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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Former Member
You probably passed me, quite a few 3-milers did. I was 16th in the 1 mile wetsuit division. I stopped a couple times to empty out my goggles (which leaked a bit more than normal because I don't usually wear a cap, I suspect), or to switch to breaststroke to track, etc. I lost a couple opportunities to draft off 3-milers who passed me. My time was pretty close to what I had predicted (I was expecting between 31:00 and 32:00, and got 31:19).
I was also very happy when I saw the cones on the diving platform and knew I was close to the finish. 1.2 miles is enough for me, I can't imagine doing a 3.2 mile race.
You probably passed me, quite a few 3-milers did. I was 16th in the 1 mile wetsuit division. I stopped a couple times to empty out my goggles (which leaked a bit more than normal because I don't usually wear a cap, I suspect), or to switch to breaststroke to track, etc. I lost a couple opportunities to draft off 3-milers who passed me. My time was pretty close to what I had predicted (I was expecting between 31:00 and 32:00, and got 31:19).
I was also very happy when I saw the cones on the diving platform and knew I was close to the finish. 1.2 miles is enough for me, I can't imagine doing a 3.2 mile race.
