I did an open water swim over the weekend and drafted for almost the entire race (Donner Lake Swim - 2.7 miles). I'm a good drafter and never touch feet; however, the person surely knew I was there and I wonder if they found me annoying. I'm also having a bit of trouble celebrating my time, feeling like I "cheated" (even knowing that it's perfectly legal and accepted). Maybe a better way of putting it is to say that I'm not sure if I could get that time on my own, and so I don't feel quite the same sense of accomplishment. On the other hand, trying to keep up with my draftee did spur me to swim faster and also kept me more mentally focused than usual, which was nice. So, I guess I am looking for how to sort things out for myself, and curious how others think about it.
I tried some drafting in the 1 mile swim leg of a tri this morning with many of the same problems as AllisonWare described above. Similarly, I like to swim on the outside and tend to drift right (my breathing side). I had moderate success at times drafting for short periods, and it did spur me to swim a little harder to keep up. There were about 800 swimming in a fairly shallow bay with the tide running out and the water got pretty turbid especially in some shallow areas, so it was hard to see anything more than about 2-3 feet away. I agree that makes drafting much harder without becoming annoying. Unfortunately, most of the OW swims in the middle and north Atlantic states are in fairly turbid conditions, including many of the lakes, rivers, bays, and ocean (some lakes are better than others) .
I tried some drafting in the 1 mile swim leg of a tri this morning with many of the same problems as AllisonWare described above. Similarly, I like to swim on the outside and tend to drift right (my breathing side). I had moderate success at times drafting for short periods, and it did spur me to swim a little harder to keep up. There were about 800 swimming in a fairly shallow bay with the tide running out and the water got pretty turbid especially in some shallow areas, so it was hard to see anything more than about 2-3 feet away. I agree that makes drafting much harder without becoming annoying. Unfortunately, most of the OW swims in the middle and north Atlantic states are in fairly turbid conditions, including many of the lakes, rivers, bays, and ocean (some lakes are better than others) .
