I never learned how to and now when I try it makes me very dizzy and is uncomfortable to swim. So I swim *** and back stroke and I'm happy in the pool. BUT, I have been asked by an OW swimmer who why I don't try swimming an OW event. I have the endurance for maybe 1 mile(I swim 2 miles av. per workout), but I would be mortified to be the only *** stroke swimmer. So, are there any OW swimmers out there that don't swim free but still participate in events?
thanks for the feedback!and encouragement!
I was trying to get an idea how practical swimming *** stroke would be in OW.It's one thing to swim in a nice clean pool,with no currents or much interference from other swimmers.From what I've seen, OW swimming is just a lot more agressive and there is a lot of tactic involved.
I don't see any reason why you shouldn't go for it. According to Wikipedia, "Captain Matthew Webb was the first man to swim the English channel (between England and France), in 1875. He used breaststroke, swimming 21.26 miles (34.21 km) in 21 hours and 45 minutes."
en.wikipedia.org/.../History_of_swimming
If it's good enough to cross the Channel ...
Also, don't overestimate the amount of tactics and aggression going on in open water swimming. Yes, starts can be chaotic--they are my least favorite part of open water swimming. But unless you are in a huge swim, the chaos clears out pretty quickly, and if you hang back or go to the sides, you can avoid most of it altogether. You just need to have a good general idea about what your speed will be relative to the pack (i.e., if you aren't really fast, starting at the front of the middle of the pack is a recipe for getting run over). Unless your breaststroke is really fast, I'd start to the back and side.
As far as tactics are concerned, for your first swim I'd say you primarily need to be concerned only with the line you are taking. I once did a swim with a huge cross-current. So, the best approach was actually to swim almost 90 degrees away from the finish for the first quarter of the race. It got me into the center of the current faster and led to a faster swim.
That said, you should start out with something without a lot of current--like a lake swim--though I don't think that current would affect a breaststroker much more than someone swimming freestyle. And, at any event, in my experience, most people at open water races are very welcoming and will be happy to talk to you about the best lines to take.
It can be a lot of fun, no matter what stroke you do!
thanks for the feedback!and encouragement!
I was trying to get an idea how practical swimming *** stroke would be in OW.It's one thing to swim in a nice clean pool,with no currents or much interference from other swimmers.From what I've seen, OW swimming is just a lot more agressive and there is a lot of tactic involved.
I don't see any reason why you shouldn't go for it. According to Wikipedia, "Captain Matthew Webb was the first man to swim the English channel (between England and France), in 1875. He used breaststroke, swimming 21.26 miles (34.21 km) in 21 hours and 45 minutes."
en.wikipedia.org/.../History_of_swimming
If it's good enough to cross the Channel ...
Also, don't overestimate the amount of tactics and aggression going on in open water swimming. Yes, starts can be chaotic--they are my least favorite part of open water swimming. But unless you are in a huge swim, the chaos clears out pretty quickly, and if you hang back or go to the sides, you can avoid most of it altogether. You just need to have a good general idea about what your speed will be relative to the pack (i.e., if you aren't really fast, starting at the front of the middle of the pack is a recipe for getting run over). Unless your breaststroke is really fast, I'd start to the back and side.
As far as tactics are concerned, for your first swim I'd say you primarily need to be concerned only with the line you are taking. I once did a swim with a huge cross-current. So, the best approach was actually to swim almost 90 degrees away from the finish for the first quarter of the race. It got me into the center of the current faster and led to a faster swim.
That said, you should start out with something without a lot of current--like a lake swim--though I don't think that current would affect a breaststroker much more than someone swimming freestyle. And, at any event, in my experience, most people at open water races are very welcoming and will be happy to talk to you about the best lines to take.
It can be a lot of fun, no matter what stroke you do!
