Strong current against us

RE: Strong current against us

Former Member — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 12:19:25 GMT

So here's the good news: You finished without being pulled. You didn't quit. You conquered the current finally. You learned something about the fun/challenges of OWS. You finished. Was this a point-to-point or laps? If it's laps, then you probably got a nice push on the return. Unless you're a pro, you should go into races with the mindset to compete against yourself and not compare yourself to others. During the race, it's great to try to hunt people down in front of you in order to push yourself, but you have to be aware of your race and your surroundings as best as you can. Currents are tough. You can get stuck in a band, like you did, and have to push through it. 20 feet over from you could be a much easier current that you just missed and didn't know. It's not easy. If the water is clear enough, you may be able to read some of the current by looking at the fish/plant life below and adjusting, but it's really hard. Or think about how close or far away you are from the land mass and think about the fluid dynamics as you get closer to the shoreline - sometimes the current gets worse as you get closer. Again, you finished, you weren't pulled, and you didn't quit. Consider this day a success. The race is a point to point race. I grew up doing competitive sports all the way so I like to compete with others, and because there is so many variables in OWS, the only way to see improvement is to compare with others. I'm definitively not a tough person, but once in a race, I never give up until the cut off time. A DFL is still better than a DNF. However, it is so sad that my idol got the 3th in the AG and I couldn't arrive in time to see the prize giving (it wouldn't wait for everyone due to the venue) even he just started OW 2 months ago and this was his first OW race!

RE: Strong current against us

Former Member — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 06:12:12 GMT

Reminds me of the saying: "What do you call the person who's last in their class in Medical School? Doctor." This was your first OWS, right? Fly and Mr Tyson are right: you finished! You learned some things about open water. Conditions change. Even a well-laid-out course can have a lot of variables. Tides, cold spots, a weather system 700 miles away pushing currents in different directions, plantlife, wildlife. When I swam early this season in a lake, we had an odd current from the fact that that lake is an impounded river flowing toward a spillway. Two ocean swims were unexpectedly colder than anticipated. (The organizers learned some things from that, too). Another swim was first rerouted due to shark activity, and THEN changed venues entirely due to an incoming hurricane! But people still signed up and swam and challenged themselves. Like Fly said, and one of my friends pointed out, a few feet in either direction can change conditions and distance. It just happens, which is part of the fun of open water. Go out, swim more, try another race and see what happens.

RE: Strong current against us

flystorms — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 10:22:07 GMT

RE: Strong current against us

mjtyson — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 01:50:05 GMT

Everything fly says above. You finished. You didn't get pulled. You've mentioned before you have so few races near you, you shouldn't say "I wouldn't signed up at the first place." My God, even if you don't finish, it's experience you're getting. Just because on this day of the lunar month you had strong currents doesn't mean sh!t for next year. And next year you might be stronger. Hell, you were strong enough this year! So what if you had to swim hard for an hour?! Sometimes you gotta do that. I failed a 5K (a 5k!) last year due to currents. It was a loop course, requiring 5 if I remember correctly, and the current was brutal when swimming against it. But so what. I still swam hard and kept swimming, it turned out, even after they tried to pull me. (I didn't realize that's what they were telling me!) Tough love follows: Stop your whining and just swim. You succeeded. Be happy.