Hi all,
I just joined USMS and have committed to doing my first open water swim (1 mile) in two weeks! I'm way out of practice and have just recently gotten back into it. I've been swimming just about every day, but it takes me nearly an hour to swim a mile at the pool.
Am I in over my head?!??! Should I be this nervous and scared? I've been told I can do it, but I worry that I can't!? Right now, my goal is to finish...? Haha. Is that reasonable?
Any tips from you seasoned (or not!) open water swimmers would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you thank you and happy swimming!
You will invariably be slower in open water, the degree of slow-down dependent upon the body of water, currents, wind, etc. If this is your first race, I'd recommend NOT wearing your watch and focusing on two things:
enjoying the race / event,
let your body do what it's been trained to do
Caveat: I think wearing watches while swimming is almost never a good idea -- creates a small imbalance in your stroke and the disruption to your stroke rate / technique you will take to look at your watch is a "speed brake" that is not overcome by the knowledge of your pace. If you've been training enough, your body will settle into the right pace. If you've not been training enough, then constantly checking the watch to verify that you're off pace will only mess with your mind.
And I think it's illegal to wear a watch in any kind of swim competition. I agree, get in theflow, enjoy and swim. (a simple concept)
You will invariably be slower in open water, the degree of slow-down dependent upon the body of water, currents, wind, etc. If this is your first race, I'd recommend NOT wearing your watch and focusing on two things:
enjoying the race / event,
let your body do what it's been trained to do
Caveat: I think wearing watches while swimming is almost never a good idea -- creates a small imbalance in your stroke and the disruption to your stroke rate / technique you will take to look at your watch is a "speed brake" that is not overcome by the knowledge of your pace. If you've been training enough, your body will settle into the right pace. If you've not been training enough, then constantly checking the watch to verify that you're off pace will only mess with your mind.
And I think it's illegal to wear a watch in any kind of swim competition. I agree, get in theflow, enjoy and swim. (a simple concept)
