Hi All,
After my second bail out in as many swim attempts, ( Kingdom swim 10miler and Lake Seymour double-loop 3.5 mi) I'm beginning to get frustrated with my weakness or fear of swimming through what I would call extreme chop. I completed some long serious swims in the past, ( the 10 miler last year and Lake Champlain in 2008) But I'm beginning to lose confidence in scary water. Any advice?:badday:
Parents
Former Member
Hi Pattie,
You have accomplished some great feats in open water swimming and you should be proud of that, for sure. I know we all want a perfect record, but sometimes you have to trust your instinct and listen to your body. One thing that has helped me in choppy water is just spending time in the ocean when no one sane would go in. I grew up being dragged to hurricane swells in the Atlantic Ocean by my surfer brother. I was just a kid and should have feared those circumstances more than I did, but I just went into survival mode and created a game for myself. It was like swimming in an unpredictable wave pool. If you have the opportunity to get in any body of water under poor weather conditions, don't do a structured swim and set no expectations for distance. Just swim around in the water and get used to that chop throwing your body around. That way, when it comes to competition day, you'll have much less anxiety about not only having to swim in chop but also finish the distance and get a competitive time and all those other pressures that we all put on ourselves. Another thing I do when I'm nervous about the swim is to identify the confident, strong swimmers during warm-up and stay close to them until you're more comfortable. If you can't find access to open water often enough, have a friend or husband swim in the lane next to you for a portion of your workout and have them splash and kick you. It sounds silly but it works! Good luck in your future swims!
Hi Pattie,
You have accomplished some great feats in open water swimming and you should be proud of that, for sure. I know we all want a perfect record, but sometimes you have to trust your instinct and listen to your body. One thing that has helped me in choppy water is just spending time in the ocean when no one sane would go in. I grew up being dragged to hurricane swells in the Atlantic Ocean by my surfer brother. I was just a kid and should have feared those circumstances more than I did, but I just went into survival mode and created a game for myself. It was like swimming in an unpredictable wave pool. If you have the opportunity to get in any body of water under poor weather conditions, don't do a structured swim and set no expectations for distance. Just swim around in the water and get used to that chop throwing your body around. That way, when it comes to competition day, you'll have much less anxiety about not only having to swim in chop but also finish the distance and get a competitive time and all those other pressures that we all put on ourselves. Another thing I do when I'm nervous about the swim is to identify the confident, strong swimmers during warm-up and stay close to them until you're more comfortable. If you can't find access to open water often enough, have a friend or husband swim in the lane next to you for a portion of your workout and have them splash and kick you. It sounds silly but it works! Good luck in your future swims!
