The swim organizers indicated that the water conditions were a little rougher than normal and that the currents were a little slower than in previous years. But I personally didn’t think that the swim was any more difficult than some of our Ladder #1 swims in moderately choppy water.
For one thing, the water temperature came in at a tepid 62F – which was the high range for us just a few weeks ago. Second, the salt water substantially adds to your buoyancy, which makes the swim much less of an effort.
Don’t get me wrong. It was still a tough swim. Even with the warmer water, you still had to time the currents correctly and make constant adjustments to where you were sighting. But as I have mentioned many times in the past, if you train regularly in Lake Michigan, you can easily do a swim in San Francisco Bay. So what are you waiting for?
Contrary to the claims of the fitness community, training for a marathon, triathlon, or distance swim does not optimize human health. While you can definitely gain positive, short term health benefits from endurance training, it can – and very often does – compromise your overall health in the long run (pun intended).
I shall explain.
The fundamental fact is that the only way you can optimize your health is to optimize your gene expression. And most endurance training does not optimize gene expression.
Does this mean that you should stop training altogether, start eating junk food, and initiate a two-pack-a-day unfiltered Chesterfield habit? No…because these activities do not optimize gene expression either. You just need to look at your current exercise and eating regimen in the context of evolution.
The human animal comes hardwired with a genetic structure that responds most positively to consumption and activity patterns that mimic those of our paleolithic ancestors. Or in layman’s terms, Cro Magnon men and women didn’t survive and thrive by becoming glucose junkies as a result of having to fuel hours upon hours of high impact aerobic exercise.
While endurance training is necessary in order to effectively perform in events like marathons and triathlons, the activity and consumption patterns required during this process do not trigger optimal gene expression in the human body. In fact, in many cases endurance training triggers negative gene expression which results in such niceties as systemic inflammation, elevated stress hormone levels, and premature aging.
The key is that human health is a function of gene expression – and not of endurance training. If you wish to undertake the challenge of a marathon, triathlon, or distance swim, be sure that you’re doing it primarily for the mental and emotional benefits (personal goal/challenge, feeling of accomplishment, connection with the endurance sports community, etc.). And recognize that, while you may experience some short term health benefits to endurance training, you’d be much better off deferring to other physical activities that trigger positive gene expression over the long term.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a swimmer is to spend most or all of your time training in a pool. Why? Because as a member of the species Homo Sapiens you have inherited a genetic structure that is designed to interact more effectively in the dynamic and imperfect environments of nature.
And a swimming pool is a completely static and unnatural environment.
The bottom line is that nowhere in nature do you find a body of water with all of the following characteristics:
- 75F – 80F water temperature
- Antiseptic
- Clear
- Calm and still
- Well lit
- Smooth and uniform sides and edges
- No wind
- No currents
- No precipitation
- No plant life
- No aquatic animals
The key is, pool swimming is an idyllic and sterile activity, much like running on a treadmill or “pounding out miles” during a spinning class. While these activities are all fine for cardiovascular training, they can actually work against you in a real world situation. That’s because nature is messy, imperfect, and unpredictable – and it often doles out some pretty bizarre challenges to swimmers out in the open water.
So do yourself a favor and swim out in the lake as often as you can. You’ll become more connected with nature because you’ll be engaging in activities that challenge your mind and body at a very primal level.
Remember, nature designed you to be out in the elements – and you are much tougher and more resilient than you realize.
If you woke up after 7:30am, chances are quite good that you will see no sunshine today. As was the case this time last year, it is quite common to have very sunny skies at the crack of dawn only to have the clouds move in shortly thereafter. That’s one of the reasons I take pictures of the sunrises – because many of you sleepyheads just don’t believe me!
The lake had cooled down a bit from last week to a tepid 64F, but the swimming conditions were ideal. Chris, Carol, and I showed up for the sunrise, and Ann arrived later accompanied by new Lake Monster, Mollie. We all swam different routes and distances, and I ventured over to the “dark side” very briefly by swimming past the curve into the Ohio Street Beach swim area. I turned around just past Delaware Place making it a roughly 2-mile swim.
Everybody reconvened back at Ladder #1 after 30-45 minutes, and the whole Ochoa clan was out in force. We celebrated the 4th with some fresh pineapple doused with a bit of Barbancourt Estate Reserve – both of which are excellent post-swim treats.
Here are the pics:
Independence Day sunrise
Lake Monsters Carol (#24), Ann (#29), and Mollie (#30)
As more and more of you get comfortable swimming in Lake Michigan, I guarantee that you will be enticed by some of the more exotic swim events in San Francisco Bay. And you should definitely consider signing up for one (or more!) of them because they are hands down some of the coolest swim events you can do.
I field a lot of questions about swimming in SF Bay, and I’m always surprised at the level of misinformation surrounding these events. Most people seem to harbor two beliefs – namely, that SF Bay is dangerously cold and that it is infested by man-eating sharks. Both of these are false.
Regarding the latter, here’s a blurb from the Federal Bureau of Prisons site on the history of Alcatraz:
One of the many myths about Alcatraz is that it was impossible to survive a swim from the island to the mainland because of sharks. In fact, there are no “man-eating” sharks in San Francisco Bay, only small bottom-feeding sharks. The main obstacles were the cold temperature (averaging 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit), the strong currents, and the distance to shore (at least 1-1/4 miles). Prior to the Federal institution opening in 1934, a teenage girl swam to the island to prove it was possible. Fitness guru Jack LaLanne once swam to the island pulling a rowboat, and several years ago, two 10-year-old children also made the swim.
Regarding the former, yes the water in SF Bay is colder than an 80F swimming pool. But compared to Lake Michigan, it is relatively balmy for most of the year. While the SF Bay temperature rarely hits the 60F mark during the summer, the water doesn’t freeze over like it does here. Most of the time the SF Bay water temperature hovers in the 52F – 55F range, which we typically swim in on either end of the summer months (and during the winter, we swim in MUCH lower temperatures).
Just to give you an idea of what it’s like, here’s a write up for the Escape From the Rock Triathlon on what to expect during the swim:
If you find that when you jump in the water or start to swim that your heart begins to beat rapidly and your breathing feels out of control, this is perfectly normal. It’s just the adrenaline rush of race day paired with the shock of the cold bay water. Use your own judgment on whether to continue, especially if you have any medical conditions, but most people find that if they continue to swim, they warm up, get their breathing back under control and are able to get back into a groove and finish the swim. You may backstroke, or swim with your head out of the water until you’re comfortable to swim again.
Bottom line: with the proper equipment and preparation (all of which we blog about here) you can easily add a SF Bay swim to your list of endurance sports accomplishments.
The ultimate fact is that thousands of people do a Bay swim each year – and for many of these swimmers it’s their first open water experience ever. And if you still think this is something beyond your ability, let me remind you that a dog did the Alcatraz swim back in 2005 in just under 42 minutes.
