open wter noob

35 minutes for a mile is SLOW?? My best o.w. mile was 38 and I was ecstatic when I got that! But that just tells you, people of all different paces do open water swims. And love them! I'm more a runner than a swimmer, but did my first open water swim in 2002 while recovering from a running injury... I missed competing when I heard about this particular swim decided to try it. My only goal was not to finish last. Second last would be okay, though. So I would swim miles at the pool and time myself until I could swim in 45 mins. (which had been the last place time the previous year). When the start horn went off, everyone sprinted out of sight and I wondered what in the WORLD I was doing in this race! "I'm toast," I told myself. But I thought I'm here, might as well keep going... if no one kicks me out for being too slow I'll finish. Otherwise I won't. So with that in mind, I decided to relax and just do the best I could. The kayak support people were AWESOME and really encouraged and helped me. I loved the experience, even though in some ways it was a lot harder than any run I did. The recovery was much faster! Plus I was out in a natural setting, in REAL water with REAL sunlight... and seagulls... the thing I love about running is being close to nature, and I was getting that in this swim. I recovered from my running injury and put swimming on hold for a few years, then joined a masters' group at my Y--just curious what it would be like. The coach was wonderful and very encouraging despite my inexperience. He was trying to recruit people for an open water ocean swim... um... ocean? I don't think so! I was okay with the bay swim I did for my first o.w. experience, but the ocean was ... another kettle of fish, pardon the pun. I was always afraid of swimming in breakers... had an incident once where I was being spun around like a sock in a washing machine and couldn't tell which way was up or down... thought I wasn't going to make it... but somehow very unceremoniously, I was deposited on the beach, crashing into broken shells, but alive. But not anxious to repeat the experience. So no... no ocean races... except the coach was so persuasive and kept saying, You can do this! So I finally, with great trepidation, entered the race... gasped my way through the breakers, terrified... and once out in open water, thought... this isn't so bad! Ocean races still aren't my favorite type but now I know they're possible for me. Next obstacle: could I do a long race? someone told me about a 5.25 mile swim from Fire Island to Long Island--that sounded pretty cool since I used to go there w/ my family for vacations... what a great "homecoming" idea... except that I hadn't done anything longer open water than a mile. So I put that on hold... someday I thought. And then decided why not? And last year, I did the swim--seasick as all get-out in the last mile, but glad to have done it! And realized... hmmm... I can do these things... I can swim long. Who knows where that will lead... but I truly loved having the chance to swim across from one island to another, no ferries, just a totally human effort. I would like sometime to try something even longer. I learned from these swims that more is possible than I realized. I also learned not to start too fast or panic if others went way ahead... as my masters' coach would always say, "Go your own pace. Don't worry about what others are doing." And I learned that these swims are amazingly FUN, even the one where I got seasick... oddly at first, I was detached from the seasickness... which at first felt no more of a problem than a sneeze. By the time it started to be a problem, I was almost done anyway and nothing is more motivating than hearing people yelling and cheering as you come close to shore. Finally, one caution: this stuff is ADDICTIVE! Parents, have you talked to your children about open water swimming? ;) Good swimming to you!

35 minutes for a mile is SLOW?? My best o.w. mile was 38 and I was ecstatic when I got that! But that just tells you, people of all different paces do open water swims. And love them! I'm more a runner than a swimmer, but did my first open water swim in 2002 while recovering from a running injury... I missed competing when I heard about this particular swim decided to try it. My only goal was not to finish last. Second last would be okay, though. So I would swim miles at the pool and time myself until I could swim in 45 mins. (which had been the last place time the previous year). When the start horn went off, everyone sprinted out of sight and I wondered what in the WORLD I was doing in this race! "I'm toast," I told myself. But I thought I'm here, might as well keep going... if no one kicks me out for being too slow I'll finish. Otherwise I won't. So with that in mind, I decided to relax and just do the best I could. The kayak support people were AWESOME and really encouraged and helped me. I loved the experience, even though in some ways it was a lot harder than any run I did. The recovery was much faster! Plus I was out in a natural setting, in REAL water with REAL sunlight... and seagulls... the thing I love about running is being close to nature, and I was getting that in this swim. I recovered from my running injury and put swimming on hold for a few years, then joined a masters' group at my Y--just curious what it would be like. The coach was wonderful and very encouraging despite my inexperience. He was trying to recruit people for an open water ocean swim... um... ocean? I don't think so! I was okay with the bay swim I did for my first o.w. experience, but the ocean was ... another kettle of fish, pardon the pun. I was always afraid of swimming in breakers... had an incident once where I was being spun around like a sock in a washing machine and couldn't tell which way was up or down... thought I wasn't going to make it... but somehow very unceremoniously, I was deposited on the beach, crashing into broken shells, but alive. But not anxious to repeat the experience. So no... no ocean races... except the coach was so persuasive and kept saying, You can do this! So I finally, with great trepidation, entered the race... gasped my way through the breakers, terrified... and once out in open water, thought... this isn't so bad! Ocean races still aren't my favorite type but now I know they're possible for me. Next obstacle: could I do a long race? someone told me about a 5.25 mile swim from Fire Island to Long Island--that sounded pretty cool since I used to go there w/ my family for vacations... what a great "homecoming" idea... except that I hadn't done anything longer open water than a mile. So I put that on hold... someday I thought. And then decided why not? And last year, I did the swim--seasick as all get-out in the last mile, but glad to have done it! And realized... hmmm... I can do these things... I can swim long. Who knows where that will lead... but I truly loved having the chance to swim across from one island to another, no ferries, just a totally human effort. I would like sometime to try something even longer. I learned from these swims that more is possible than I realized. I also learned not to start too fast or panic if others went way ahead... as my masters' coach would always say, "Go your own pace. Don't worry about what others are doing." And I learned that these swims are amazingly FUN, even the one where I got seasick... oddly at first, I was detached from the seasickness... which at first felt no more of a problem than a sneeze. By the time it started to be a problem, I was almost done anyway and nothing is more motivating than hearing people yelling and cheering as you come close to shore. Finally, one caution: this stuff is ADDICTIVE! Parents, have you talked to your children about open water swimming? ;) Good swimming to you!