eyes open or closed

Perhaps my face is oddly shaped, but I play hell finding goggles that strike a proper balance between leaking steadily and sucking my eyeballs out. I've found some that I like, but they pull on my face such that holding my eyes closed for more than a blink makes the seals leak. Therefore I MUST keep my eyes open. And what a tragedy that is! I swim in a horrible, crowded YMCA where I wish I could keep them closed. There are a few lovely swimming nymphs that appear on occasion, but they are small in number compared to the truly frightening sea monsters that crowd the lanes. I realize that's a terrible thing to say, but it's true. I'm also frightened of the creatures moving around in the layer of scum on the bottom of the pool. What ARE those things? I don't want to see any of this! Luckily, even though I'm terribly out of shape, I'm fast enough to avoid all the creatures in the pool, most of which appear to be too wrapped up in their struggle against drowning to attack the swimmers. When viewed from the relative safety of the deck, it appears most of them are locked in some violent life and death struggle against the water itself, endlessly beating against it and making a terrible ruckus whilst making almost no forward progress. Look away! It's horrible! And Tom, when I was a kid I used to get a good jolt of speed in the deep end because of the sharks. I thought I was the only one who saw them.

Rain Man is right - the greatest invention of the latter half of the twentieth century. I learned my lesson when I was eleven. We were swimming fly across the short way of the pool when it was getting dark. BAM! I hit my forehead on the edge of the pool. 10 stitches later and I still have a prominent scar across my forehead (and it gets more prominent as my hairline recedes.)

Jim: # 1 I used to close my eyes....but I'd always bump into the wall. # 2 If I close my eyes I can't see the sharks.... and trust me, sharks scare me....a lot... # 3 We swim in a SCY pool. If I don't keep my eyes open I can't see my counter for the 50's. #4 When I keep my eyes open...I often collect enough change off the bottom to buy a cup of Joe at the end of workouts.

This is something that I have never talked about with anyone before. In fact it is a subject I have never considered. I thoutht everyone did the same thing. It was fun to see that different people do different things. I swim with goggles and eyes open all the time during every stroke. Except when I compete, I swim with no goggles and eyes open every stroke. I also do what waves101 does, thinks about different things going on in my life and (confession time) Yes I sing songs too. Right now Christmas songs are rampant in my head. But I get out in a good mood. Thanks for the sharing. I hope everyone has a Merry Merry and a Happy Happy, and may all your swimming goals come true next year. Bill Feesh:cool:

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 'spose that I am in the majority here. Since I must wear contact lenses all the time (and glasses won't work, except for reading), goggles are a must for me. So, I might as well check out how well my goggles work, to see if I am getting my money's worth. (I can be cheep.) Those who can swim WITHOUT goggles simply amaze me. I've tried doing it with out goggles and contact lenses. I hate banging into the wall. (Now I know what the cross on the wall is really for . . . it's the spot where you bang your head.) :D Goggles vs. no goggles Eyes open vs. eyes closed . . . Sound like different strokes for different folks to me! De gustibus non est disputandem. Cheers! Mark PS Anyone interested in starting a thread on their favorite goggle and why? That might be interesting!

Mark, MD I'm nearsighted now. And I use the goggles during workouts but not meets. I don't want to have them fall off from a dive. It isn't worst than when I was a kid, since I see things blurry and it doesn't bother me during a meet. I usually keep my eyes open. And for the holiday's I'll give you my poor latin and greek. Deus amat or Theos agape, in the two languages of the Roman Empire.

I swim wearing goggles and my eyes open if I am in a pool. I may wear goggles in the ocean or lake but I keep my eyes closed then--I don't want to know what is down there.

Originally posted by cinc310 Mark, MD I'm nearsighted now. And I use the goggles during workouts but not meets . . . Hey Cynthia! Have you tried corrective goggles? One of my teammates uses them and they seem to work well. I can't use 'em, unfortunately, 'cause I must use contact lenses. Hey, thanx for the Latin again.

I second Mark's suggestion of corrective goggles. I've been using them for years and I don't how I was ever able to swim without them. They're not very expensive either -- they don't need to be made to order and you can get a good pair over the counter for $20 to $30. I would never even think about swimming with my eyes closed, particularly in the pool -- I want to know where the wall is and where the other swimmers are.