Considering open water swimming...

I am considering Round the Sound for my first open water swim. Of course I've swum in lakes and creeks and the ocean before, but not like this. The only "competitive" swimming for me has been in a pool. Is there anything I can do to get ready by swimming in a pool? Well, yeah, you can train, train, train until you're in the shape you want to be in and then take it to the open water. I'm certainly biased since I do 99% of my training in open water, but open water swimming isn't entirely different from pool swimming - in fact, it's easier because you don't keep running into the end of the water. The strangest thing about open water racing - for me - was all the people around, and the occasional person getting in my space, but even that wasn't such a big deal. If you get a chance to OW race before the Round The Sound, great; if not train in the pool and use this as your entry into OW racing.

I am considering Round the Sound for my first open water swim. Of course I've swum in lakes and creeks and the ocean before, but not like this. The only "competitive" swimming for me has been in a pool. Is there anything I can do to get ready by swimming in a pool? Well, yeah, you can train, train, train until you're in the shape you want to be in and then take it to the open water. I'm certainly biased since I do 99% of my training in open water, but open water swimming isn't entirely different from pool swimming - in fact, it's easier because you don't keep running into the end of the water. The strangest thing about open water racing - for me - was all the people around, and the occasional person getting in my space, but even that wasn't such a big deal. If you get a chance to OW race before the Round The Sound, great; if not train in the pool and use this as your entry into OW racing.