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)?
Former Member
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.
I swam today, too. Great conditions! The water was about 70 degrees I think. Definitely no need for a wetsuit. I swam well and finished fourth in the non-wetsuit 3 miler division. I didn't realize I was so close to the leaders, but the first place finisher was only about ten seconds ahead of me! There was a group of wetsuit guys out a few minutes ahead of us, though. I'm usually good at staying on course, but today there were a couple times I got in too close to shore and had to correct a little bit. I will say I was very happy to see the finish line. I think I held a good pace, but I was definitely struggling to keep my stroke long the last half mile at least.
Glad you participated and hard fun, David! At the pre-race meeting it looked like a majority of the swimmers were there for the first time. That's great to see.
You probably passed me, quite a few 3-milers did
Nope, I think they started the one mile swimmers a little later this year because I finished before any of them did.
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.
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.
I photographed the Fat Salmon Open Water Swim from start to finish on 7/14/07 from a Boat. I have the winners and all of the others. If interested in viewing my swim race photos go to: www.flickr.com/photos/havecanon.
Please contact me with questions. Enjoy.
Congrats to you both on your races! Sounds as if you both did well! Great job!
David, a friend who recently did a triathlon said he had trouble keeping water out of his goggles, although he usually didn't in the pool. I wonder if it was the same thing--that he normally doesn't wear a cap but had the event cap on for the race.
I think there's something to that. With a cap I think the flow of water across your goggles and face is faster or not turbulent, so I think the goggles might need to be adjusted a bit tighter when wearing a cap. I should have practiced with a cap and got the equipment adjustments figured out prior to the race. I plan to try out aqua sphere goggles because of their bigger field of view, which is valuable in open water swimmming. I'll get everything figured out in advance of the next race.
Congrats to you both on your races! Sounds as if you both did well! Great job!
David, a friend who recently did a triathlon said he had trouble keeping water out of his goggles, although he usually didn't in the pool. I wonder if it was the same thing--that he normally doesn't wear a cap but had the event cap on for the race.
