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)?
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It was a good race. The conditions were great and the water was pretty calm apart from a couple boat wakes. When I noticed how much I was rolling and bobbing I did breaststroke until the wake subsided. I actually switched to breaststroke a few times for tracking, since I find it easier than head-up freestyle. A few collegiate swimmers showed up and blew everyone away, although one exception was the first place finisher in the 3 mile race was a 40 year old guy from portland, who won the first prize, a 120lb king salmon.
It was a good race. The conditions were great and the water was pretty calm apart from a couple boat wakes. When I noticed how much I was rolling and bobbing I did breaststroke until the wake subsided. I actually switched to breaststroke a few times for tracking, since I find it easier than head-up freestyle. A few collegiate swimmers showed up and blew everyone away, although one exception was the first place finisher in the 3 mile race was a 40 year old guy from portland, who won the first prize, a 120lb king salmon.
