Polar Bear Plunge…sort of.

Both Rob and I had our respective workouts to finish in the morning before heading up to the Polar Bear Plunge.  I had an hour run and an hour swim, and he had a 16-18 mile run.  So by time we both were ready to go it was basically 1PM…and the snow was coming down hot and heavy.  Nonetheless, we filled the backseat of the car with warm cloths, pointed in the direction of Maryland, and said – Onward!

After about two hours of slow going 20-30MPH driving through the winter storm, we finally arrived near Sandy Point State Park on the the Chesapeake Bay, which is just a stones throw away from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis.  Before long, we stumbled into the first wave of police vehicles blocking off the state park. 

At this point we realized this event isn’t just a little dip in the water, but a full fledged massive event.  This is essentially like a big NFL game, complete with tail-gators, busses, concessions and a gazillion people. Unfortunately, unlike an NFL game (which doesn’t cancel because of a little snow), this event did cancel.  Well, at least our 3PM start wave did.  We had checked before departing, and it was still a go – so we braved the long drive. The police gave us the bad news upon arriving at the park’s entrance.  Nonetheless, they did let us go down and check it out.

So we headed down and parked off in a small lot, and then made our way across the massive bus pickup zones:

From there we went to the registration tent.  After all, we were registered and had paid/donated…we wanted our t-shirts!  They had no shirts left. :(  But they did give us cards to fill out to get our shirts in the mail, so that was fine.

Next we went to check out the ‘Plunge site’ – where previously a bunch of people went into the water.

After checking that out (oh, and they were very serious about nobody else going in anymore), we wandered through the huge expo tent they had.

Even had a giant sand-statue inside:

Finally, post wandering we decided we were done here.  But not done in our quest!

No, we had long since decided that hell or high cold water, we were getting in the water somewhere…anywhere.  If we got to ‘Plan D’, it would be the sketchy river in front of my place (that feeds into the equally sketchy Potomac River), but we were going for cleaner waters first.  After all, we had a plunge t-shirt coming to us in the mail, and we had to get in the water now, otherwise we’d run afoul of all sorts of bad karma.

A quick check of the map shows plenty of quite suitable water all around us:

So, off we went.  First we went wandering down some random side streets, but they were all full of houses, with no easy access to the water.

We drove around for about 45 minutes, down lots of side streets – anywhere Mr. Phone seemed to indicate was next to water.  Had we mapped it out, it probably would have looked something like this:

Tons of dead ends, private property signs, and everything else in between.

But eventually, on a quiet side road, we found the holy land – a nice small bridge with relatively easy access to the water.

Well, sorta easy anyways:

So we got all changed, managed to lose the car key in the snow (no comment…it took a bit of time to find it), and then armed with swim caps to act the part, we made our way down to the water.

We setup the video camera off to the side, and got it all rolling…hilarity would likely soon ensue.

We then got rid of all the excess layers and prepared to go on in.  I should point out at this juncture that unlike the water at the plunge, this water was a bit more solidified.  Sorta like a big slushy.

Rob was in quite a bit of a hurry to get in (and likely out of) the water, so he got ready pretty quickly (btw, I’m in Blue cap, Rob’s in Orange cap):

And with my Pants on the Ground once again, I didn’t lag far behind:

We decided (actually, perhaps I decided without telling him, as Rob was probably quite content simply not going in at all) that up to the neck would do just fine.  So I got to work pretty quickly on the task:

The problem we soon found was that the water simply wasn’t that deep.  So we had to go out a fair bit to get it to even waist deep.  But finally, I found my spot:

Meanwhile, while Rob was apparently happy just icing his legs after this 16-some-odd-mile run.  I was on my way outta there:

But, with a yelp (and the realization I was about to leave him behind), he quickly followed suit:

..and then also bailed:

Ahh, all’s over, right?

Umm..no.  In fact, up until this now it really wasn’t that bad.  Yes the water was cold, but honestly not terrible at all (though the video evidence might disagree).

At this point I’d like to point out the embankment that we had to get up.  The ‘course’ (T1 perhaps?) went from the water (you can see our icebreaking below), up the embankment, over the railing, and then up 40 yards or so to the car.

But one thing we didn’t realize until getting out of the water is that your feet become essentially unusable, and thus you can’t get in your shoes.  So we were now barefoot, and still had to get up that snow covered embankment, over that railing, and then to the car.

Check.

While it took a few tries (for me), Rob somehow managed to get to the car in record time.  Though the highlight of the day was likely the moment Rob popped up the side of the bridge with nothing more than a Speedo jammer on and a swim cap, to a car driving by.  I meanwhile, was still busy bumbling up (and back down) the ravine:

Why is the camera covered in snow you ask?  Well, because both it and me ended up in the snow…a few times.  Video was left running, which is hilarious btw, and thankfully one feature of the Canon 7D is its weatherproofing – designed for tough snow conditions.  As to why I didn’t clean the snow off the lens, well, my primary objective at this point was the car – not the cinematographic quality of the historical evidence of the event.  Here I cam running towards the car.

And finally…the warm car (swimsuit still on folks…):

Of course, by now you’re asking for the actual video, right?  Well, without further ado – here ya go (I edited the version published here to be PG, as the original as filmed contained a lot of ‘entertaining’ comments):

After that, and a lot of time spent getting all warm and cozy in the car.  Then it was time to head back to Washington DC.

In the end, while we didn’t get to partake in the ‘big dance’, we’re both pretty sure our variant (‘Guerilla Plunge’ as Rob called it) was way more fun.  And, in a lot of ways – much more in tune with how millions of people before us have gone and done their own Polar Bear Swim’s.

And lastly – thanks to all who donated, I have no doubt the Maryland Special Olympics team greatly appreciates your generosity!  Though, if you want to still donate, you can right here.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!  Tomorrow…perhaps some snow angels…or not. :)

Pants on the ground

Earlier this week I had an early morning swim technique session.  By ‘early morning’, I mean 6:30AM – or as soon as the pool opened to non-high school swimmers.  Which for me…is dang early.  As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m not an early morning type of person.

At approximately 6:20AM my alarm caught my attention.  This would be about 20 minutes after I had hit the snooze button (in theory once, but apparently twice).  I now had ten minutes to get to the pool (a 10 minute drive away), and change, before getting into the water by 6:30AM.  Riiiiight.

I departed the house in record time – with all clothing on – and quickly made it to the facility by about 6:31, pretty solid actually.  By time I parked, walked across the parking lot, got my access card swiped and got down into the locker room, it was about 6:34.  I felt bad about being late - when I walked into the building I could see Coach sitting on the side of the pool waiting like a lonely kid.

I quickly changed in the locker room in record time and got right out onto the pool deck.

The technique session went how it always does, with plenty of back and forth down the lane, stopping and starting, fixing the myriad of things I do wrong.  About 90 or so minutes later, we were finished and headed back into the locker room.

As I walked towards the locker I noticed a pair of jeans on the bench.  Interesting I thought, but didn’t think any more about it as I got into my locker.

A moment later I realized those bench-ridden almost on the ground pants…would be my jeans, as I determined they were most certainly not in the locker.

Hmm…ok, I guess I was somehow in such a rush earlier and forgot them on the bench.  Good deal, they were still there waiting for me. How nice of the jeans. :)

After putting them on I noticed my cell phone wasn’t in my pocket.

…then I realized I had left it in the car so it would continue to get e-mails and texts while I was swimming (the concrete locker room blocks that).  Ok, all still good!

A moment laterI realized I didn’t have anything else in my pockets.  The usual other two pocket occupying suspects would be my keys and my wallet.

…then I figured I must have stashed them in my swim bag, which I sometimes do.

Except…I didn’t.  And my swim bag is pretty sparse, so it didn’t take long to cover that ground.  I checked the rest of my locker (tiny), with nothing but a wet towel to be found.

…well, this sucks.  A lot.

It’s one thing to have your wallet stolen, but to have your keys stolen too is a whole different ball game.  That elevates you into Grand Theft Auto, which is a bit different than a few dollars in my wallet (which rarely has much cash – let alone US cash – anyways).  Plus, who on earth steals stuff at 6AM anyways?

I relay my concern for lack of critical-path items to Coach, who simply decides that I had managed to just forget everything in the car (keys, wallet…and cell). I admit, at this point the morning was a bit foggy, so it was certainly plausible.

I quickly bailed out of the locker room and upstairs past the front desk.  They kinda looked at me funny, and I kinda looked at them funny.  Sorta a ‘Umm…one second…I’m busy’, with them looking at me like they knew me.  And then I continued towards the front to see if Mr. Car was still gracing the parking lot with his presence.

…and thankfully, Mr. Car was.

As I turned around, the staff kinda slyly looked at me…and slowly held up my wallet and keys.

Wallet! Keys! How I love you so!  I’ll never leave you behind again!  I promise.  Pinky swear.

___________

In other entirely random news…

Remember all those spiffy speed suits that you saw the pro’s using in Beijing at the Olympics?  Well, over the past year there’s been a lot of debate – and some of those suites have been banned in competitions.  Now Finis (one of the manufactures out there) is offloading some of the suits that are no longer permitted in certain competitions. I noticed on their Twitter feed yesterday this little sale - $20.  Yes, some suits are $150…and they’re just clearing them out for $20.  Kinda funny.  But if that’s up your alley, there ya go!

One place where you won’t see this suit – or any wetsuits, is at tomorrow’s Polar Bear Plunge that I’ll be at.  We’re about half-way there to raising a small amount to benefit the Special Olympics program, so if a few more folks donate a couple of bucks – we’ll easily nail it.  Here’s the deets on it here.  It only takes a second, and it benefits a great cause!

Finally – one last item…a big one.  Remember in late December the competition for The Best Endurance Sports Blog?  Well, as you know I was nominated to the Top 10 blogs…but with all your votes in late December while I was travelling – I made the Top 3!   You got me on the podium (for the second year in a row)! I never got a chance to post about it, but just wanted to say a huge thanks for all your votes!  You all rock!

Yesterday, the prize arrived at my doorstep – a Timex Ironman watch.

Thanks again everyone, and have a great weekend!

P.S. – If anybody knows of any specific locations in the greater Washington DC area that can do body fat hydrostatic testing (dunk tank for body fat testing), I’d appreciate the contact info (via e-mail is all cool).  I’m looking into doing a post on comparing them with scales…

How to train indoors with your Garmin device

This time a year it can be hard to find motivation to go out in the cold (assuming you don’t live or train in Hawaii), so it’s understandable you may be stuck training indoors.  While a lot of you out there have Garmin watches/units that you likely use outside when the weather is nicer, you can actually get quite a bit done inside – and still get all the same great data as outside.

No matter which sport you do most indoors, the first thing I should mention is that the standard Garmin ANT+ heart rate strap works universally across all sports indoors (except recording while swimming).  So even if you don’t run or bike, but instead wander around the gym using all the other shiny equipment, you can still use that inside to record your efforts.  For example, my girlfriend uses her HR strap indoors when she’s lifting weights, just as a matter of tracking her time later on in training logs.  Makes it much easier that way.

(Above is a typical HR profile graph while indoors.)

Running:

Probably the most common sport folks do inside this time of year is running or walking – usually on a treadmill (though some lucky folks get a Superdome to run around inside).  But regardless of where you run around/on, the first order of business is deciding whether or not you want to know the distance or speed during/after your workout.

In order to do that you’ll need a little footpod that ties onto your shoe in between the laces and records information related to how often and how frequent your foot touches the ground.  For all Garmin Forerunner’s out there, you have a few options (especially if you poke around a bit).  They range the price gamut from reasonable to sorta expensive, depending on the size of the unit.  The oldest footpod (discontinued) out there is the cheapest, which can occasionally be found on eBay and sometimes a few other places, for about $35.  It’s not the prettiest, but it works just fine:

The next option is a slightly different older model (also discontinued, below) that’s usually found for about $65 (eBay and elsewhere), but it works equally as well.  It looks like this:

Finally, there’s the current version (below) – which is tiny, about the size of a quarter, and simply clips onto the shoelaces in a matter of seconds.  I know some folks are worried about losing something so small.  Thus far, in a small crapton of running I haven’t had mine slip off yet (My running crapton = 150+ miles a month for 6-7+ months since I got this model).  I love this version because it’s tiny, and I wear my running shoes everywhere, so with this one, nobody notices it’s on there.

Once you’ve got it on there, you’ll go through a quick pairing process.  It takes only a second.  Here’s my condensed chart for how to do this on all of the Garmin watches I have lying around my house at the moment.  If you have a different model than the ones I have handy, you’ll want to check my manuals list at the end of this post.

Ok, so you’ve got it all paired.  Perfect!  Now, you can further calibrate it once on the treadmill (or track) to get better accuracy. I recommend doing it, it only takes half a mile of running (800m), and you’ll really get much more accurate numbers.

Once you’ve gotten the watch on yourself, and yourself on the treadmill, we want to turn it on (the watch, not you).  Now, depending on the structure of the building you may pickup satellite reception – or you may (after some time) get some variant of the following warning message:

What that message means is it can’t find a GPS satellite and thinks you’re indoors, therefore it wants to switch to indoors mode (turns GPS off).  Choose Yes if prompted.

But for me, I’m not patient enough to wait for that message most of the time.  Instead, I want to go NOW!  So I always manually turn off the GPS when indoors. 

Why do I do this?  Well, for two reasons.  One, if you don’t, you get dorky looking graphs like the below:

And two, some sports applications don’t correctly process the pace/distance data with it GPS on but the real data coming form the foot pod.  This is because they see GPS points splattered all over the place and simply assume that’s you running around like normal (and ignore the foot pod data).  So ALWAYS turn off the GPS indoors if you want good data.

Now how do you turn off the GPS?  Here ya go – another handy little chart I put together for turning it off (click to enlarge):

(Don’t worry, the next time you turn on the watch the GPS will automatically turn back on again.)

With the GPS off, and the footpod paired, your ready to roll…err..run.  Here’s what a typical run looks like indoors on a treadmill (Heart Rate = Red, Pace = Blue):

And here’s what the same structured run looks like outside (though, with a tiny bit longer cool-down at the end):

(Both charts done via Sports Tracks)

See, basically identical – the only difference is that I don’t have elevation (or grade on a treadmill).  Plus, the paces are a bit smoother on a treadmill than on rill hills in real life.  Pretty sweet, ehh?

Of course, if you hate the treadmill as much I do – you may want to check out these great ideas for keeping yourself from falling off the back of the treadmill (or getting bored).

Cycling:
Like running, if you use your Garmin Edge or Forerunner inside, you’re going to want one particular accessory to record distance and speed – as well as cadence.  The good news here is that unlike running, the wireless speed/cadence sensor is comparatively pretty cheap at about $39.  It comes with a few parts that simply zip tie onto your bike in a matter of a couple minutes:

It runs completely wirelessly using ANT+, so no messy wires to untangle or deal with.  And the unit’s battery lasts approximately forever.   Though, if you last longer than forever, the battery only costs about $3-4 at your nearest Drugstore.

Once you’ve got it all zip-tied to your bike, you’ll want to go through a quick pairing process – just like any other ANT+ accessory.  Here’s a handy chart I put together for pairing the Speed/Cadence sensor for a models (click to enlarge):

So, with it all paired, it will display that the sensor is found – with a message similar to this:

Now, go ahead and put your bike on a trainer.  What…you don’t have a trainer?  Doh!

(Ok, quick detour.  If you don’t have a trainer, there are a TON of options out there.  Some of it depends on your bike skill level.  For example, the cheapest trainer out there (Little Red from Performance) is a great intro trainer, but I’ve found that it works well up until about 275w of power (which is a fair bit for most cyclists), beyond that, it just can’t provide the resistance needed.  As a secondary indoor trainer I transitioned to the next level up, which offers a way to modify resistance on the fly.  Whatever trainer you consider, you’ll probably want to start out cheap before going full boar into the most expensive options out there – just in case it ends up collecting dust.  For me though, I use my trainer 3-4 times a week…even in the summer.)

Ok…detour complete.

Like running, you’ll want to ‘calibrate’ the speed sensor to your bikes wheel size.  If you happen to go outside first, the Garmin watches will actually do this for you via GPS automatically.  But assuming you don’t want to go outside, it only takes a quick second.  Simply look up the wheel size on your tire sidewall, and then use this handy chart to map that to the size in millimeters (also located at the back of the manual, this is from the Edge 500 manual).

Then just follow the steps to tweak the wheel size on your bike:

Another detour…

I want to mention something really important about speed & distance inside on a trainer.  It just doesn’t matter.  Meaning, because resistance is controlled by the trainer and/or your gearing, you can change gears and make the speed or distance increase/decrease without changing effort.  In other words, if you give me a bike on a trainer, I can make it show 35MPH, or 15MPH – with the same effort – just by switching up the gears I’m using.  So, don’t fret or obsess with speeds and distances on a trainer – they mean nothing. Focus on time and quality.

…ok…detour complete.

Now, let’s turn off that GPS sensor – just like when running – otherwise we’ll get more of the same whacky graph/pace/speed distance issues.  Here’s the steps for how to do that (click to enlarge):

So, with the GPS off, let’s get a cookin’ and finally riding.  Press start.  And pedal.

Soon, you’ll have a pretty looking graph just like this:

(Actually, the graph from Garmin Connect (above), isn’t nearly as cool as the one from Training Peaks (below))

See?  Simple!

Want some ideas for good indoor bike trainer workouts to keep you entertained?  Check out this recent post from Mainesport….or this one from Joe Friel.

Round-up:

At the end of the day you can use your Garmin watch/device for all sorts of indoor activities, these are just two examples of the most common ones.  If you need more detail on any of these  steps, here’s a pretty detailed list of links to the manual’s – including models I don’t have handy:

Garmin Forerunner FR-50
Garmin Forerunner FR-60
Garmin Forerunner 205/305
Garmin Forerunner 310XT
Garmin Forerunner 405
Garmin Forerunner 405CX
Garmin Edge 205/305
Garmin Edge 500
Garmin Edge 605/705

If you’ve found this (or this type) of post useful, feel free to let me know.  I tried to show as many devices as possible – in hopes it’s one of yours! 

You may have noticed I also linked to the various accessories on Amazon.  Like many sports bloggers you probably read and love, I’ve been recently toying around with linking to relevant Amazon products as a method to try put a tiny bit back into the triathlon bank for some of the time I end up spending putting together ‘How to’ guides like this and the product reviews I write (which are how most people find my little place on the internet).  For example, this write-up took a touch over four hours to put together (pictures, tables, validation, typing, Presidential State of the Union distractions, etc…).  For now I’m just testing with the idea, so if it’s bad – let me know.  If you see any of the items listed above and utilize those links, I’ll earn a few pennies as a result. 

But please – pick them up wherever is cheapest and easiest for you – be it Amazon, eBay, or your local running/shop (or ‘borrowing’ them from your running partners shoe…)!

Thanks for reading (and stopping by)!

Going for a very cold plunge

There used to be a annual polar bear swim right here in the beautiful and cough clean Potomac river, but from what I can tell, that seemed to have vanished.  Instead, while doing some research last week I stumbled upon an even bigger and better polar bear swim just up the road at Sandy Point, MD – right near the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD (MD = Maryland for those non-east coast folk)…which is only about a 35 minute drive from DC.  It’s the 14th Annual Polar Bear Plunge:

Turns out this one’s downright freakin’ massive – some 25,000 people are expected to bumble into the water.  And this year, I will be one of those that will join the fray into the frozen water this Saturday (the 30th of January).

I sent out an e-mail to a small group of friends, and thus far I wasn’t terribly successful.  My success rate was approximately 9%. I only got one taker.  Though if you all peer pressure pro triathlete Lindsey, who’s on the fence, that would increase my success rate considerably (to almost 18%).

Now, in many ways I could consider this my first open-water swim of the year.  Swimming in the Chesapeake this time of year does have it’s advantages.   The primary one being that there will be no ‘Sea Nettles’.  What are Sea Nettles you ask?  Well, those are what the people in Maryland call jellyfish, without calling them jellyfish.  Instead they use this term that somehow implies vegetation, when at the end of the day, it’s simply a jellyfish – that stings no less.  But this time of year – nothing to worry about!

Also, this is a good time to really understand and test out how the human body reacts to cold water.  A long while ago I wrote about the effects of cold water on a triathlon start (which I recommend reading if you’re planning your first triathlon this year).  And with guaranteed cold water, you’ll be in the perfect position to test some of it out.

This may or may not be an ideal time to note the weekend’s forecasted weather for the park:

Now the real reason to come out is that it benefits the Maryland Special Olympics program, and thus far they’re raising an incredible amount of money.  As of this evening, they’ve raised a crazy total of almost $2 million dollars this year:

Of course, I recognize that there may be one or two of you out there who isn’t in the Washington DC area.  So for those that can’t make it in person, I offer you the ability to still support the Special Olympics, and donate to their cause.  You can do that right here.

I’ve set a modest goal - $453, one dollar for every post I’ve published over the past 2.5 years.  I’m pretty sure all you out there can help knock down that barrier.

Plus…if enough people donate, you might even get to see something special…ya never know what might show up:

…just sayin’…