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!
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!
In 2002, I did my first open water swim--at the time, pretty inexperienced... I was swimming to recover from a running injury and missed competing, so decided to see what I could do in a swim. I belonged to no masters' swim group at the time, but got some advice from my pool lifeguard who was a triathlete (whose main interest was swimming... he'd gone into tri's for variety).
Since then I've joined a masters swim group (if you're not in one, I recommend it... you can get some great feedback on your stroke and ways to help you swim more efficiently... I'll never be a speedster, but I do find it much easier now to get into a kind of autopilot freestyle rhythm). I've also done several more ow swims including a 5 miler.
So, fwiw, IMO, YMMV, etc. etc., here are some thoughts:
1. In the pool, even if you're not stopping, you're constantly turning, which means you could see improvement in your time when you do the ow swim. For my five miler, I did the distance in the pool--and my actual finish time was almost an hour faster!
1a. Check out the results from previous years' swims, especially the last place time. That helped me to determine whether the swim would be a good "fit" for me. In my case, the last place time was about 45 mins. and I was at about 50-55 mins. so I looked for ways to bring the time down, including getting feedback from the above-mentioned lifeguard. I'm not sure I'd recommend my first training to you--at the time, I wasn't in any kind of masters' group and knew nothing about the structured workouts such groups did--but I did practice miles where I gradually reduced dependence on breaststroke which for me was not an efficient stroke and was slowing me down, and worked toward an all-freestyle mile. That got my time to where I thought I wouldn't be way out of touch with the pack.
2. But #1 depends on a couple things: Is the swim set to go with the tide? If so, you'll get an assist, which should help you with the speed. Are wetsuits allowed and if so, do you plan to wear one? (I have mixed feelings about them. I've never worn one for any of my swims, don't even own one--but others swear by them and from what I understand, they can help with warmth and speed. Personally I hate feeling constricted.)
3. Don't get too caught up in going out fast. Every time I've started out too fast, there's this counter-reaction about 200-300 yards into the swim where I'm struggling--but don't panic if you find yourself in that position. Take a breaststroke break and catch your breath, then settle back in. It does feel a bit unsettling to see people pulling away from you, but the kayak patrol is still watching you. As I say I'm no speedster, so I know this from experience!
4. Warm up a little before your swim... go into the water, get a feel of what it's like to swim without the lane lines. That can take a little getting used to. I like the security of black lines under me, but I've also learned that I love the freedom of being out in the open in a natural setting.
5. Have fun! If you find you have to stop before the finish--no worries. It's a race, not a job! In my first ow swim, I was almost sure that I'd be exposed as a fraud who couldn't swim, really, and would get kicked out. But then I reminded myself, "hey, no one's stopping you now. Just keep swimming! If someone tells you to stop, deal with it then." As it turned out, I didn't even finish last... second to last, but not last. ;) I have, in fact, since finished last, and no one arrested me for it. No matter what, safety comes first. If you need to stop, just see it as a learning experience.
Good luck with your swim, and let us know how it went!
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!
In 2002, I did my first open water swim--at the time, pretty inexperienced... I was swimming to recover from a running injury and missed competing, so decided to see what I could do in a swim. I belonged to no masters' swim group at the time, but got some advice from my pool lifeguard who was a triathlete (whose main interest was swimming... he'd gone into tri's for variety).
Since then I've joined a masters swim group (if you're not in one, I recommend it... you can get some great feedback on your stroke and ways to help you swim more efficiently... I'll never be a speedster, but I do find it much easier now to get into a kind of autopilot freestyle rhythm). I've also done several more ow swims including a 5 miler.
So, fwiw, IMO, YMMV, etc. etc., here are some thoughts:
1. In the pool, even if you're not stopping, you're constantly turning, which means you could see improvement in your time when you do the ow swim. For my five miler, I did the distance in the pool--and my actual finish time was almost an hour faster!
1a. Check out the results from previous years' swims, especially the last place time. That helped me to determine whether the swim would be a good "fit" for me. In my case, the last place time was about 45 mins. and I was at about 50-55 mins. so I looked for ways to bring the time down, including getting feedback from the above-mentioned lifeguard. I'm not sure I'd recommend my first training to you--at the time, I wasn't in any kind of masters' group and knew nothing about the structured workouts such groups did--but I did practice miles where I gradually reduced dependence on breaststroke which for me was not an efficient stroke and was slowing me down, and worked toward an all-freestyle mile. That got my time to where I thought I wouldn't be way out of touch with the pack.
2. But #1 depends on a couple things: Is the swim set to go with the tide? If so, you'll get an assist, which should help you with the speed. Are wetsuits allowed and if so, do you plan to wear one? (I have mixed feelings about them. I've never worn one for any of my swims, don't even own one--but others swear by them and from what I understand, they can help with warmth and speed. Personally I hate feeling constricted.)
3. Don't get too caught up in going out fast. Every time I've started out too fast, there's this counter-reaction about 200-300 yards into the swim where I'm struggling--but don't panic if you find yourself in that position. Take a breaststroke break and catch your breath, then settle back in. It does feel a bit unsettling to see people pulling away from you, but the kayak patrol is still watching you. As I say I'm no speedster, so I know this from experience!
4. Warm up a little before your swim... go into the water, get a feel of what it's like to swim without the lane lines. That can take a little getting used to. I like the security of black lines under me, but I've also learned that I love the freedom of being out in the open in a natural setting.
5. Have fun! If you find you have to stop before the finish--no worries. It's a race, not a job! In my first ow swim, I was almost sure that I'd be exposed as a fraud who couldn't swim, really, and would get kicked out. But then I reminded myself, "hey, no one's stopping you now. Just keep swimming! If someone tells you to stop, deal with it then." As it turned out, I didn't even finish last... second to last, but not last. ;) I have, in fact, since finished last, and no one arrested me for it. No matter what, safety comes first. If you need to stop, just see it as a learning experience.
Good luck with your swim, and let us know how it went!
