Did my first ever OWS this evening. Very enjoyable. I've swum in pools all my life, but never went more than a few yards in a lake. So I joined a local Tri club and went to their Tuesday night practice, a 1/2 mile loop around a small, quiet lake. There are no motor boats allowed. I'd say it's a little bit tougher than pool swimming.
It was different. I'm not accustomed to a hundred other arms and legs flailing around me, and I probably went a tad faster than I should have. I may have gotten just a bit carried away with the mass start. In the beginning, it was very muddy and weedy but once away from shore it was OK. There was only a tiny chop from wind, but more from other swimmers, and I had to keep looking forward to stay in line with the buoys. After a couple hundred yards though, I was pretty much alone and on cruise control.
Purist open-water swimmers and swim marathoners tend to look down upon triathletes who always wear wetsuits. The added buoyancy is seen as an unfair competitive advantage. The open-water 5k that I've swum the past couple of years allows people to wear wetsuits if they want but those who do are no longer eligible for awards, which seems like a fair compromise. In triathlons, where nearly everyone is wearing a wetsuit, I suppose those who wear the most expensive suits might also have a competitive advantage, just as those who have the more expensive, lightest weight bikes. I rode a 20-year-old 40-lb Trek hybrid in my first tri (and no wetsuit).
Purist open-water swimmers and swim marathoners tend to look down upon triathletes who always wear wetsuits. The added buoyancy is seen as an unfair competitive advantage. The open-water 5k that I've swum the past couple of years allows people to wear wetsuits if they want but those who do are no longer eligible for awards, which seems like a fair compromise. In triathlons, where nearly everyone is wearing a wetsuit, I suppose those who wear the most expensive suits might also have a competitive advantage, just as those who have the more expensive, lightest weight bikes. I rode a 20-year-old 40-lb Trek hybrid in my first tri (and no wetsuit).
