My teammates and I were discussing the following apparently inane topic, and I thought it would make a good poll question. To wit, during practices, which of the following apply to you:
1) I swim with my eyes open pretty much all the time, except for regular blinks.
2) I close my eyes when my head is underwater, but open them during breaths.
3) I close my eyes during breaths, but open them when my head is under water to make sure I am not wandering off track.
4) I close my eyes much of the time on each length, and try to remember to open them before crashing into the wall.
Note: just realized I don't exactly know how to format this as a poll. If anyone else does, please feel free to do so--or send me a note about how to do it myself.
BTW, I often swim with my eyes shut; not quite sure why, other than swimming practice seems to induce a mild level of narcolepsy in me. Or perhaps it is a reflex action from the pre-goggle days when closing your eyes during practice was necessary to keep your corneas from being eroded by chlorine.
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Former Member
I swim without goggles, and I open my eyes all the time.
However, in races I need to close my eyes more often, because if I keep them open, psychologically I get into pacing the opponents that I see to my immediate left and right, thus holding back;
with the eyes closed I can concentrate on bringing up my maximum inner powers.
Ideally I should open my eyes right after the dive, a little bit during the race in order to know where I am going, and fully open my eyes towards the end of the racing when I try to out touch opponents who are in my vicinity.
I swim without goggles, and I open my eyes all the time.
However, in races I need to close my eyes more often, because if I keep them open, psychologically I get into pacing the opponents that I see to my immediate left and right, thus holding back;
with the eyes closed I can concentrate on bringing up my maximum inner powers.
Ideally I should open my eyes right after the dive, a little bit during the race in order to know where I am going, and fully open my eyes towards the end of the racing when I try to out touch opponents who are in my vicinity.
