Questions from a newbie

Welcome to the forums! It's good to have another swimmer return to the pod. Hey, I'm 23, in Atlanta, and trying to get into open water swimming, because it seems like fun, it's something new, and because keeping track of how many laps you've swum is hard when you're tired. :P Through middleschool, I was very active in swimming, and did tons of competitions in my region. In highschool I switched to running XC, which I was not as good at, but which had more hot chicks at my school. In college I dropped team sports completely so that I could focus on drinking beer and eating pizza. Now I'm recovering from the weight I gained during undergrad, and swimming was a natural choice since running continues to give me shin problems. In the pool I've been able to swim as much as 3 miles with relative ease (I did 210 lengths of a 25Y pool yesterday, and I feel great today). Obviously, it's the dead of winter right now, so there's probably not a lot going on in the realm of open water swimming. Anyway..... 1. If I want to prepare for a 5K open water swim how far should I swim in a pool? Are the two even comparable? If I were swimming a 5K, I would want to make sure I could swim 5K comfortably in a pool, without stopping, without hydration or food, unless you have those options during your 5K swim. I would then increase that to 6K, because swimming in OW is not an exact science. Swimming 5K in a pool is 5K in a controlled environment. 5K in the wild is unpredictable. I am sorry that I do not have an algorithm for you to use, for example, 5K * 1.25 = the distance you need to swim in a pool to feel confident in OW. I don't know what that "1.25" factor is, and I am sure for each person it varies - if that makes sense. So, over-prepare. You'll be fine. Are the two comparable? Yes and no. Mostly yes as far as conditioning goes. No for the unpredictable factors like distance, current, temperature, mental ability to handle OW, ect. 2. Do I need a wetsuit? Depends on the temperature and what you are comfortable with swimming. My first OW was 74 degrees. I did not have a wetsuit on, while others did. I would wear one if it got below 70, but that's me. There are advantages to a wetsuit besides warmth, like buoyancy. 3. What groups in the Atlanta area do open water swimming? And how soon in the year will people start swimming outside? Not sure on this. I would start by joining your local US Master's team for both information and workout buddies. I am sure someone there would know more. 4. Just how inadvisable is it for an OW newbie to swim alone outdoors? Personally, I would NOT do this, but again, that's me. I am horrible at playing mind games. Sometimes when I run outdoors on trails or in the woods, I think about things like, "What if I ran into a nest of hornets or wasps? Would they sting the hell out of me? Could anyone save me? Would I die out here?" I also do the same thing when swimming, so I tend to only swim with friends when it comes to OW. There is a good post on this forums about OW horror stories, where people tell stories where they get stranded or lost. I prefer to read those stories, not experience them. 5. Do people always swim freestyle in OW races? My ***-stroke is a lot easier for me (I do about half and half when I'm swimming laps at the pool), and almost as fast. Will people look at me funny (or will I be DQ'd) if I switch strokes during an OW race? You can swim whatever stroke you want. I swam some *** stroke to clean my goggles. It felt great as a change of pace for my muscles. Others will tell you to change strokes now and then to help stave off cramps. Check the rules of the OW swim too. Some events have categories that permit fins, kickboards, ect. 6. I'm a little bit intimidated by the notion of going out with some OW group, given that I'm probably not nearly as fast as them and I don't want to hold them up. Should I be training on my own to get faster before I try to join a group, or should I just dive in and see what happens? I started with my local master's team with the goal of OW swimming. I enjoy their company, so I swim regularly with them. I found several swimmers there who do OW and triathlons. Definitely train on your own (I choose to do this in a pool, not OW) to get into shape, and it is easier because you can train on your schedule. Train with your OW group for conditioning and practicing OW technique. I guess that's it for now. Thanks for any tips/advice/answers you've got for someone looking to get started with open water swimming! I hope that helps. Best of luck to you!

Welcome to the forums! It's good to have another swimmer return to the pod. Hey, I'm 23, in Atlanta, and trying to get into open water swimming, because it seems like fun, it's something new, and because keeping track of how many laps you've swum is hard when you're tired. :P Through middleschool, I was very active in swimming, and did tons of competitions in my region. In highschool I switched to running XC, which I was not as good at, but which had more hot chicks at my school. In college I dropped team sports completely so that I could focus on drinking beer and eating pizza. Now I'm recovering from the weight I gained during undergrad, and swimming was a natural choice since running continues to give me shin problems. In the pool I've been able to swim as much as 3 miles with relative ease (I did 210 lengths of a 25Y pool yesterday, and I feel great today). Obviously, it's the dead of winter right now, so there's probably not a lot going on in the realm of open water swimming. Anyway..... 1. If I want to prepare for a 5K open water swim how far should I swim in a pool? Are the two even comparable? If I were swimming a 5K, I would want to make sure I could swim 5K comfortably in a pool, without stopping, without hydration or food, unless you have those options during your 5K swim. I would then increase that to 6K, because swimming in OW is not an exact science. Swimming 5K in a pool is 5K in a controlled environment. 5K in the wild is unpredictable. I am sorry that I do not have an algorithm for you to use, for example, 5K * 1.25 = the distance you need to swim in a pool to feel confident in OW. I don't know what that "1.25" factor is, and I am sure for each person it varies - if that makes sense. So, over-prepare. You'll be fine. Are the two comparable? Yes and no. Mostly yes as far as conditioning goes. No for the unpredictable factors like distance, current, temperature, mental ability to handle OW, ect. 2. Do I need a wetsuit? Depends on the temperature and what you are comfortable with swimming. My first OW was 74 degrees. I did not have a wetsuit on, while others did. I would wear one if it got below 70, but that's me. There are advantages to a wetsuit besides warmth, like buoyancy. 3. What groups in the Atlanta area do open water swimming? And how soon in the year will people start swimming outside? Not sure on this. I would start by joining your local US Master's team for both information and workout buddies. I am sure someone there would know more. 4. Just how inadvisable is it for an OW newbie to swim alone outdoors? Personally, I would NOT do this, but again, that's me. I am horrible at playing mind games. Sometimes when I run outdoors on trails or in the woods, I think about things like, "What if I ran into a nest of hornets or wasps? Would they sting the hell out of me? Could anyone save me? Would I die out here?" I also do the same thing when swimming, so I tend to only swim with friends when it comes to OW. There is a good post on this forums about OW horror stories, where people tell stories where they get stranded or lost. I prefer to read those stories, not experience them. 5. Do people always swim freestyle in OW races? My ***-stroke is a lot easier for me (I do about half and half when I'm swimming laps at the pool), and almost as fast. Will people look at me funny (or will I be DQ'd) if I switch strokes during an OW race? You can swim whatever stroke you want. I swam some *** stroke to clean my goggles. It felt great as a change of pace for my muscles. Others will tell you to change strokes now and then to help stave off cramps. Check the rules of the OW swim too. Some events have categories that permit fins, kickboards, ect. 6. I'm a little bit intimidated by the notion of going out with some OW group, given that I'm probably not nearly as fast as them and I don't want to hold them up. Should I be training on my own to get faster before I try to join a group, or should I just dive in and see what happens? I started with my local master's team with the goal of OW swimming. I enjoy their company, so I swim regularly with them. I found several swimmers there who do OW and triathlons. Definitely train on your own (I choose to do this in a pool, not OW) to get into shape, and it is easier because you can train on your schedule. Train with your OW group for conditioning and practicing OW technique. I guess that's it for now. Thanks for any tips/advice/answers you've got for someone looking to get started with open water swimming! I hope that helps. Best of luck to you!