Converting Lap times to Open Water

@Carl - thanks a lot! To redirect this thread to it's origin: converting Lap times to Open Water I would like to add my 2 cents worth of experience: Even though I am slower in open water it is less tiring. Almost a contradiction! I find it much easier to swim 5 K in the ocean as compared to 5 K in a pool, even though I would do them faster in a pool. It takes a much stronger mental effort to pace an olympic size pool 100 times up and down, compared to swimming (a relatively) straight 5K-line in open water. I think nothing compares to swimming in the ocean. Trying to be in harmony with the waves and "feeling" my way through them is so much more exciting! As the ocean is alive and always moving I feel like constantly drawing new energy from the water that keeps me going much further than in a pool. By the way, it is very difficult to get a free lane in an Austrian swimming pool as a lap swimmer, which makes things even harder.

@Carl - thanks a lot! To redirect this thread to it's origin: converting Lap times to Open Water I would like to add my 2 cents worth of experience: Even though I am slower in open water it is less tiring. Almost a contradiction! I find it much easier to swim 5 K in the ocean as compared to 5 K in a pool, even though I would do them faster in a pool. It takes a much stronger mental effort to pace an olympic size pool 100 times up and down, compared to swimming (a relatively) straight 5K-line in open water. I think nothing compares to swimming in the ocean. Trying to be in harmony with the waves and "feeling" my way through them is so much more exciting! As the ocean is alive and always moving I feel like constantly drawing new energy from the water that keeps me going much further than in a pool. By the way, it is very difficult to get a free lane in an Austrian swimming pool as a lap swimmer, which makes things even harder.