I'm thinking of participating in an open water relay event simply for the fun of it.
Those of you that "do" open water in addition to pool swimming, can you predict in any meaningful way the difference in speed?
I realize the water conditions make a huge difference. I'm talking about a relatively calm freshwater lake.
If I can swim 1000 yds in 15 minutes in a pool, how fast might I swim that same distance in a lake?
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Very good thoughts. Thanks to all so far.
My racing speed in a 50M pool is proportional to my times in a 25Y pool for freestyle. Breaststroke times in LCM have been disappointing so far but I think the loss of turns in breaststroke is more significant. I swim both SCY and LCM throughout the year.
This lake (Lake Travis, near Austin) is very deep. Unless they route us close to certain shorelines we shouldn't see any vegetation at all. The race is a Saturday morning so I expect we'll see some waves, whether wind or boat, a few hours after the start. Drafting is an aspect I forgot to consider. Most of my training is split lane, not circle swimming, so I almost never benefit from drafting. I expect sighting will be a key. The race by the way is a relay, 20 minutes per swimmer in the first shift, then 15 minutes, then 10 minutes until the total distance of 12 miles is reached.
Very good thoughts. Thanks to all so far.
My racing speed in a 50M pool is proportional to my times in a 25Y pool for freestyle. Breaststroke times in LCM have been disappointing so far but I think the loss of turns in breaststroke is more significant. I swim both SCY and LCM throughout the year.
This lake (Lake Travis, near Austin) is very deep. Unless they route us close to certain shorelines we shouldn't see any vegetation at all. The race is a Saturday morning so I expect we'll see some waves, whether wind or boat, a few hours after the start. Drafting is an aspect I forgot to consider. Most of my training is split lane, not circle swimming, so I almost never benefit from drafting. I expect sighting will be a key. The race by the way is a relay, 20 minutes per swimmer in the first shift, then 15 minutes, then 10 minutes until the total distance of 12 miles is reached.
