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Alcatraz with 0 open water experience

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  • 27-02-2014 12:12pm
    #1
    TheOleary
    Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭


    Hi there,

    I'm thinking about doing the Alcatraz swim in the summer. I'm 20 and to be honest I haven't swam anywhere in a very long time but a mile and a half can't be that hard right? ;) I was just wondering, where would be a good place to train for it? Obviously I'll train to swim a couple of miles in a pool first but where's good to train for the open water? I've heard the coldness is way worse than the actual swim. Anyone done it before?

    Cheers,
    J


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    #2
    griffin100
    Registered Users Posts: 4,801 ✭✭✭griffin100


    Have a look here - http://loneswimmer.com/tag/escape-from-alcatraz/

    Watch the video, it's interesting!!


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    #3
    mad m
    Registered Users Posts: 9,002 ✭✭✭mad m


    TheOleary wrote: »
    Hi there,

    I'm thinking about doing the Alcatraz swim in the summer. I'm 20 and to be honest I haven't swam anywhere in a very long time but a mile and a half can't be that hard right? ;) I was just wondering, where would be a good place to train for it? Obviously I'll train to swim a couple of miles in a pool first but where's good to train for the open water? I've heard the coldness is way worse than the actual swim. Anyone done it before? J

    I know a good few who have done it and the coldness thing seems to be nothing compared to swimming in Irish seas during the summer....They have said the water is lovely to swim in. Wouldn't worry about it. Keep your pool training up, wouldn't go near our waters until end of April but if you have a wetsuit then fire away earlier. What part of country you from? If it's Dublin a regular crowd meet up at the 40ft every Sat/sun at 11am/12ish and swim without suits regardless of how cold it is. Some may only go to first buoy while others swim from Sandy cove harbour around to 40ft.

    Don't swim on your own, always swim in a group.


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    #4
    AngryHippie
    Registered Users Posts: 2,625 ✭✭✭AngryHippie


    Good advice from madm there.

    It takes about a week (1 swim every day in cold water) to give yourself a reasonable chance of dealing with cold water swimming. Any less than that, and you will find your body's mechanisms over-react to the cold (hypervenilating, shivering, rapid heart rate etc.) those reactions will decrease significantly with daily exposure, and the decrease will remain for a few months.

    There should be information on the water temp in SF Bay somewhere, I don't think it would be substantially different from West Coast Ireland (maybe 2-3 degrees variance).

    I'd be more concerned about the actual swim element than the temperature. It will be harder to train for.

    2.4km is actually a reasonable haul in open water. Don't underestimate it. There is nowhere to hide. Get in training and work on your endurance and open water techniques (Bilateral & monolateral breathing, sighting, swimming straight, stroke/distance count, stroke length/efficiency, changing up breathing rhythms and stroke patterns to control fatigue and wave approach)
    It will be a challenge, but should be do-able.


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