and sweet potatoes. incredible. we had to get extras! we now know what uno mas means and the waiters were shocked to find that we did know a couple of words of spanish. the food was unbelievably cheap. for 2 orders of fried sweet potatoes and 2 huge stuffed potatoes with ground beef and wonderful seasoning and bottled water for the 3 of us it came to $3 each. flipper had to give a good tip because the waiter was a hotty and we plan to return there.
that is it for today girls and after all of the prodding to blog... i see we have no responses. i guess that is because you guys have been doing sooooo much swimming, right? talk to you soon flipper and rokky
Thursday, January 15, 2009
hello from lima
Today was our first day in lima. all arrived safely. however flipper was singled out for special attention from the customs people and got pulled over and searched. it has to be those shifty dolphin eyes or the dorsal fin. can´t decide which.
very hot and humid. but don´t think we are going to cool off with a swim in the bay here as raw sewage is very obvious. some of the die hard surfers are out there though.
food is very good! also sampled ample quantity of peru´s fave drink that tastes quite a bit like a marguerita and is made from locally produced brandy. ole!
and cats are everywhere. what is up with that?
lots of cars and high level of ozone from car exhaust. really bad smog. highly industrialized. not built up but sprawling with over 40 neighborhoods inside lima with their own mayors.
anyway we are off for an early evening and start out for the museums tomorrow am. high on our list is the museum of inquisition. hasta manana chicas!!
very hot and humid. but don´t think we are going to cool off with a swim in the bay here as raw sewage is very obvious. some of the die hard surfers are out there though.
food is very good! also sampled ample quantity of peru´s fave drink that tastes quite a bit like a marguerita and is made from locally produced brandy. ole!
and cats are everywhere. what is up with that?
lots of cars and high level of ozone from car exhaust. really bad smog. highly industrialized. not built up but sprawling with over 40 neighborhoods inside lima with their own mayors.
anyway we are off for an early evening and start out for the museums tomorrow am. high on our list is the museum of inquisition. hasta manana chicas!!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Congratulations, Killer Quad Victors!
Lane6 is proud of Flipper for completing Killer Quad series this winter! What a display of perseverance, stamina, and toughness in finishing the series of 1 hour, 5km, 7.5km, and 10km swims!
Congratulations too to friends of lane6babes: Chris, Sergey, and Tasha, for the accomplishment!
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