Team Mr. and Mrs. B

Welcome to Gear Talk with Annie and Brooke from Swimrun Labs.On this episode, we answer a question that we got from several of our listeners: what GPS Wearable should I get for swimrun? We discuss everything that should be considered in choosing a GPS watch and share our personal favorites. But first…Gear Updates/First ImpressionsAnnie ordered the  Aquasphere Classic Pullbuoy that was mentioned on the Budget Swimrun Kit episode for $6 and free shipping. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as giant as advertised. It’s the size of a regular swim pull buoy. That being said, for $6 you can buy two of them and glue them together.Ark Sports KORPBrooke has continued to have water infiltration issues with her Ark Sports KORP wetsuit. She contacted Ark and they mentioned that she should have sized down…but didn’t offer to replace it for the right size since she had already used it in open water. While the KORP might run big, Chris mentioned that his VIGG suit might run small. So make sure that you are super confident about your size.Ark Sports Keel+ Swimrun Pull Bouy Finally, Chris and Chipper have started testing with Ark Sports Keel+ Pull Buoy (this item is sold out online). Chipper did a “scientific” test of 100 yard swims with nothing, a regular pool pull buoy, a Keel, and the Keel+. The Keel+ was definitely the fastest. Chipper also used the Keel+ in a swimrun practice and was a lot faster in a full kit. Chris did a longer non-scientific test of 500s with paddles alternating between the Keel and the Keel+ and his gut told him that the Keel+ was faster. It took some getting used to swimming with the Keel+ given the size and extra buoyancy in a pool without a full kit on. We’ll have a full review on the Keel+ in a future show. In the meantime, you can listen to our complete review of the Keel Pull Buoy on Gear Talk.GPS Wearables for SwimrunBefore getting into the details about the best GPS wearables and watches for Swimrun, we wanted to make some global statements about GPS watches. First, having a GPS watch is not a necessity to participate in Swimrun or have fun out there so don’t let the lack of a GPS watch stop you from training and signing up for a race. Second, there are a lot of considerations about the technical features of the different watches. There is a better source for that type of analysis: DC Rainmaker is the gold standard for super in-depth reviews about specific watches. Finally, while most GPS watches have some form of heart rate monitoring and use different methods, either with a chest strap or wrist-based optical readers. Chest strap is the most accurate so if you’re looking for something for heart rate training and optical tracking is more for folks that aren’t totally devoted to zone training. Annie had some more thoughts on the matter that you can read below:Optical HR sensor accuracy can vary from individual to individual. Aspects such as skin color, hair density, and position can impact accuracy. The band should be snug.  It doesn’t need to leave marks, but you shouldn’t be able to slide a finger under the band (at least during workouts). Chest strap will always be more accurate than optical. If you do a lot of steady state training, using a wrist based HRM is generally pretty reliable because there’s not much HR variation it needs to pick up. Still can be 2-10 BPM off though, which is a lot.If your training is based on shorter intervals and you rely on HR to guide effort frequently, as in tightly zone-based training, opt for chest strap over optical HRM and save some bucks on your watch as you won’t need this feature. Wrist based HR can have a delay in presenting changes in HR, so if for example you are doing a 30 sec interval at higher intensity, you may be done with the interval before your watch picks up the effort increase.One last note- 24x7 HR monitoring (am resting HR, avg resting HR) can be helpful for gaining a lens into when you may be over-fatigued, having trouble recovering from your training, or responding to other stressors in life. Fatigue and cumulative stress is an important metric to monitor for any athlete. Optical wrist HR does well with this application.Some general recommendations that we have are the following:Make sure that the watch is a GPS watch and doesn’t require you to run/swim with your phone.Make sure that it has good battery life if you’re going to be doing longer events.Make sure it’s waterproof.Make sure that the watch has some form of multisport setting. (Either built-in like Garmin or able to add like Coros, Suunto, etc.)Make sure that the watch can capture the metrics that you care about.GPS Wearables and Watches that We’ve UsedChris and Chipper both use the Garmin Fēnix 5 and would recommend it. It works well, has swimrun-specific settings, good battery life and it’s tough. Chris has used Suunto watches in the past but would always come back to Garmin. Chipper has always used Garmin watches for multisport events but hasn’t seen any reason to change.Brooke uses the Garmin Forerunner 735xt and has had it for three years. She loves it because it calculates open water and pool swim metrics like SWOL score and stuff like that. The battery life lasts about 9 hours for her which is less than advertised but still pretty long life. (This watch is currently on sale on Amazon for $229.95!)Annie also uses that Forerunner 735xt but first used the Suunto Ambit 3 Vertical for a long time. She had initially got the watch for its superior altimeter data collection (and because of the color: Bright Turquoise Blue) but she was disappointed with it when using it for Swimrun. The watch wasn’t easy to set up custom multisport settings. It did what it needed to do but it wasn’t ideal. Annie is super happy with her 735xt and recommends that people do not choose a watch based on the color. NOTE: it’s easy to change the color of the Garmin watch bands if you want to bedazzle your GPS watch look with one of these color bands kits.Here’s a handy list of the GPS wearables and watches that we know of that have Swimrun-specific or Multisport settings:GarminForerunner 735xtDescent MK1tactixFēnix 5, Fēnix 5s, and Fēnix 5xFēnix 6SuuntoAmbit 3SpartanSunnto 5Suunto 7Suunto 9CorosVertexApex ProApexPolarVantageGritOverall ImpressionsIn closing, we all agree that while having a GPS watch is totally optional for Swimrun, we would recommend making your life easy and make sure that whatever watch you use collects and sends your data to your preferred method of recording, e.g., Strava, Training Peaks, Garmin Connect, etc. We’re obviously fans of Garmin but they are by no means the only way to go.That’s it for this week’s Gear Talk show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, please be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify and Google Podcast. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram and on Twitter. Email us at lowtideboyz@gmail.com with any feedback, suggestions and/or meme ideas. Finally, you can also support us on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.

15 Sep 202048min

Welcome to episode thirty-six of the Low Tide Boyz, a Swimrun Podcast!On the show this week we are talking with George Bjälkemo and Pontus Lindberg of Kraken Swimrun to chat about their epic 3-day Swimrun Adventure covering the entire Stockholm Archipelago. Yes, you heard that right. A total distance of 242km while traversing 79 islands in just 42 hours! George and Pontus are also the reigning Ötillö World Champs and just super cool dudes. More on all this later in the show.  Training UpdateOur training plans are ramping up now that we are just two months away from Ödyssey Swimrun Austin race on November 8, 2020. There will be lots of Swimrunning in the near future as we dial in our technique after not racing since early March.A quick reminder that we want to see you at the race with us! We’ll be the guys in the back of the race. Need some added incentive? Use the code LOWTIDEBOYZ and save 25% of your entry. Shout OutsThis week we’re shouting out Justin. We’ve known Justin for years and he got hooked on Swimrun at the Sprint distance race at Ötillö Catalina. He sent us some lovely feedback on the show and we really appreciate him taking the time to do that.Feats of Endurance Weekly AwardOur award this week goes out to Nuno. He raced Swimrun Zêzere over the weekend and it did nothing to help our FOMO for not being able to be there are chatting with the race director last week.Congrats and thanks for being part of our Strava Club community.This Week in SwimrunA lot of folks were riding the good vibes from the Ötillö Sprint Final 15k race in Utö and jumped into races this past weekend.Västerås Swimrun took place in Björnön, Sweden. The race was capped at 150 participants and similar to other events in Sweden, the race started in waves of 50 athletes at a time. Apparently, they had two Djs on the course blasting beats! There were some pretty funny team names as well including “Team Cold Soups and Abrasions,” “Team Half Decent Sea Lions,” “Team Latina Lovers,” and our personal favorite “Team Chips on the Couch & Cream on the Waffle.” (Honorable mention: “Team Earth, Wind & Water”)Breca Jersey went down on Saturday on the island of Jersey. Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands located between England and France. This 20K race looked very epic based on our in-depth Instagram research. Dare I say that this race has been added to our already very long bucket list.Finally, Zêzere Swimrun looked like a blast on the Zêzere River in Portugal. The event had two distances: Standard (31k) and Sprint (14.7k). We had Race Director Bruno Safara on the show last week and we can’t help but root for him as he grows the sport in Portugal.We’re pretty sure that we may have missed some events. Send us an email at lowtideboyz@gmail.com and tip us off if there’s a race that you are doing and we’ll do our best to include it.LTBz UpdatesOur latest column in Triathlete Magazine, “What’s the best ‘Full Spec’ Swimrun Kit?,” is out on the digital newsstands now! Check it out and let us know if you agree with our choices for the best top of the line kit choices in all the main categories. We got some new merch in the works so make sure that you check out our website for the latest in LTBz apparel and stickers. InterviewThe interview this week is just epic. George Bjälkemo and Pontus Lindberg of Kraken Swimrun are reigning World Champs and elite athletes. You would think that would be enough to get them on the show. We didn’t even talk to them about that because they came on to talk about their journey traversing the entire Stockholm Archipelago. This conversation is all about how they decided that since the Otillo World Championship wasn’t happening this year that they would embark on an “Ultra Swimrun Adventure.” And what an adventure it was! We chatted with them about how they came up with the idea, why they decided to do this, how the event almost got derailed because they couldn’t find a boat driver, and finally, we get their “race report” breakdown on how each day went. This interview covered a lot of ground (figuratively for us) and hearing from George and Pontus about this feat was a lot of fun.Here’s a detailed breakdown of their Kraken Ultra Swimrun Adventure’s stats:They started in Arholma at dawn on Friday 28 August and reached Landsort at dusk on Sunday 30 August, covering in tot: 242 km (150 miles), 79 islands, in 42 hrs.Stage 1: Arholma-Landsort, 12 hrs, 80 km (16,000 m swim/ 64 km run) [49.7 miles total], 32 islands. Longest swim 1,500 m (Ålandet-Gåsö) and longest run 10,5 km (Yxlan).Stage 2: Möja-Ornö, 15 hrs, 86 km (8,700 m swim/77,3 km run) [53.4 miles total], 22 islands.Longest swim 1,400 m (The ”Pig swim”) and longest run 18,5 km (Ornö).Stage 3: Ornö-Landsort, 15 hrs, 76 km (13,700 m swim/ 62,3 km run) [47.2 miles total], 25 islands Longest swim 6,130 m (Danzige Gatt) and longest run 13,8 km (Utö).There were a lot of people and sponsors that came together to help make this adventure be successful. Here’s a shoutout to everyone that was involved:The Boat Driver:Pehr WestmanThe Kraken Swimrun Crew:Thomas OganderPär KristofferssonJoakim AxelssonFredrik ÅströmKrinstin LarssonAnnika EricssonLudvig MyrenbergFredrik GranströmSponsors:HEAD SwimmingAddnatureClif Bar SwedenCarlys NaturalYou can follow Kraken Swimrun on Instagram to get an entire visual chronicle of their journey.Our buddy Herbert Krabel at Slowtwitch also had a great write up about this adventure, so be sure to check that out as well!That’s it for this week’s show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, please be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify and Google Podcast. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram and on Twitter. Email us at lowtideboyz@gmail.com with any feedback, suggestions and/or meme suggestions. Finally, you can also support us on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.

10 Sep 202053min

Welcome to episode thirty-five of the Low Tide Boyz, a Swimrun Podcast!On the show this week we are going across the pond to Europe to learn about the Swimrun scene in Portugal with Bruno Safara of Swimrun Portugal. This was a fun one! More about the interview later in the show. Training UpdateOur training plans are still sideways due to forest fires in Northern California and the terrible air quality. We’re basically doing indoor stuff until the air quality improves.One big piece of news in terms of training is that we will actually have to start training because we are committed to going to the Ödyssey Swimrun Austin race on November 8, 2020. We’ll be doing an Odyssey Swimrun Austin course preview show in the next few weeks in case you need any additional motivation to sign up and join us in Texas for some Swimrunning. In case you need any additional motivation to sign up, use the code LOWTIDEBOYZ, and save 25% of your entry. Just FYI, this race with be either preceded and/or followed by some serious Texas BBQ.Shout OutsThis week we’re shouting out Per Åström. Chipper did some deep internet research and discovered that Per left the very first comment to our announcement of the launch of the podcast. He’s basically an OG from day 1 so a tip of the hat to you sir. For some reason if you don’t follow us on Instagram you are really missing out! Feats of Endurance Weekly AwardThis week’s award was a toss-up between two finalists so we decided to give the “prestigious” award to both of them. First, Courtney and Christian have put in some major miles together this past week. We think that they are a husband and wife mixed team. Second, Clare busted out a 90-mile ride on her trainer over the weekend. Yes, 90 miles…indoors. Congrats and thanks for being part of our Strava Club community.This Week in SwimrunIn case you were living under a rock this weekend and/or somehow cut off from WIFI, the Ötillö Sprint Final 15k race went off without a hitch in Utö. This two-day event featured 3 separate waves of 50 athletes each wave to comply with Swedish COVID rules. This weekend also featured some pretty gnarly weather so that must have been fun.In more of a bummer than news to anyone, the Ötillö World Championship was slated to take place this past weekend and would have been the 15th race of the OG Swimrun. We are all looking forward to celebrating the 15th edition in 2021!Swimrun Sumin happened in Sumin, Poland on Sunday. Looked like a cool local event and the photos on Instagram were FOMO inducing with the mix of town and trail runs and lake swims. This race had Marathon (42K), Sprint (27.7k), and Super Sprint (13.8k) distance options.The Torekov Swimrun took place in Torekov, Sweden. The field was limited to 150 participants due to Swedish COVID rules but it looked like fun was had by all. The race only had one distance: 23k divided into 18 sections with 4.7k of swimming.While it wasn’t a race per se, the Kraken Swimrun team of former and current Ötillö World Champs and other stout athletes completed the three-day adventure from Arholma to Landsort that we mentioned in last week’s show. The adventure ended up being a total of 242K’s of swimming and running, or roughly one Ötillö World Championship each day for three days! Check out their Instagram page and prepare to get your mind blown.We’re pretty sure that we may have missed some events. Send us an email at lowtideboyz@gmail.com and tip us off if there’s are race that you are doing and we’ll do our best to include it.LTBz UpdatesOur latest Gear Talk show with Swimrun Labs is out and it’s all about getting started in Swimrun on a budget. Check it out wherever you listen to your podcasts. Keep sending in your submissions for our “International Swimrun Adventure Guide.” We got a bunch of entries and we’re almost ready to start putting something up on our site. As a reminder, If you have a great training route that you don’t want to keep secret you can head over to our website and fill out the form on our website homepage.InterviewAs mentioned above, this week we go to Portugal to get the story about how the Swimrun scene developed in that Country from Bruno Safara. A badass athlete in his own right, Bruno discovered Swimrun and never looked back. He organized one of the first races in Portugal in 2017 and now runs Swimrun Portugal that puts on six races in some of the coolest destinations in the country. In this interview we chatted about his background, how he decided to go all-in on Swimrun, Loch Ness, and “Nessie,” how he chooses venues and designs his racecourses, and what the future holds for events in Portugal. Swimrun Portugal’s next race, Zêzere Swimrun, is happening on Sept. 6. We can’t wait to get out to one of Bruno’s races in the future! You can follow Swimrun Portugal on Instagram is you want some FOMO-inducing content in your life. That’s it for this week’s show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, please be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Google Podcast. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram and on Twitter. Email us at lowtideboyz@gmail.com with any feedback, suggestions, and/or meme suggestions. Finally, you can also support us on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.

3 Sep 20201h

Welcome to another episode of Gear Talk with Annie and Brooke from Swimrun Labs.In this episode, we break down the different parts of the Swimrun kit with an emphasis on keeping it under a budget of $350 for those interested in getting into the sport of Swimrun but want to dip your toe in and not go full cannonball. We’ll talk more about that later in the show.Gear Updates/First ImpressionsAnnie is still loving her Arc’teryx Norvan SL shoes. She’s now used them on a variety of endurance expeditions and they are holding up great! These are quickly becoming her favorite Swimrun shoe.Brooke recently picked up an Ark Sports Women’s Ark KORP wetsuit. This was her first new suit in several years and said that running in the suit was totally amazing. Some water did get into the suit while swimming but she thinks that it could be a sizing issue. Overall, first impressions were mixed but optimistic.Budget Swimrun Kit RoundtableTo frame this discussion, Chipper came up with a prompt and a goal that we used to come up with our recommendations. Prompt: You are new to Swimrun. You run on trails on the weekends, but other than shoes you don’t really have any of the gear. You’re doing a race in 6 months and don’t want to invest too much money. Goal: Create a budget-friendly Swimrun gear setup (not counting shoes, tether, nutrition, etc.) to get you started and stay under $350With these cues in hand, we broke down the different elements of the Swimrun kit and talked about each gear category (goggles, pull buoy, etc.) and gave our thoughts on the best/cheapest gear to get you started. We also made recommendations on where you should splurge and where you can save some money. Most prices are approximate. Below is the breakdown of our choices:Chipper: (Total $347)Goggles: Speedo Vanquisher ($20)Wetsuit: Blueseventy Alliance Swimrun Wetsuit ($240)Pull Buoy: Ark Sports Keel ($47)Undergarments: Under Armour sleeveless shirt ($20)Paddles: Strokemaker Paddles ($20)Chris: (Total $267)Googles: whatever you already have. Don’t own goggles, I’m a fan of Aquasphere Kayenne ($28)Wetsuit: Orca Core ($169)Pull Buoy: Definitely spurge on this and get the Ark Sports Keel ($47)Socks: use what you have (something with synthetic fibers. Cotton is not your friend.Paddles: If you’re already training with paddles use those, if you’re not training with them, start with something manageable like the Speedo Power Paddle Plus ($20)Annie: (Total: $198)Wetsuit: Zone 3 Womens Swimrun Versa, currently on sale for ($137.50)Goggles: Roka R1 goggles are a personal choice and fit issues vary between people, but your goggles definitely can’t suck. These are my favorite and it’s worth investing in a pair that works for you. ($33)Pullbuoy: Aquasphere Classic Pullbuoy bigger than all the rest! ($6) One hole, one bungee cord ($1.50)Undergarments: sports bra and sporty undies you already own, Versa wetsuit has 2 internal and 1 external pocket so no additional storage needed.Brooke: (Total $219.39)Goggles - Zoggs Predator Next Gen ($16.99)Wetsuit - 2019 Orca Core ($169)Pull Buoy - Rise Pull Buoy x2 and glued together for Mundo vibes $5 ea. ($10) + bungee cord ($1.50)Undergarments  - use what you have, but here are my fav socks and options for nutrition storage for longer eventsSocks: Seavenger Zephyr 3mm Neoprene Socks $16.95Belts: FlipBelt Classic Running Belt ($28.95) or just stuff gels in your sports bra...we’ve all done it. Or go with the RJ Sport Race Number Belt $8.95 Amazon. Also, stores some gels and has places to hook paddles.Paddles - Synergy Swim Paddles $9.95Overall ImpressionsAs you can tell, there are many ways to get race ready and that’s one of the cool things about Swimrun. There’s no right or wrong answer. Whatever works for you is the right answer. We recommend try before you buy whenever possible and reach out to other folks who might have gear that you can check out. (If you’re in the Bay Area, reach out to us and we can bring our gear to a swimrun practice for you to try out.)If you are looking for more in-depth gear reviews be sure to check out other episodes of Gear Talk, Swimrun Undergarments, Swimrun Shoes, and various swimrun wetsuit reviews. We also have the beginner's swimrun gear guide called  Swimrun Gear Guide. That’s it for this week’s Gear Talk show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, please be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Google Podcast. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram and on Twitter. Email us at lowtideboyz@gmail.com with any feedback, suggestions, and/or meme ideas. Finally, you can also support us on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.

1 Sep 202044min

Welcome to episode thirty-four of the Low Tide Boyz, a Swimrun Podcast!On the show this week we Herbert Krabel. Co-race director of Swimrun NC and Editor of Slowtwitch. This was a fun, wide-ranging interview that we will chat more about later. Training UpdateOur training plans went sideways this past week due to forest fires in Northern California. We’ve had to stay indoors because of the poor air quality so there wasn’t too much training action that wasn’t on something stationary.Our thoughts are with all the folks that have been evacuated from their homes (including Chris’s parents) and those working day and night to fight these fires and help those in need.Shout OutsThis week we’re giving prospective shoutouts to a bunch of current and former Ötillö World Champions that are plaining on swimming and running the entire Stockholm Archipelago in three days. That’s 150K of trail running and about 50K of swimming or basically one Ötillö World Championship each day. George Bjalkemo, Pontus Lindberg, Kristin Larsson, and Annica Ericsson are the four athletes doing this. We will try to get them on the show to talk about this feat and ask the key questions: What? Why? What?!Feats of Endurance Weekly AwardThis week’s award is going out to Trista and Amy of Team Adorkable. They’ve definitely been embodying the spirit of this award all Summer with their feats putting in some serious mileage including a “secret” 50-mile trail run on a 1.5-mile loop last week! Keep it up, ladies! This Week in SwimrunAs far as we could tell, there were three Swimrun events last weekend (August 22-23) including an Ötillö Merit Race in France. The photos looked great for all three events and definitely gave us some major FOMO. We would like to apologize in advance for butchering the pronunciations.Skatås Sjöar Swimrun on August 22nd featured a 10km and 15km events. This event took place just outside of Gothenburg and definitely looked like it had a cool community vibe from all the photos that we saw on Instagram.Immeln Swimrun in Immeln Sweden took place on August 22nd and featured a short (15km) and long (37km) course options. This race is put on by A to Be Events which we think is an awesome name for a Swimrun race company.Swimrunman Great Lakes of Laffrey by HEAD in Laffrey France took place on August 23rd. Nothing like some swimrunning in the French Alps! The event featured Sprint (14.75km), Classic (22.1km), and Vertical Ötillö Merit race (30.6km) distances. The merit race looked particularly intense with the race finishing with a run-up to the top of Alpe Du Grand Serre.If we missed any races or you want to tip us off to a future race that you want us to include, send us an email at lowtideboyz@gmail.com and we’ll make sure to include it.LTBz UpdatesKeep sending in your submissions for our “International Swimrun Adventure Guide.” We got a bunch of entries and we’re almost ready to start putting something up on our site. As a reminder, If you have a great training route that you don’t want to keep secret you can head over to our website and fill out the form on our homepage.We’re going to have a couple of open water swim coaches from Tower 26 on the podcast in a few weeks and we’re going to this as an “Ask the Coaches” episode. Submit your open water swim questions to us via email or DM and we’ll get them asked on the show.We just launched our Swimrun Gear Guide! This guide covers everything you need to get started doing swimrun, well for the gear portion at least. InterviewIt’s safe to say there is no one who has spread the gospel about Swimrun in the United States and beyond as much as Herbert Krabel has over the years. He has down pretty much every type of endurance event that there is to do including being a pro mountain bike racer for a while. When he found Swimrun, he was instantly hooked. We had a great wide-ranging conversation and we think you’ll enjoy it.In this interview, we chat about Herbert’s athletic background, how he found triathlon, and then Swimrun. He recalled for us his first Swimrun race, Ötillö Engadin, and how that went. We spoke at length about Swimrun NC, his role as co-race director, and how that race has developed over the years. We also talk about the growth of Swimrun in the United States, what makes a good race, and what the future looks like.You can follow Herbert on Instagram and read his articles on Slowtwitch.That’s it for this week’s show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, please be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Google Podcast. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram and on Twitter. Email us at lowtideboyz@gmail.com with any feedback, suggestions, and/or meme suggestions. Finally, you can also support us on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.

27 Aug 20201h 6min

Welcome to episode thirty-three of the Low Tide Boyz, a Swimrun Podcast!On the show this week we have Team Cali Swimrun Girls. Caroline Wolek and Kelsie Pearson are a Swimrun team out of Southern California and part of the California Swimrun crew with Andy Hewitt, Sean Durkin, The Swimrun Monks, and others. More about this interview later in the show.Training UpdateWe didn’t do a Swimrun practice this weekend for the first time in a while. Our usual Sunday swim was also canceled due to thunderstorms…so it was a lite weekend of training. Chris finished his One Punch Man Challenge but is still trying to do a bunch of pushups every day for some reason.Shout OutsThis week we are shouting out our newest patron on Patreon, Carolyn. She’s been a big supporter of the show since we launched it in January and a good friend to us since way before that. Feats of Endurance Weekly AwardThis week’s award is going out to Rob from San Anselmo. He’s been putting some work in! Congrats.New Segment AlertStarting next week, we will be launching a new segment for the show: This Week in Swimrun. We plan on updating everyone on the Swimrun events that happened around the world (and that we heard about) to showcase all the cool places where race directors are putting on races. We’ll probably not catch every single event, but we’ll try.LTBz UpdatesOur latest column in Triathlete Magazine, How to Pick an Awesome Swimrun Team Name, is out now so make sure that you check it out and give it a thumbs up if you liked it.We recently posted our Swimrun Gear Guide to help everyone that might be looking for a place to start on all things Swimrun gear. We get asked a lot of questions about gear and what we use so we thought that we would write something up that we will update as we try new and review new stuff.Our new-ish project, The International Swimrun Adventure Guide, is up and running and we’ve got a bunch more submissions. If you have a great training route that you don’t want to keep secret you can head over to our website and fill out the form on our homepage.Finally, our latest episode of Gear Talk is out and we review the Vivobarefoot ECS Tempest, give some updates on previous gear that we’ve reviewed, and a first impressions report of the Ark Sports Vigg Swimrun Wetsuit. Check it out and send us suggestions for future episodes!InterviewCaroline and Kelsie are both amazing athletes (D1 swimmer and an almost-pro triathlete respectively) and found Swimrun separately and then got introduced to each other by Sean Durkin and Andy Hewitt. In this interview, we chat about their athletic background, how they met, and what it took for them to finally become a team. (Spoiler alert, they weren’t fans of each other at first.) This is a wide-ranging interview where we talk about Ötillö Catalina (they finished 3rd and qualified for the World Championship), connect a bunch of storylines from the race, talk about the beauty of the team aspect of Swimrun, random swimrun adventures, and the future of the team as Caroline prepared to head off to medical school. All kinds of good stuff in this episode. You can follow the Caliswimrungirls on Instagram.That’s it for this week’s show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, please be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Google Podcast. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram and on Twitter. Email us at lowtideboyz@gmail.com with any feedback, suggestions, and/or meme suggestions. Finally, you can also support us on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.

20 Aug 202054min

Vivobarefoot ESC Tempest ReviewWelcome to Swimrun Gear Talk, co-hosted by our friends Annie and Brooke from the Swimrun Labs.In this episode, we break down the Vivobarefoot ESC Tempest Swimrun Shoe. Chris and Chipper have trained in the swimrun shoes for several weeks and they are ready to share their thoughts on the Tempest and get peppered with questions by the Swimrun Labs.(Note: Vivobarefoot was kind enough to send us a couple of pairs of shoes to demo and they have not asked us for an endorsement or paid us for this review.)(Second Note: if you want to learn more about Vivobarefoot and the genesis of the ESC Tempest, check out episode 23 of the podcast for our interview with Asher Clark, Co-founder of Vivobarefoot.)Previous Show Review UpdatesSalomon Amphib Shoe Mini ReviewIn the “Shoedown” episode we chatted about the Salomon Amphib shoe (not the S-Lab version) and Chris has recently have been using these shoes for urban Swimrun practices in San Francisco for several weeks and really liked them. In the Shoedown episode, it was brought up that traction was an issue with these shoes on trails but they have been working extremely well on pavement. Chris would definitely recommend these for more urban adventures.These shoes aren’t in production anymore in the current iteration but the new version is called the Amphib Bold Water Shoe and looks very similar to the version that Chris used.Ark Sports ORNÖ 02 Swimrun WetsuitIn our previous review about the Ark Sports ORNÖ 02 wetsuit, we chatted about durability being an issue since the suit is so thin. Recently Annie noticed that she was getting yet another hole in the armpit of the suit and had to fix it with Aquaseal + Neo Neoprene Contact Cement. At this point, she’s thinking that the armpit wear might be a problem if this suit is used too often.Gear Talk First Impressions ReportsArc’teryx Norvan SL Shoe ReviewAnnie recently picked up a pair of the Arc’teryx Norvan SL shoe at a rock-climbing store and loved them. The upper material is very similar to the Amphib uppers and allows for maximum drainage. The Norvan SL is a trail shoe so the tread had a great grip coming out the water and on trails. Annie now thinks that this shoe is a contender to become her everyday Swimrun shoe. Ark Sports VIGG Swimrun Wetsuit ReviewAs mentioned previously, Chris made an ill-advised late-night purchase and ordered the Ark Sports VIGG Swimrun Wetsuit. He used it for one Swimrun practice and it’s safe to say that he’s hooked. The suit is very light and uses the Running++ material in the legs, back and arms. Running in the suit was amazing. It felt more like running in swim skin than a wetsuit. Even though the suit is thin, the neckline kept water out and the suit was comfortable in relatively cold water (around 56-58 degrees Fahrenheit/13-15 Celsius) even without using arm sleeves. Note: the VIGG does not include removable arm sleeves. The Running++ material repelled/shed water as soon as he came out of the water. After observing the ORNÖ O2 and the VIGG closely, the Running++ material appeared to be a tighter weave that the Running+ and felt thinner. The seams on the VIGG look a bit sturdier than those on the ORNÖ as well. This might be due to all the Running++ material used. The jury is still out on durability but it looks like it might last with proper care.Overall, the suit was amazing and Chris now understands why Annie and Chipper want to use their Ark Sports suits in training despite the durability issues. The VIGG is a joy to Swimrun in and Chris plans to use it in training as long as the water temperature allows.The Main Event: The Vivobarefoot ECS Tempest Swimrun Shoe ReviewThe Tempest is the first style to launch as part of the “Extreme Survival Collection,” and is touted as “the best Swim Run shoe on the planet, for the amphibious athlete” on the Vivobarefoot website. The description of the shoe states that it was “[i]nspired by nature's aquatic animals and blended with modern technology, we created a lightweight organic cage to provide flexibility, drainage, and protection.” The sole was developed in collaboration with Michelin using a proprietary compound that provides grip on every surface. The shoe retails for $220.The shoe looks pretty revolutionary from top to bottom and has the following features:Sticky rubber outsole developed in collaboration with MichelinSpeed toggle for easy fasteningQuick draining mesh and recycled plastic PET ankle sock constructionBio-based Bloom EVA midsole gives additional flotation reduces heavy feet in the waterThere’s a lot to unpack here so let’s jump right into the review of the shoe.Swim ReviewThe shoe performed excellently on the swim. It was definitely a non-issue and didn’t require any mental energy while swimming. A great shoe for swimming. Period.Swimrun Transitions ReviewIn transition, the shoe performed well. The ankle sock construction isn’t tight around the ankle so some debris can enter the shoe but it wasn’t very noticeable. The shoe drains exceptionally well since the entire upper part of the shoe is basically all mesh. Chipper got scientific with the shoe and did the Swimrun Labs-prescribed water bucket test. He took the shoes and weighed them while dry, then he immersed them in water to soak for 20 minutes, weighed them afterward, waited two minutes, and then re-weighed them. (Note we had to two different measurements because Chipper used one black and one orange shoe for the test.) Here are his results for the Men’s size 11 shoe:Dry Weight:Orange shoe (342 grams per shoe)Black shoe (337 grams per shoe)Weight after the 20-minute soak:Orange shoe (426 grams)Black shoe (423 grams)Weight after 2-minute dry time:Orange shoe (415 grams)Black shoe (394 grams)Interestingly, the Black color version of the shoe appears to be slightly lighter than the coral color. We didn’t notice any performance impact but it was worth noting.The special Michelin compound of the sole lived up to the hype for us. We exited and entered water on sand, dirt, and slippery rocks and grip was never an issue. Same was true while running on pavement, sand, dirt, grass, train tracks and wood planks.Run ReviewA caveat to the run review is that this shoe is super minimal and it does take some getting used to. Chris didn’t do any of the recommended exposure to get accustomed to minimal shoes but Chipper went through the protocol as described by Vivobarefoot. All that being said, neither Chipper nor Chris were ready to totally commit to minimal-style running. Chipper could see himself racing a short Swimrun event in the shoe but Chris wasn’t into it. Training in these shoes will definitely happen. (Annie, Brooke and “science” recommend using a variety of shoes regularly of different types since this is the easiest way to prevent common running injuries.)One issue that both Chipper and Chris experienced on the run was that they got a blister on the pinky toe on the black shoe. The hot spot was probably due to where the top of front part of the shoe was creasing while running. Interestingly, there weren’t hot spots on the orange shoe.It’s too early to tell about the durability of the shoe. The shoe is really well crafted but there is a potential for some ripping on the mesh of the shoe because the materials are so specific. The material used in the upper to create some structure might also start peeling off after long-term use.Overall, the shoe performed really well on the run (blisters aside) and it was an ideal shoe…if you can run in them.Pull Buoy RankingsChipper(4.5 Pull Buoys)While Chipper thought that the shoe wasn’t necessarily for him, he thought that the Tempest was the best Swimrun shoe that he’s been exposed to. Yes, the shoe might be a bit more fragile and a bit expensive but the shoe is next level. If swimrunners are looking for the top of the line when it comes to Swimrun shoes, then this is the shoe for them.Chris(4 Pull Buoys)Despite his personal concerns with the shoe, Chris thought that the shoe was amazing and really appreciated the tech that was used to create a shoe that is specifically for swimrun. Vivobarefoot has set a high bar for shoes. He took some Buoy points away for the cost and for the break-in period required to really be able to race long distances in the shoe.Overall ImpressionsThe Vivobarefoot ESC Tempest is the most advanced Swimrun shoe in the world. It’s amazing to see the technology that was put into this shoe and how they executed something that is a game-changer for the sport. It is literally the best Swimrun shoe out there.That’s it for this week’s Swimrun Gear Talk show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, please be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify and Google Podcast. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram and on Twitter. Email us at lowtideboyz@gmail.com with any feedback, suggestions and/or meme suggestions. Finally, you can also support us on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.

18 Aug 202051min

Welcome to episode thirty-two of the Low Tide Boyz, a Swimrun Podcast!One the show this week we have Gerry Rodrigues, Founder of Tower 26, and Emma-Kate Lidbury. Former Pro Triathlete and Editor at Triathlete Magazine, to talk about their new book: Triathlon Swimming: Master Open Water Swimming with the Tower 26 Method. We do a deep dive into the book and their swimming methodology later in the show.In other exciting news, we’ve reached the milestone of 10,000+ downloads! We’re surprised and humbled by all the support that we’ve gotten since starting the show and have a lot of gratitude for everyone that’s checked out the show.Training UpdateWe did yet another Swimrun last weekend which was fun and Chris is in the middle of the One Punch Man Challenge where he is doing a 10k run, 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, and 100 squats every day for a week. Why? Nobody knows, least of all him.Shout OutsThis is a special shout out to the “Dude from Costco” that recognized Chris wearing a Löw Tide Böyz shirt and chatted him up. It was totally random but definitely the highlight of an otherwise ordinary trip to Costco. Feats of Endurance Weekly AwardThis week’s winner is Kawika (Beek) from Team Envol Baywatch. He did the Pier to Pier Quest and submitted an audio clip describing his 27 Mile point to point Swimrun adventure for your listening pleasure. We also got our first Feats of Endurance award acceptance speech! We love seeing everyone working out in our Strava Club so keep up the great work!LTBz UpdatesOur latest column in Triathlete Magazine, How to Pick an Awesome Swimrun Team Name, is out now so make sure that you check it out and give it a thumbs up if you liked it.Our new project, the International Swimrun Adventure Guide, is up and running and we’ve received a bunch more submissions. If you have a great training route that you don’t want to keep secret you can head over to our website and fill out the form on our homepage and we’ll start compiling the entries and getting them listed on the site.In other news, our next episode of Gear Talk will be coming out soon and we will be reviewing the Vivobarefoot ECS Tempest, give some updates on previous gear that we’ve reviewed, and a first impressions report of the Ark Sports Vigg Swimrun Wetsuit.InterviewOur guests this week recently published a new book all about training for open water swimming. Gerry Rodrigues and Emma-Kate Lidbury put together an excellent resource for everyone looking to get better in open water. While the book is centered around the triathlete experience, there is a lot of crossover with Swimrun and we think that our listeners will get a lot of value from the wealth of expertise that Gerry and Emma-Kate shared with us.In the interview, Gerry and Emma-Kate shared their background and how they got the idea to write the book and how it all came together over a year later. We chatted about their new book and did a deep dive into some of the questions that we had about the Tower 26 Method and how it translates to Swimrun training and races. We touch on a lot of swim training and open water strategies. We also discussed how the Tower 26 Method is a great way to be “race ready” for triathlon and/or Swimrun.There are a lot of great tips in this episode so we definitely recommend that you take some notes and check out the book, Triathlon Swimming: Master Open-Water Swimming with the Tower 26 Method if you’re looking to take your training and racing to the next level. You can follow Emma-Kate on Instagram and learn more about Gerry and Tower 26 on his website and on the official Tower 26 Podcast. That’s it for this week’s show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, please be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify and Google Podcast. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram and on Twitter. Email us at lowtideboyz@gmail.com with any feedback, suggestions and/or meme suggestions. Finally, you can also support us on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.

13 Aug 20201h 9min