Hello, I'm new here and I'm rly curious about your reasons, motivations to do open water swimming? For me, it's just like any other sport. Do you have any interesting story about this??
Up until this past Tuesday, I was first and foremost a runner...for the past 47 years. I had to retire from running due to knee issues. Had surgery 1.5 years ago an never got it all back. About 15 years ago I started swimming so I could do tris. I really enjoyed the open water swims. Now that I can no longer run, I have turned my attention to swimming. I did my first three 5K's last summer and plan to do a 4.5 mile river swim next month. It's a great workout and pain free on the knee. I'm swimming faster now at 61 than I did when I was 40.
I like several things, the most of which is beautiful, warm, tropical water and the vacations that come with it. I love the strategy needed to be competitive, from feeds to navigation to pacing. It’s feeling one with nature. It’s getting out of your own mind
I like several things, the most of which is beautiful, warm, tropical water and the vacations that come with it. I love the strategy needed to be competitive, from feeds to navigation to pacing. It’s feeling one with nature. It’s getting out of your own mind
I do OWS because there are no walls and barriers such that I can swim continuously without breaking my rhythm.
Also, I love to meditate in open water - floating and sinking far out in a calm sea with clear water and where I can't see the bottom, with no one else and no traffic around, getting the feeling of weightlessness.
However, the beautiful warm tropical water and the vacations there you are describing is actually a torture for me. My swimming mood won't work well in warm water (i.e. non wetsuit legal temperature) and I feel tired very easily when the water is too warm, i.e. temperature in the eighties.
Instead, I love beautiful clear water which is cool enough such that I can swim hours without getting overheated , like temperature in the sixties.
I love the no walls. I love the no chlorine. I race ("race") because I love the jostling of the start and I love pushing myself to see how far or fast I can go. I also love the people that do marathon swimming. So nice and supportive.
I like lakes. I mean, the personal relationships I have with a number of lakes is closer and more rewarding than most of my interpersonal relations.
So, it's nice to visit my old-friend-lakes and make new-friend-lakes with a bunch of people. Sometimes they give me ribbons for being in my age group and finishing.
