So, I've signed up for a couple of open-water swims this summer (the total will be 3, once signups open for the 3rd one), and I'm very excited and very nervous, as I haven't done a "race" with other humans in ... like 20-odd years.
I've been diligently working at my endurance and speed for several years after that long hiatus, but the kicker is that my freestyle/front crawl is still quite pear-shaped (I can do 100yds at a steady, not fast pace, and 200yds in a pull-set), and breaststroke is my pick for any kind of distance. Last year I spent a lot of time in the local lake tooling around the periphery of the "adult only" area (About 6 rounds equals 1 mile) making reasonable time, and my warm-up in the pool is a nice 500yd BS. I'm not breaking the lifeguard test requirement of 500yd in 'm not taking 20 minutes like I did when I first got back to swimming either.
Long story short, while I've signed up for 1/2 miles in all of these races (and might even be middle-of-the-pack, judging by other folks' times in past years), I just don't think my freestyle will be up to it. Is it ok to swim breaststroke, as long as I keep knees and feet out of other people's way? I have seen nothing on the race websites forbidding it or requiring a specific stroke, but I wasn't sure if there was a sort of gentlemen's/women's agreement that you just don't do that.
(also, any other advice for my first time in 20ish years "competing" with a bunch of folks would be appreciated. One is a lake swim in early June, two are ocean swims in relatively calm coves later in the summer. They're all in Massachusetts.)
All strokes are legal in open water swims sanctioned by USMS, USA-Swimming, and USA-Triathlon. If your swims are not sanctioned by these organizations, you should check with the meet host/director for clarification.
My chief concern is that you can make the cut-off time for the swim--many swims have them for swimmer safety and to shorten the time that volunteers have to spend in small boats. But I doubt that you will have trouble with 1/2-mile swims, as they're probably short enough not to require cut-off times for these reasons.
My other concern while swimming breaststroke is to protect other swimmers from your wide & powerful kick, so...
--consider using freestyle when in close quarters at the start until you have safe spacing for breaststroke; and
--swing a bit wide when in close quarters around the turns until you have safe spacing.
Best of luck!
All strokes are legal in open water swims sanctioned by USMS, USA-Swimming, and USA-Triathlon. If your swims are not sanctioned by these organizations, you should check with the meet host/director for clarification.
My chief concern is that you can make the cut-off time for the swim--many swims have them for swimmer safety and to shorten the time that volunteers have to spend in small boats. But I doubt that you will have trouble with 1/2-mile swims, as they're probably short enough not to require cut-off times for these reasons.
My other concern while swimming breaststroke is to protect other swimmers from your wide & powerful kick, so...
--consider using freestyle when in close quarters at the start until you have safe spacing for breaststroke; and
--swing a bit wide when in close quarters around the turns until you have safe spacing.
Best of luck!
