Active Community: Message List - Sprint to Olympic/pool to open water

Re: Sprint to Olympic/pool to open water

swemds7 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:15:58 GMT

There is a little more fatigue and strain, at least for me it seemed like it. There is a training/seminar this Sat., 8/9, I believe at 9 am at Lake Arrowhead village. I don't know if the tri is sold out, but it might be worth to check it out. The course is hilly, especially the bike. It is stated that there is a 900 ft change in elevation. There is one hill that is steep, and three others that are a steady incline. The one place to watch is a downhill. Hope this helps.

P.S. The race is Sat 8/16. If you go up for the training/seminar, be sure to take your bike because they will take you on the course. Also, last year, we had a chance to jump in the lake at the resort. Good luck if you do.

Re: Sprint to Olympic/pool to open water

harridge — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:11:24 GMT

I had heard of the Scott Tinley and was thinking of doing this event so thanks for the input. I hadn't heard of the San Jose International, I will look into it, thanks

Re: Sprint to Olympic/pool to open water

mcoop — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 04:55:30 GMT

Tri-California Events puts on the "Scott Tinley's adventures" in your neck of the woods - http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/Tinley2008-main.htm. They have an open water sprint distance. I did the Wildflower as my first Olympic and it was a great scene, but the San Jose International is smaller and you'll have less of a crowd to deal with.

Re: Sprint to Olympic/pool to open water

harridge — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:16:32 GMT

Thanks for the input. How was the Lake Arrowhead Tri? Did the altitude get to you? I did see that tri listed and thought it may be interesting but I was concerned about the altitude.

Re: Sprint to Olympic/pool to open water

swemds7 — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:10:05 GMT

The transition to open water swimming can be a difficult one. I started racing in sprints last year, where most of the swims were in the pool. I then did a couple sprints with open water, a 600 yd swim at Lake Arrowhead, then a 500 m swim in Mission Bay. As you stated, it is easier to start to the side or back of the pack. There is a mass hysteria towards the center and front. I completed my first Olympic tri this year at Lake Perris. It is quite a different experience, the first 300 m is packed and you have to be prepared for people swimming into you. As this is only my second year, I thought the transition from sprint open water tri's to olympic open water helped my comfort level. Hope this helps.

Re: Sprint to Olympic/pool to open water

harridge — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 05:33:02 GMT

Thanks for the response, I had heard of the folks that want to win every race they are in, even though they have no chance of doing this. The fact is I know I am not going to win and I would like to finish without drowning and feeling good about my time. If that means starting on the outside of the group or letting a few people go before me then so be it. I would rather have fun and pass the slow ones that would have tried to drown me if I started in front of them. Thanks for the input. All thoughts are appreciated and definately taken to heart.

Re: Sprint to Olympic/pool to open water

John Monaghan — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:45:57 GMT

Congrats on the progress! I'm in the midwest so I can't give you any advice on which ones to go for, but just wanted to mention a few problems I ran into when I switched to open water. The biggest problems were visibility and over crowding. Open water is kind of a misleading term. Its often really murky and full of disoriented people who all to easy try to swim right over the top of you. Oh the joys of open water!

Sprint to Olympic/pool to open water

harridge — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 06:10:34 GMT

I have completed a couple of sprint Tri's in a pool and would like to up the mileage a little. I have never done an Olympic length tri and would like to do one in the open water. I live in the Santa Barbara area and would like suggestions on a good Open water tri, preferably fresh water. Any thoughts?