I'll be in the 1.2 mile fat salmon open water race in Seattle tomorrow (7/14/07). Open water swimming is new for me, although I think this distance should be okay for a first time. As a USS swimmer 20 years ago I was mainly a mid-to-long distance swimmer. I have practiced swimming in lake washington a few times to get used to my wetsuit, and last weekend I swam the same distance as the race, in a different part of the lake. I've been pool swimming for the last 6 weeks since joining a masters team and seem to have gotten into okay shape, although I doubt I'll be very close to my times from 20 years ago, and of course pool times are not comparable to open water times.
Are there any guidelines for how how open water times would compare to pool times (i.e. 10, 20% slower, etc)?
Parents
Former Member
Your OW times depend on the currents, waves, number of other swimmers, if you can swim in a straight line and how often you need to look for the buoy/marker. I just swam a 2 Mile OW event, it was very cold, but no wind, currents, waves and I could see the bottom the entire way, so I could take 40-50 strokes without looking for the Buoy. I estimate that my 1 mile was about 4 mins slower then my tapered 1650 yd race this past April.
Don't worry about the time, it really is hard to compare even from race to race because of the conditions. Have fun! Plus, from what I hear about the Fat Salmon race, you will end in a Harbor and you need to be on the lookout for boats, so safety first!
P.S. I heard it was 97 in Seattle yesterday and Lake Washington was a cool 57 degrees. Interesting contrast!
Let us know how it went, this is another OW event I've been thinking about.
Your OW times depend on the currents, waves, number of other swimmers, if you can swim in a straight line and how often you need to look for the buoy/marker. I just swam a 2 Mile OW event, it was very cold, but no wind, currents, waves and I could see the bottom the entire way, so I could take 40-50 strokes without looking for the Buoy. I estimate that my 1 mile was about 4 mins slower then my tapered 1650 yd race this past April.
Don't worry about the time, it really is hard to compare even from race to race because of the conditions. Have fun! Plus, from what I hear about the Fat Salmon race, you will end in a Harbor and you need to be on the lookout for boats, so safety first!
P.S. I heard it was 97 in Seattle yesterday and Lake Washington was a cool 57 degrees. Interesting contrast!
Let us know how it went, this is another OW event I've been thinking about.
