Hello,
I am new to the forum and have been quietly looking through old threads to see if I could find a similar question. I am signed up to swim the 1.2 mile tiki swim in Oceanside California this weekend. I was supposed to compete in several other events throughout the competition season, but old sports injuries kept reappearing. I am healthy and am now trying to decide if it's a good idea to do the swim. I completed the same swim last year in about 50 minutes and 4-5 other swims of the same distance. The thing is I have not been consistent with my training swims. I can do 1500m nonstop in the pool without problems and have been training for law enforcement tests with running, sprinting and weight training, all of which have been consistent. Part of me thinks that the 1.2 is ultimately more a mental feat, simply because it has been a while since I have been in ow, rather than a physical one and I will be fine. The other part feels like I should skip the swim even though it is one of my favorites. I am torn. Any one have similar experiences or any suggestions?
-Shannon
I once did Big Shoulders in Chicago (5K always swum in September) after having most of my summer training precluded by work schedules, etc. I knew I was out of shape and wouldn't swim it as well as I had in the past, but ultimately I decided to go just to swim it, enjoy it, and finish it. I did. Slowest time of all of my swims at that event, but I did have fun. Turned out, finishing it wasn't as much as a challenge as I'd thought it would be.
An ocean swim is a little more demanding in water conditions, but it's really about if you feel comfortable swimming in that water maybe for an hour this time instead of 50 minutes. And then what is your 'out' if you get in and decide not to finish? If that's doable, I say go for it. Let the pack take off and enjoy yourself. The worst day swimming in open water is still better than the best day swimming in a pool.
I once did Big Shoulders in Chicago (5K always swum in September) after having most of my summer training precluded by work schedules, etc. I knew I was out of shape and wouldn't swim it as well as I had in the past, but ultimately I decided to go just to swim it, enjoy it, and finish it. I did. Slowest time of all of my swims at that event, but I did have fun. Turned out, finishing it wasn't as much as a challenge as I'd thought it would be.
An ocean swim is a little more demanding in water conditions, but it's really about if you feel comfortable swimming in that water maybe for an hour this time instead of 50 minutes. And then what is your 'out' if you get in and decide not to finish? If that's doable, I say go for it. Let the pack take off and enjoy yourself. The worst day swimming in open water is still better than the best day swimming in a pool.
