Ok. So I've been a competitive swimmer my whole life. Love the pool but not CRAZY about swimming anywhere else.
I have done 1 OW swim YEARS ago in the ocean. But that was so long ago.
Doing the CB Swim for the very first time (1 miler).
Can you give me some tips? Just anything...I am in the dark when it comes to OW!:dunno:
THANKS!!!!
I will get to meet you there, swimalison! I will be there. I have done it 5 times. Water temp is usually in the low 70s. It is clearly marked and there are boats everywhere. Good luck. Some of us do the Reston swim a couple weeks earlier to get used to open water. You should come then too. www.lin-mark.com. See you there!
Sounds great Swimmy! Will see you there! I know you do these OW things...I'm still hesitant. But ready as I'll ever be!
Doing the CB Swim for the very first time (1 miler).
Can you give me some tips? Just anything...I am in the dark when it comes to OW!:dunno:
THANKS!!!!
Learn to love drafting: find a pack of swimmers, get nestled in there and "trust" that the pack is going in the right direction. While sighting is necessary, it takes a lot of energy and I think most people sight too often versus too little. I've done a few (2 to 4) OW swims (1m to 3m) each summer for the last 5 or so years and always ended them just wiped out, with muscle fatigue in places I never felt from a pool swim. I'm pretty sure that was mainly from excessive sighting.
Terry Laughlin of TI gave me the "trust the pack" mantra before I did the 3 mile Gatorman at La Jolla last summer. It took me a bit, but I did find a pack probably 5 minutes into the race and was able to reduce my energy output to keep the same pace both by drafting and doing very little head-lifting for sighting. I did almost all my sighting off the pack's feet and bodies.
I think if you watch the winners from the Beijing 10K, you'll see that they, too, tended to follow the pack until the end of race sprint.
GREAT advice..as I don't think I will be in a wet suit. Just for the 1 mile, seems silly to get a wet suit. Plus, as a pool swimmer, I think a wet suit will be too confining! Brr..I'm cold already thinking of the water.
Don't worry - the 1 mile is in fairly shallow and protected water. It's warmer than the other swim. Not the most exciting course, but it is fun. Enjoy.
-LBJ
I am not sure why, but every year my first or two swims, a fear takes over me. By the end of the season, I love OW and get mad at the wall when I have to swim in a pool again.
So to over come my fear I have:
Found someone that I really trusted as a person to practice with. (It helps that this person was around the same speed) And let them sight for you for at least the first 5 times you swim together. Then that fear is usually taken away.
Swam on my back until my breathe is caught, then swimming freestyle is not a problem.
Here is Montana sometimes the cold water can be shocking and to over come that obstacle is to wear a wool cap/hat under your bathing cap, and of course a wet suit.
And I did get a mailing for a pair of goggles with black lines down the middle of each lens to simulate the black lines of the bottom of the pool. (LOL) I wonder if you could make money on that?
Good Luck,
