So…off to the pool last night for a short 1500m swim. I always swim with a pull buoy during the last week before a race, I find it mimics the feel of a wetsuit and gets me in the mood for an open water swim. The swim in Lake Placid is 2.4 miles or 3.8 kilometers or 152 laps of a 25meter pool. For the last 9 months or so I’ve been swimming the full distance in the pool at least once or twice a month so making the distance is not the issue here, it’s surviving the distance that is the issue. There will be 3000 of us come Sunday morning and when the gun goes off, everyone starts at once. Problem being that everyone is in the water, spaced maybe a foot or two apart, and when you take that many people in that tight a space and tell them all to start swimming as fast as they can at the same time, somebody’s going to get kicked or punched.

In addition, at Lake Placid there is an underwater cable marking the entire length of the course. Many people want to swim right on that line to minimize any wandering off course and if you want to get close to the line, you can expect to find the greatest concentration of swimmers and the best chance of getting a shot.

I’ll be starting well off to the right side of the course and will gradually move in towards the cable and hopefully find some space to swim and some friends that are moving at the same speed. Before Sunday, I’ll head down to the Lake and locate some on-shore markers to make sure I stay on track. Last year I swam 1:15hr, which was a personal best for me, I was very surprised when I saw that time on the swim finish clock and I took only a couple of minor hits. Hopefully this year will go the same way.