I frequently find myself having to make a quick decision in open water races - draft off the person in front of me who is drifting slightly off course or give up and go on my own without the draft benefit on the straighter line.
Often I figure that the slight extra distance is worth the draft and just silently hope the lead person in the pack straightens out.
It's very hard to decide which is best in the heat of the swim. It depends on how off course the lead person is, but it's not easy to know that at water level in the middle of the race.
Which would you pick?
Parents
Former Member
Years ago when I was younger and faster I always swam my own race. That usually meant negatively splitting the race. I'd watch people sprint away and then run them down, typically finishing in the top 3 to 5 swimmers. I liked to swim in clean water away from others so they could not draft on me.
At one ocean race I marked a guy who was an All American in college and USMS and had swam the English channel. It was the best drafting I had ever done. Only problem was that visibility was not great and he was off course as we swam parallel to the beach. When we realized the mistake, he took off like a bat out of hell and won the race. I could not keep up with him and I was left in the dust. That was the last time I relied on someone else's sighting.
Because of nagging shoulder problems I do not do many interval sets so I am not able to go out with the front pack. As in the past I end up swimming my own race. Unfortunately I can no longer power myself to the front. I am however able to chase down people who go too fast at the start and blow up. When I catch them I draft for a few moments and then use them to sling shot past them. Ultimately I want to work on getting in more interval sets and stay with one of the faster packs.
The last couple of years I have been doing triathlons. If you want to see a huge pack sprint like crazy for 100 yds and then blow up, you should watch one of these races. At the start I look left and right, and are amazed at the people beside me at 25 yds. At 50 yds the sensible have slowed down. At 75 yds the foolish continue to flail. At 100 it is usually me a and a few other swimmers. It gives me a chance to swim at the front like I use to 25 years ago.
Years ago when I was younger and faster I always swam my own race. That usually meant negatively splitting the race. I'd watch people sprint away and then run them down, typically finishing in the top 3 to 5 swimmers. I liked to swim in clean water away from others so they could not draft on me.
At one ocean race I marked a guy who was an All American in college and USMS and had swam the English channel. It was the best drafting I had ever done. Only problem was that visibility was not great and he was off course as we swam parallel to the beach. When we realized the mistake, he took off like a bat out of hell and won the race. I could not keep up with him and I was left in the dust. That was the last time I relied on someone else's sighting.
Because of nagging shoulder problems I do not do many interval sets so I am not able to go out with the front pack. As in the past I end up swimming my own race. Unfortunately I can no longer power myself to the front. I am however able to chase down people who go too fast at the start and blow up. When I catch them I draft for a few moments and then use them to sling shot past them. Ultimately I want to work on getting in more interval sets and stay with one of the faster packs.
The last couple of years I have been doing triathlons. If you want to see a huge pack sprint like crazy for 100 yds and then blow up, you should watch one of these races. At the start I look left and right, and are amazed at the people beside me at 25 yds. At 50 yds the sensible have slowed down. At 75 yds the foolish continue to flail. At 100 it is usually me a and a few other swimmers. It gives me a chance to swim at the front like I use to 25 years ago.
