Part 2 of a series on Tower 26 ocean swimming workouts is courtesy of WOWSA, California.

Gerry Rodrigues of Tower 26 in Southern California is a coach who pays attention to the myriad details of the sport of open water swimming.

During his early morning workouts on Santa Monica Beach, Coach Rodrigues asks the lifeguards to leave the lights on in their jeeps onshore in order to help guide the swimmers and triathletes back into shore as they train in their rectagular out-and-back course in the ocean.

He also splits the big group of swimmers into smaller groups, separated by swimmers’ speed. Each group has 1-2 group leaders and safety captains in yellow swim caps who guide the swimmers in and out of the surf and around the turn buoys. Lifeguards are also on the beach with their lights on in the car while Coach Gerry is constantly on the outlook with binoculars on shore.

It is quite a workout at 6 am in the Pacific Ocean.

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