Email sent to all Clinic 2 participants
Greetings everyone,
Welcome to our second swim clinic. Info is similar to the email from the 1st clinic so it may be a repeat for some of you. This weekend is also Shared Adventures Day at the Beach. For those unfamiliar - it's quite an undertaking. Starting early in the morning they will start building plywood decking to accommodate wheelchairs and other adaptive devices that will allow mobility challenged and special needs people to access the beach. They will start registering their attendees about the time we are getting out of the water.
Parking:
So for parking this week don't even try to park at the Cowell Beach Lot because it will be full of construction and event vehicles. We recommend Depot Park, a block up the street, behind the National Marine Sanctuary Center.
All street parking is pay-by-the-spot in this area. Parking at the beach starts at 10:00am and the meters won't take your money until then but they will take Park Mobile which you can use on the street or in Depot Park. The address is for Depot Park 119 Center Street, Santa Cruz to plug into your GPS. It's only a block up the beach and about a three minute walk.
TIME FOR CLINIC
The time for the clinic is 9:00am - approximately 11:00am. Becasue of Day at the Beach we will want to be away from the construction and out of their way so we will meet on the beach in front of the Dream Inn
If for some reason you are late and don't meet us at the overlook area we will reconvene down on the beach between the Lifeguard tower and the wharf. Look for a big group on the beach almost directly in front of the stairs. We will be spending some time on the beach so bring a towel to sit on. You do not need to put on your wetsuit before the clinic. You will have lots of time to get your suit on and get in the water.
Things to bring:
towel
goggles *
wetsuit
ear plugs (if you have them)
* Goggles - if your goggles are new spend a few minutes conditioning them before you wear them. All goggles have a thin layer of protective coating during the manufacturing process. If you don't get all of that off they will fog up. So wash them in warm, soapy water with a soap like Dawn or something that will help take all that slippery stuff off the insides. Another option is to use NON-ABRASIVE toothpaste to clean the inside so you don't scratch them.
** Swim Caps - We will have swim caps for you or you can bring your own.
Topics we'll be covering in this session:
Review of earlier clinic topics. Please come prepared to discuss your experiences and what you hope to gain in this clinic. Plus, any questions you had from last time.
Conquering apprehension about about Open Water Swimming
Basic Gear
Beach topography and water entry/exit
Overcoming the cold in open water swimming
Basic stroke and swimming technique in the ocean
New topics:
More Sighting
Drafting
Bouy sighting and rounding
Entry and Exit
Most of the actual swimming will take place close to the shore, along the shore and out of the surf zone. For swimmers with more experience or open water comfort you will have the opportunity to swim to and around at least one buoy, possibly two, at the end of the clinic as time allows.
If you didn’t attend last time and you are nervous about going to the buoys we will have a group that stays close to the shore and works on strokes and techniques.
Check the resources link for this week's documents and a link with this email. https://runsignup.com/Race/OWSClinics/Page/ClinicResources
See you on Saturday morning!
