Technosport

Individual BOTB results are posted on Sportstats!

⭐️Here are all the individual results from BOTB😊

Bushtukah Bring on the Bay 3K Open Water Swim Official results for Bushtukah Bring on the Bay 3K Open Water Swim. View current and past results, course descriptions and live tracking.

A standout result from yesterday’s BOTB😊 Pat and Penny both over 80 - placed top 2 in their age group!
🥇🥈🤩

An often overlooked topic - optimal sleep before an upcoming race. Remember- the night before the race is not the most important night of sleep! Many athletes sleep poorly the night before because of excitement, and they still perform very well.
Here’s how to maximize your chances of a good night’s sleep before the race:
😴Get up at your normal time the day before—don’t sleep in.
😴Stay active during the day, but avoid a hard workout in the evening.
😴Eat dinner a little earlier than usual (around 6–7 p.m.).
😴Limit alcohol, as it can reduce sleep quality.
😴Stop caffeine by early afternoon if you’re caffeine-sensitive.
😴Pack everything for race morning before dinner: goggles, cap, towel, race packet, nutrition, clothes. Removing the “Did I forget something?” worry helps.
😴Set multiple alarms so you’re not anxious about oversleeping.
😴Turn off screens 30–60 minutes before bed and read, stretch, or listen to calming music instead.
😴Aim to be in bed about 8½–9 hours before your alarm, knowing you may not sleep the entire time.
If you wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. and can’t fall back asleep, don’t panic. Resting quietly in bed is still restorative, and one restless night won’t erase weeks or months of training.

⭐️You don’t need perfect sleep to have a great race!

Tips for stress-free entry to your open water race😊
💧Seed yourself honestly. If you’re not racing for the podium, start toward the back or off to one side. You’ll avoid most of the kicking and elbowing in the first 100 metres.
💧Don’t sprint. Let everyone else race the first minute. Swim at about 70–80% effort for the first 2–3 minutes, then settle into your normal pace.
💧Control your breathing. Take slow, complete exhalations into the water. Many swimmers hold their breath when they’re nervous, which makes them feel out of breath.
💧Expect contact. A hand on your foot or a bump to your shoulder is normal. Try to think of it as part of the event rather than a sign something is wrong.
💧Keep your head up just enough to sight. Looking too high creates extra effort. A quick glance every 6–10 strokes is usually enough.
💧If you feel overwhelmed, reset. Roll onto your back or switch to breaststroke for a few breaths. There’s no penalty for taking a moment to regroup.
💧Focus on the next buoy, not the finish. Breaking the swim into smaller sections makes it feel much more manageable.
See everyone tonight at Britannia!

Getting close to BOTB race day! Food is important! An ideal breakfast is high in carbohydrates, moderate in protein, and low in fat and fiber so it digests easily.
A good race-day timeline for an 8AM start:
5:00–5:30 a.m. (2½–3 hours before)
Plain bagel with peanut butter and honey
Banana
Coffee, if you normally drink it (don’t skip it if it’s part of your routine)
16–20 oz (475–600 mL) of water
OR
Bowl of oatmeal with banana and maple syrup or honey
A couple of scrambled/poached eggs
Water or a sports drink
OR
Toast with peanut butter and sliced banana
Greek yogurt
Coffee or tea if that’s your normal habit
7:00–7:15 a.m. (45–60 minutes before, only if you’re hungry)
Half a banana
Applesauce pouch
Half an energy bar you’ve tried before
A few chews or a small sports drink
The most important rule for race morning is: nothing new. Eat foods you’ve had before long swims or hard workouts😊

As a follow up, here’s an interesting article about Masters Swimmers in the US with pacemakers.

Pacemakers Help Keep the Beat Going for Masters Swimmers Steven Reiss first noticed something wrong while swimming with his buddies at the New York Athletic Club in 2013. Reiss, a Manhattan trial attorney and veteran open water swimmer, had worked out with these guys for nine years. Together they’d completed, relay-style, five Manhattan Island Marathon ...

Our teammate Heather is sharing her story here in case any of us experience similar symptoms. We’ll be better informed if it happens to us. ❤️
Did you know that long-term endurance athletes have a higher incidence of bradycardia (low heart rate) and pacemaker installations compared to the general population? I didn’t…until my heart rate dropped dramatically and I got a pacemaker!

Like many Masters swimmers, I have enjoyed training and competing in endurance sports (cross-country skiing, running, swimming, cycling and paddling) for decades.

This year, I started to notice some unusual symptoms: episodes of pre-syncope (almost fainting); dizzy spells; exercise intolerance (suddenly running out of steam in the middle of a practice); and unusual fatigue.

I had been to see my family doctor, had blood tests and EKGs, and was deemed healthy.

Then I got a notification from my Apple Watch that I had experienced a 10 minute period with a heart rate of less than 40 bpm (with the lowest reading being 36 bpm) prompted my first visit to Emergency. After four hours and more tests (blood work, EKGs and heart monitoring) I was discharged and deemed fit, and told to come back only I fainted or started having chest pains!

Everything came to a head a week later, when I received 18 Low Heart notifications in one day - the lowest recorded was 32 bpm. Fearing the worst, I made an urgent trip to Emergency, resulting in a diagnosis of Sinus Node Dysfunction. Six days later, I got my pacemaker at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.

The pacemaker is the size of two toonies held together back to back. It has two leads (very fine wires). One is attached inside the left atrium and the other in the left ventricle. They are held in place by tiny screws. I need to wait for the pacemaker to become enmeshed with heart muscle. I have been told that I should be back at the pool and able to do the butterfly in three months time!

Any other Masters Swimmers out there with pacemakers? Please feel free to contact me on Facebook.
See you at the pool in September!

A few tips for our swimmers entering their first open water swim race: your biggest goal is to finish confidently rather than chase a time. Remember everyone gets nervous before their first open water race!
The water almost always feels calmer after the first few minutes.
Break the course into sections and focus on reaching the next buoy rather than thinking about the entire distance.
BOTB is this Saturday!