Your first open water swim?

RE: Your first open water swim?

debaru — Sat, 01 May 2010 09:50:50 GMT

It was today!! :) I swam in the first event of the Arizona Open Water Series put on by DCB Adventures. What can I say! It was totally awesome. I grew up swimming in open water, but this is the first time I actually focused on swimming 2000 meters continuously. It's so much different from swimming workouts in a pool, but in a good way! I came in 1st in my age group and 7th overall in my division (non-wetsuit) and beat my time goal by 3 minutes! It's always fun to swim an event the first time, 'cause your time is always a personal best! My Masters swimming buddy decided to swim the event with me and I finished just a couple of minutes ahead of him. We were both so stoked to have done it. There's always a bit of trepidation when attempting to do something new for the first time. I can't wait for the next swim in the series, which takes place on May 29.

RE: Your first open water swim?

Former Member — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:27:13 GMT

as an adult... 2.7 mile swim in the Donner Lake Swim, Truckee, CA - I borrowed goggles from the swim organizer... beautiful venue proximate to Lake Tahoe - I highly recommend the swim as a career swim, i.e. if you swim open waters you'll want to swim this one. I have swam the race three or four times... always check flights to Sacramento, CA - often cheaper than Reno, NV including the car rental. Go see 'Fearless Chicken' at the Pastime Club! If you like you can try Amtrak from Sacramento to Truckee, CA... Hot August Nights in Reno, NV is often scheduled at the same weekend I saw no cannibals.

RE: Your first open water swim?

debaru — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:14:09 GMT

Swam the AZ Open Water Series (five events) and did well. Won the series (M 40-44, 2000M, Wetsuit division) and had a good time. Will probably do four events next year (going to Convention during one of the swims) and will do the same distance option. Congratulations on your win! I'm planning on swimming the same event in the series this year. I joined Masters at the beginning of November 2009 and went out to Tempe Town Lake last year to watch the 5th swim of the series. I remember hearing your name over the loudspeaker when you were swimming past the announcer's booth while heading into your second lap. I figured you wouldn't hear the announcer, but you did because you switched from freestyle to butterfly and it really made me laugh. The announcer got a kick out of it as well.

RE: Your first open water swim?

Doug Adamavich — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:26:01 GMT

Ft. Lauderdale Ocean Mile in late December 1987. Our college team (both men and women) trained at the ISHOF pool in Ft. Lauderdale over Christmas Break. Our coach made all of us swim this event in lieu of a workout in the pool. I was not too keen on the idea but did it anyway both years I was there (Freshman and Junior years). 1987 was not so bad, the tide was out, there was no wind, and the water was quite smooth. Start was a bit chaotic (we started on the beach and ran into the water) and the finish hectic but it went OK. 1989 was BAD...tide was coming in, it was cold (record cold snap in most of FL that year), and you couldn't see past your hand. Got kicked, clawed, sand got into all my openings, and I drank about two gallons of seawater...not a fun experience. So I swore off open water swimming until last year. Swam the AZ Open Water Series (five events) and did well. Won the series (M 40-44, 2000M, Wetsuit division) and had a good time. Will probably do four events next year (going to Convention during one of the swims) and will do the same distance option. I prefer swimming in pools but open water is a nice change of pace.

RE: Your first open water swim?

lochnessie — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:00:11 GMT

Mine was Big Shoulders in 2005... I'd been training for a triathlon and ended up injuring my ankle so I couldn't do the race. I didn't want all that training to go to waste so I came to the USMS site to look for a postal. Five years and a lot of open water miles later I'm so glad I have weak ankles.

RE: Your first open water swim?

Former Member — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:35:41 GMT

According to my mother I was about 2 year of age. It seems that the family had gone to the ocean and I just sort walked straight into the water and kept going. My Grandfather was there and pull me up by my leg. My Mother remembers my Grandfather saying that there was something wrong with this kid. She says they got me swim lessons soon after that. Otherwise I don't remember much of that swim. Fire Eagle

RE: Your first open water swim?

Former Member — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:54:33 GMT

May of this year. I did the 5K Beaufort River Swim (Beaufort, SC)...which is really an intercoastal (salt) with the tide. I forget my exact time but it was well under an hour. I was like 8-10th overall and won my age group. Temp about 90 (air), water about 75. What I learned....lines! You line is everything. I follow a small pack that took a really bad one! Also BREATHE!!! You get that initial adreniline rush of the start and your HR is up and I forgot to breathe enough...I was pooped after 10 minutes, but eventually calmed it down and got into a rhythm. That is a good point. BREATHE. On my first swim, the first 5 minutes seemed frantic to me. The sights, the sounds with a cap on, the cooler water, and just knowing what I had just begun. It's exciting, but your right, you need to remember to breath to calm down. What I learned? Sighting will make you sore in the shoulders if you are not used to it. Breathing to both sides is beneficial in longer swims to reduce soreness and dizziness. Strait line swiming - can't say enough about this.

RE: Your first open water swim?

Jeff Jotz — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:22:57 GMT

1987 Bradley Beach (NJ) 1-mile ocean swim. I was a 17 year-old HS student. All I remember from that swim was that I kept on swimming into the jetties. It taught me a valuable lesson about swimming in a straight line.:blush: I think the next swim after that was the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim in 1994 or 1995.

RE: Your first open water swim?

Grappledunk — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:19:38 GMT

My first open water swim was the La Jolla Rough Water swim when I was six - they had a 1/4 mile out and back for young kids, and my coach swam next to me to make sure I was ok. I remember being bummed that it wasn't longer. :D

RE: Your first open water swim?

swim4me — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 10:16:18 GMT

The swim was with the South End Rowing Club and it was raining with thunder and lightning. It was still wonderful. I have been to SF more times than I can mention. My mom was born, raised and met my dad there and I was born there and visit as often as possible. I have walked and ridden a bike across the bridge when I can fit it into the schedule and, yes it is awsome. My husband and I were there in July for the SF marathon and I spent many a moment studying the distance, thinking about what it would be like. It was all I could hope for.

RE: Your first open water swim?

swim4me — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 09:44:04 GMT

A year ago, in December, I signed up to swim from Alcatraz to the Aquatic Center on the shore. I had never swam open water before, but I had 9 months to get ready. I went to a local man-made lake a few times to get used to siting. I swam a 2K in a very slow river in Austin. My coach would have the other swimmers in the pool take their kickboards and splash me as I swam distance to prepare. About a month before Alcatraz, I swam a 3K in the man made lake, then came the big day. I had a wetsuit (since I swim in Texas, was not sure I could handle 61 degrees without one). I jumped off the boat and swam to get away so other swimmers could jump in. I stopped to catch my breath, and see how far the distance seemed. At that time I thought 'man, that is far, I'm going to flag a boat to pick me up', then I thought 'no - I've done this distance lots of times, I can do it.' I stopped twice to look around - just to be in the SF Bay (I was born in SF) was awsome! A boat stopped me twice, once 'cause I was swimming towards Hawaii :D, and once to be sure I made the entrance to the Aquatic Center without being swept by the current into the Pacific (they had me swim more towards the left). I ended up 4th in my age group (that is with stopping and not even trying to get a good time or place). 16th out of all women in wetsuits, and 81 out of everyone in wetsuits (there were about 400 wetsuit swimmers and I am in the 45-49 age group). It was a blast, I plan on doing it every year, and this year, I have other swimming buddies that want to join me!

RE: Your first open water swim?

Former Member — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 06:05:50 GMT

RE: Your first open water swim?

Former Member — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:29:45 GMT

If triathlons count, my first was a half mile in a frigid spring fed lake in Spring 2005 sans wetsuit. My longest is 1.2 miles (also without wetsuit) in a HalfIron AquaBike (no run) called PrairieMan. With wetsuit the longest is 1.5K (Capital of Texas Triathlon). :applaud: I have signed up for the Ridges 5K this year, though. :bump: I'm thinking about doing a longer one...

RE: Your first open water swim?

Animal — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 01:21:19 GMT

My first open water race was a 10K. I had praticed in the open water and swam about 6 k, but that was it. I may not have been ready for the 10 K, but looking back it was a great experience.

RE: Your first open water swim?

Former Member — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 06:46:27 GMT

I was just curious about everyone's "first time". When/where did you take that first plunge into open water?? I have been swimming in open water off and on nearly my entire life. However my first race was at 17 as a lifeguard on the Atlantic Ocean. That is over 40 years ago. I have gone years at a time without racing, but I've never missed an opportunity to jump into a new body of water where ever I'm traveling.

RE: Your first open water swim?

FindingMyInnerFish — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:15:12 GMT

So, FindingMyInnerFish, it seems that all your practice had been in a pool before the OW race? Do you feel it necessary to practice in OW at least a few times? Well, it's no doubt desirable, and if I lived near open water, I'd definitely take advantage of the opportunity. But even for my five mile swim, all my workouts were in the pool. Talk about hamster swimming... I did the race distance in the pool just to feel confident that I was good for that distance--after that, I was REALLY glad to do it in open water. Very liberating! I think what helped me in all these swims, despite not having the o.w. practice was that my childhood swimming lessons mostly took place in a bay, and I spent many summers swimming in water that didn't hold still for me. So the body memory was there, and when I would swim in these events, it felt like coming home.

RE: Your first open water swim?

Former Member — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:27:39 GMT

So, FindingMyInnerFish, it seems that all your practice had been in a pool before the OW race? Do you feel it necessary to practice in OW at least a few times?

RE: Your first open water swim?

FindingMyInnerFish — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 10:47:14 GMT

In 2002, I had to lay off running for a while due to an injury, so I took to swimming, although just as a lap swimmer, not in any formal masters' group. As a child, I learned to swim in a bay and always enjoyed salt water swimming, when I had the opportunity. But living inland, I had to make do with a pool. In any case, swimming was more a recreation, something I did to recover from running, not my main sport, so doing it instead of running wasn't my idea of fun. I dutifully swam laps, counting them out and was glad to be finished--especially if the pool was crowded. I missed the openness of being out on the roads by myself. I also missed competing in races. Then I found a flyer for a one-mile open water bay swim--this gave me the motivation I needed to work my way up to a mile and also to increase my speed. I still didn't join a masters' group--didn't even know of any available at the time. But the lifeguard at the morning lap swim was a great guy--very friendly, encouraging... a swim instructor and triathlete. So he gave me some helpful advice on my stroke. I'm a slow swimmer now, but I was even slower then--took me about an hour to swim a mile. The previous year's results for the swim I had in mind listed the last place time as 45 minutes. I wasn't looking for fame and fortune, but I did want to finish before they packed up the finish line clock and went home. I finally was able, with some coaching by this lifeguard, to reduce my time to 45 minutes and swim the mile without stopping, which gave me just enough confidence to believe that this thing was possible. But I hadn't accounted for the extra swimming I'd have to do before even starting the race. On race day, I was told the start was next to a boat that appeared to be about 200 yards off shore (but probably was closer--it just seemed that way to this newbie). Some of us had started out toward this boat, but were called back to a swimmers' meeting, then sent out again. By the time I reached the start, they'd blown the air horn and everyone else was underway. It wasn't looking good. But I reminded myself, I'd paid for this race and to get my money's worth, I'd better swim it. Plus, I'd gotten the t-shirt when signing up, and I wasn't going to wear it unless I did the race (it's a pride thing). It would be too bad to let a perfectly good t-shirt go to waste, especially when it didn't look as if I'd be getting any more running t-shirts for a while. So I resolved to keep going until I either finished or someone stopped me for being too slow. Instead of stopping me, though, the kayakers encouraged and cheered me on. They were wonderful! I even passed someone--although he soon caught and passed me again. Even so, it at least reminded me that I wasn't alone out there. After a while, I realized I was enjoying the swim--it was a gorgeous sunny, warm day, and the water felt pleasant--it was a lot more fun than a pool where you keep seeing the same things all the way through your swim. I was getting into it--though I was still happy to be finished... and, it turned out, wasn't even last... second to last... and I've since finished last, although that position doesn't discourage me anymore. I enjoy the outdoors, the variety and surprise of natural water. Whatever my place in any given race, I am grateful to have been able to take part and hope to keep swimming--and running--races.

RE: Your first open water swim?

FindingMyInnerFish — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 10:05:03 GMT

I swam in the open water a number of times before my first swim/race of 10 K. I will tell you I never hurt so bad in my life after swimming that 10 K. My shoulders ached, my back ached and I was beat. I feel asleep in the car a mile from exiting the water, lucky I was not driving. A year later I was successful in swimming from Catalina Island to the California Coast. This was a distance of 21 miles. It hurt, but not as bad as that first 10 K in Horsetooth Res, outside of Fort Collins, CO in 2004. This is very cool! What was your longest open water distance before the 10k race? I can't imagine being able to do a 10k as my first ow swim event!

RE: Your first open water swim?

Former Member — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:17:43 GMT

RE: Your first open water swim?

Animal — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:04:09 GMT

RE: Your first open water swim?

Former Member — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:30:54 GMT

my first one was this year in crystal Lake IL 1mile, it was a small one open for the public. While swimming it I thought why would anyone want to do this for fun. Thought for sure I was dead last, because I could not swim free style the whole way. Then I got out of the water and there was a whole bunch more people behind me. So I decided to do more and join masters since the I did 2 more.Now am training to do a 10k.I had no formal training as a kid. Never would have thought in a million years that I would be doing this. But now it will always be a part of my life.

RE: Your first open water swim?

Former Member — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:13:36 GMT

I was ten competing at zones in the 200 Freestyle, the only event I made the cut in. My mom and I drove a couple of hours to Miami, Ohio, for the meet and stayed the entire weekend. Because I had the cut in thd 200 I was eligible for the 1/2 mile open water swim. Although I finished close to the bottom of 200 or so swimmers in the 200, I was 5th in the Open Water. I started competing in open water once a year after that, and after my recent graduation from college I became all OW all the time. This time of year really gets me down (Indianapolis=cold winter) and I am counting the days until March when the water reaches 50 degrees again. Read about my upcoming season at mallorymead.com.

RE: Your first open water swim?

ViveBene — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:14:40 GMT

Hi Mallory! Nice to see you here, and a great Web site (great picture, too!). The letters from the kids are funny: "You inspired me to swim in Grandpa's cow pond." I'll look forward to more info on the benefit swim in 2010. Marjorie

RE: Your first open water swim?

TRYM_Swimmer — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:44:26 GMT

First one for distance: Boy Scout Camp Tuckahoe, Central PA foothills, about '57 or '58. One mile, twice across and back, to fill in my swim tag, accompanied by rowboat. Cold mountain lake (man-made, spring filled) Many counselors did it, but had to be persuaded that scouts could do it too. First one for time: Otter Swim Club, UK, June 1978. One mile in River Thames near Windsor (great view of Windsor Castle around the last curve) Very, very cold river!