I am new to open water but have swum in pool since i could breathe, i am looking for someone to help get my started with the training for a 6 mile race in april. I find it motivates me more to know there is someone there, plus im really bad at making workouts.
any advice would be great
thanks
meg
Meg,
I noticed your location is Fort Collins. Fort Collins, Colorado is host to one of the nations longest running masters marathon swims; the Horestooth 10K http://www.horsetoothswim.com/ They have a very solid and dedicated open water swimming community including several successful English Channel crossers. If you’re on Facebook (FB) I suggest looking up and liking the Horsetooth swim FB page, you can post your need for a swim partner there. Second, if you want to friend me on FB, I can add you to a Colorado based open water swimming group called Colorado Represents Open Water Swimming or CROWS that includes folks from the Ft Collins area, again you can seek out swim partners and or coaching on that page.
What swim are you planning on doing?
For the bulk of your training, joining a Masters team is your best bet. Even though you're training for open water, you'll probably find that the pool is the most effective place to do most of your training.
These are some ideas for finding open water swimming buddies:
--You might be able to find a Masters group that has an emphasis on open water swimming. Even if it's not convenient for you to work out with that group on a regular basis, you could still make some contacts.
--Your local triathlon community is a good resource. Stop into a local triathlon shop and ask about how to connect with training groups, teams, or coaches that organize group swims.
--Join the Marathon Swimmers Form (www.marathonswimmers.org/.../discussions) and post a thread asking for swim buddies in your area.
