You seasoned open water veterans have any tips for a pool guy who is clueless without walls and a pace clock?
I did 2 miles in a lake with some friends this morning. It was the third time I've done an open water workout. I've also done 3 races (1994, 2008, 2009).
It was unpleasant to have no idea how much farther I had to go. We were turning around at the other side. At one point, I thought the shore looked around 50 yards away but based on stroke count it was 200+.
I knew it was around 700 yards from the last buoy on the way back. I just tried to go as fast as I could maintain, and hope the other side eventually showed up.
I'm sure that other more experienced open water swimmers will weigh in here- but as a newer OW swimmer- I struggled with this very thing until I got my new Garmin 910xt. Having that thing buzz at me every 500 meters (or however you set it) and being able to look at it to see my total distance and determine my turn around point based on how far I want to go for the day has made all of the difference in the world for me.
I'm sure that other more experienced open water swimmers will weigh in here- but as a newer OW swimmer- I struggled with this very thing until I got my new Garmin 910xt. Having that thing buzz at me every 500 meters (or however you set it) and being able to look at it to see my total distance and determine my turn around point based on how far I want to go for the day has made all of the difference in the world for me.
