I have not posted for a while and wanted to share some thoughts around training for a different event this year.
I was able to get in the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim http://bayswim.com/ for 2012. It is a 4.4 mile swim across the bay taking place on 6/10/12. The longest swim I have done to this point is 2.4 miles in the Ironman races I have competed in. From a training standpoint, I am obviously working on much longer swims but also focusing on long runs as the endurance aspect of this race will come in to play. I am looking at 2:15 – 2:30 to finish this depending on conditions. I am viewing this much like a marathon from a training perspective working on base miles/yards first then doing speedwork as training progresses. Like a marathon, nutrition and hydration will be a consideration for this race but obviously will be different on if/how the problem will be addressed.
Overall I am looking forward to trying something different this year. Part of this is recognition that after 27 marathons I may not be able to continue long distance running forever and this is an option to compete in challenging events and visit some wonderful venues. Below is a link to what is considered the top 100 open water swims in the world. The bay swim is #95 on this list.
