Take the step and go postal

By Coach Doug Garcia

The 3000 ePostal swim is national annual event that allows participants to swim a 3000-yard or 6000-yard swim (or both!) in the familiar surroundings of their home pool. It’s a great annual measure of your swimming; think of it as your annual swimming physical. Take the following steps to participate in swim:

  1. Schedule your swim. Specific days and times will be identified between September 15 and November 15 to do the 3000. It might not always be possible to do the swim during normal practice sessions. Check with Coach Doug on the best time to schedule your swim.
  2. Bring a counter. Every lap must be counted and the time recorded. Frequently lifeguards can count laps and record splits, but bringing your own counter is helpful. One person can count a maximum of two swimmers. Coach Doug will provide instruction for inexperienced counters, split sheets, stop watches and pencils.
  3. Ask a lane mate to join you. The rules indicate you may not circle swim, so only two people can be in the lane at a time, one on the left, one on the right. What a great way to share the experience.
  4. Swim the event and get your time. Make sure Coach Doug records your time and be sure to take your split sheet—you’ll need some splits and the name of the person who counted your laps to register.
  5. Register at http://www.usms.org/longdist/ldnats16/. You’ll need your USMS number.

After you register, Coach Doug can include your swim and time for a 3000-yard relay. Relays for this event are paper only, so you don’t have to swim twice. Relay teams are formed by combining the times of 3 male or 3 female swimmers, or 2 male and 2 female swimmers for a co-ed team.

A couple of ePostal common questions and comments:

I don’t think I can swim that far!
With very few exceptions, most all Loveland Masters swimmers can swim 3000 yards in one setting. Practice sessions are 3000-4000 yards long including warm up and cool down.

Should I eat before I swim?
Do what you would normally do for a swim practice.

If you have other questions, please see me.
Loveland Masters is hosting this event in 2017, so we encourage everyone to swim the event this year in the hopes that Sawtooth Masters return the favor next year. With everyone’s participation we can inch towards a first place national finish in the team category.