The closest I've come to an open water swim was a few years back when I was an adult leader at a boy scout camp. I joined in their mile swim. Their lake was really just a small trout pond, probably 200 yards wide. The swim was five across-and-backs. It was cold (it was in South Dakota, and the pond was fed by snowmelt runoff. Temp might have been about 70 degrees.) I was the only one to finish.
Recently I came across an upcoming 2.4 mile swim in northern Colorado. They say the water is usually 65-70 degrees at the time of year this is scheduled. They have both wetsuit and non-wetsuit divisions. I don't know why, but this one is calling me.
I do 4200 yards per day, 6 days a week. I do that in about an hour (or more often 1:05) including rests. I have no doubt I can do that non-stop (I actually have done that on a few occasions.) So I'm not worried about the distance.
But the cold! I just don't know what to expect. I don't want to use a wetsuit. (I don't want to put out the money for a one-time whim swim. And being 6'6", I wonder whether I would find a good fit anyway... I know nothing about wetsuits...) The pool I swim in usually has a water temp of 82-84 degrees. Once the temp was 79.1, and that was chilly but did not negatively impact my swim that day. (In fact, it was invigorating and I did one of my better swims that day.)
I seek voices of experience here. Will water that's 15 degrees colder than I'm used to sap all my energy? Am I wrong to assume that my ability to do the distance in a lap pool means that I can do it in a cold lake? Can I reasonably extrapolate my times from the pool in any meaningful way into an open water (fresh water) prediction of time? (For instance, I could guestimate that I might pick up a second per flip turn in the pool, so absent those 168 flip turns, maybe my open water swim might be 3 minutes longer or so.)
I'd love to hear from some people who've "been there, done that."
Former Member
don't think I'd like to follow like lemmings....where'd it ever get them? Choose your own landmark.
Just go with the flow, if you are not in first place other wise sighting is important. Pick a point to sight on land and head for it. Every race usually has a lead boat you can sight off it. Water temperature hey, I scream when I get into a swim pool after I get out of the hot tub. The original shock can cause you a little concern but 57 plus is not a concern. When swimming in colder water most heat loss is through the head. Wear a cap. Real concern when the water is under 50. Good Luck to all.
George
Originally posted by Guvnah
Kim -- What can you tell me about sighting?
Don't you just follow the line of people and boats and all? Others have warned about so many swimmers at the start that you have to watch for elbows and arms... how can you get off course in a pack like that? Seems to me that it would only be a problem for the leader. After that, we all just follow like lemmings...
I've thought about sighting because I have very poor eyesight without my glasses. Now you have me concerned. But I guess even with my glasses off I won't be able to miss whatever mountain peak I use as my reference point... They're big enough, after all...
Maybe we can chat offline. if you want you can email me at guv_nah@hotmail.com
about sighting - i can tell you i am horrible at it! i'm not very experienced at open water swims. the wingshadow was my 2nd one...
going out, i did follow the line of people and that worked well. but, by the turn-around i got dropped by the wetsuit pack. everyone was pretty strung out by then. i was with 2 other swimmers for a while, but i was breathing away from them and ended up going a ways into the wrong cove! i had to breaststroke a lot to see how to get back onto a good line.
didn't mean to worry you about sighting. i just think sighting is a bigger concern for an open water newbie in this race than water temp. i also train in a warm pool (82-83), less than you, and i too was worried about the water temp at horsetooth. the water tempturned out to be okay - people have some great tips how to deal with it. i think sighting turned out to be a bigger issue for me.
the race is very well run and a great swim!
If it were me (hey, it will be me as I'm going to race a local 2 mile swim where water temps are expected to be in the same range - no wetsuits allowed), I would do some swim training in lakes of similar temp prior to the race. You can increase your tolerance for cold water. One year, I did 90% of my triathlon swimming in lakes and I kept swimming into late September when the lakes got down into the low 60s.
Originally posted by Bobber
If it were me (hey, it will be me as I'm going to race a local 2 mile swim where water temps are expected to be in the same range - no wetsuits allowed), I would do some swim training in lakes of similar temp prior to the race. You can increase your tolerance for cold water. One year, I did 90% of my triathlon swimming in lakes and I kept swimming into late September when the lakes got down into the low 60s.
I wish it were that easy for me. You may find easy availability out there in the land of 999 lakes and all, but in Colorado the lakes are few and far between. I can't think of a single one in easy driving distance for me. (The lake in question is about 2 1/2 hours away from me.) Most "lakes" around here would be considered ponds or even puddles out your way. And rivers? Out here you can wade across almost any river -- if it's not dried up! :)
But seeing some of the replies in this thread has prompted me to be on the lookout for open water opportunities to test out myself beforehand if I'm going to do this event.
Hey, here's another "what to expect" question...
What do open water swimmers think about when they swim?
"Just stay warm... Just stay warm..."
"You can catch that guy... You can catch that guy..."
"One, two, three, ..., ninety nine, one hundred, ..., one thousand four hundred and twenty one, ... "
"Were's that reference point..."
"Was that a shark?"
???
Just curious...
From the 2003 Waikiki Roughwater:
1. Wow, the current is strong;
2. Wow, the current is strong;
3. Wow, the current is strong;
4. OK, I should be near buoy 12;
5. Sh**, why am I just at buoy 5?
6. Man the water's clear;
7. That piece of bottom is interesting . . .
8. Why am I looking at the same piece of bottom?
9. OK, head down, pull hard, breath every 4 strokes;
10. Why am I looking at the same piece of bottom?
11. Wow, the current is strong;
11. Is it too early for a Mai Tai?
12. This is no fun . . .
13. Look, there's a boat.
14. This is no fun . . . look there are swimmers on that boat.
15. Hmm, swim for the Royal Hawaiian or take a boat ride?
16. Boat ride it is,
17. Wow, the current is strong.
18. Boy, I can't wait to have a Mai Tai.
19. Wow, this Mai Tai is strong.
carl
Originally posted by botterud
7. That piece of bottom is interesting . . .
Please elaborate. Is this about the attractive swimmer you're drafting behind? (Whatever you find attractive...)
Very funny Guvnay, if only that was what it was all about . . . here's a blurb that explains:
Strong currents wreak havoc with the 2003 Waikiki Roughwater Swim
By Timothy Carlson
Senior correspondent
This report filed September 18, 2003
The 34th Waikiki Roughwater Swim, a 2.4-mile competition that became one of the blueprints for the original Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon, was hit by vicious ocean currents Labor Day. In conditions locals called the "worst ever," 590 of 947 entrants did not finish the race. Of those, 361 required ocean rescue, according to Honolulu Coast Guard officials.
Plowing through swift currents that made an unprecedented 60-percent of the field quit, Australia's Grant Cleland won the September 1 race in a record-slow time of 1 hour 4 minutes and 25 seconds -- about 16 minutes slower than an average winning time. Further, a record-low 357 swimmers managed to finish the 2.384-mile swim from Sans Souci Beach to Duke Kahanamoku Beach in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village hotel. The slowest finisher, Joseph Nagi of Kailua, Hawaii, competing in the male 65-69 division, fought the currents and managed to finish in 3 hours 22 minutes.
"This was the strongest current we have had in 34 years," Ted Sheppard, Waikiki Roughwater Swim Committee president, told the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper.
The National Weather Service reported that it was not certain if any connection could be made between nearby Tropical Storm Jimena and the water conditions.
Hawaii state senator Fred Hemmings, a former surfing champion and surf-contest promoter, told the Advertiser that the event began at a time, 9 a.m., when the tide was changing. "The best time would have been either 7:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m.," Hemmings noted, "but instead the weaker swimmers got caught in the worst part of the outgoing tide."
Six-time Ironman Hawaii champion Dave Scott won the Waikiki Roughwater Swim in its early years before he took up the sport of triathlon. Ironman founder John Collins handed Scott a flyer about the Ironman on the beach at Waikiki after Scott had competed in the Roughwater.
