FitView: Open Water Training with Sharks
By Efren Martinez
Springtime approaches and so do the Triathlon competitions and the need to get back into the water. It’s important that before you go dipping your toe in an ocean or lake for that matter you remember to put safety first.
My wife and I headed to our place in Los Cabo, for her vacation and for me to train in the open Ocean. I did my daily brick workout loops on the beach. I’d run 300 yards and then jump into the ocean and swim out 150 yards, then across 300 yards only to swim back in 150 yards followed by running back down the beach. These brick workouts consisted of 6 loops.
Swimming in the open ocean or any body of water can be very dangerous. So before any open water swim, you should take about 15-20 minutes to study the ocean. Look for swells and at the temperament of the sea. Comb the beach for any rocks that you might step on during your runs along the shore. These open water brick workouts aren’t easy, but they are necessary to get reacquainted with your sea legs, so you don’t fall on your face after a long swim, but also to acclimate yourself to the cold water along with waves that can toss you around like a chef making a salad. Honestly, I love it! There is something beyond words for me to be in the open ocean knowing that I am in a different unknown world.
After about a week of these brick workouts, I’m generally ready to do my yearly swim across The Sea of Cortez. It’s about a very dangerous 2-mile swim. You should never do an open water swim alone. Sure I’m the only one in the water, but I always hire three guides to shadow me, 2 in kayaks and 1 in a motorized boat in case I need to get to the shore fast for a medical emergency. The guides also help with passing crafts and cruise liners to keep them from running me over. They really can’t help stop a sea creature attack. Life is abundant in the ocean, and in the last seven times I’ve done this swim I’ve had just about every creature come upon me, but this was the first time that a giant shark was within its reach of me. I didn’t even realize it was there because I can’t see over the waves, but the guides in the kayaks did. Honestly, I wasn’t scared and I felt no danger from it, so I just followed Dora’s advice and kept swimming.
It may sound crazy but I’d like to believe that I have a unique understanding with all of my Lord’s creatures. I love all animals and as I tell my wife, when I’m out there in the ocean it’s always going to be OK because I have a deal with my Lord’s sea life. I won’t eat you, so you don’t eat me.
Experience my swim here https://youtu.be/xaColneE6Co
