First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

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dave.macluskie

299 posts since
Nov 1, 2007

Jun 2, 2007 3:04 PM

First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

I got down to the York river (VA) today to try out the whole open water swimming thing before my first tri on 10 June. Talk about a slap in the face!

The river is a lovely shade of brown-green and is a tasty mix of brakish water and something resembling petroleum. The water was calm at 8am. No noticeably strong current or undertoe.

My brother was kind enough to bring one of his jet ski's out to keep an eye on me. I entered from the "beach" and was pleasantly surprised that the water temps, although a shock at first, were perfectly comfortable once you got wet. I wore my full tri-suit, goggles and swim cap, to simulate race day. No wet suit.

My first few strokes resembled a dog paddle. Then I sucked it up and put my head in for some real strokes. My initial breathe-every-chance slow changed to every 4, and a few bilateral. The green water is dense enough that I couldn't see my hands. Not a confidence builder!

Then I stopped. I wanted to tread water out in the deep to practice any of a number scenarios (kicked in the head, goggle recovery, etc). I quickly decided I didn't like treading water and moved into a breast stroke, then back to crawl.

It's about this time panic set in. I'm out in water of unknown depth, I can't see well, the sun is glaring off the ripples, I can see shore but it's way over there. I don't feel my crawl is moving me anywhere because I'm far enough away from everything that I have no sense of motion.

I wave my brother over and took a breather hanging onto the jet ski. It was very distressing and humiliating for me. I felt I didn't man up to my own challenge, and that's rare for me. I dislike failure and that's what today felt like, especially as I sat on the beach and stared at the ripples. I'm somewhat over the feeling now and have an additional OW swim planned before the 10th.

On the plus side, I'm glad I didn't experience it on race day. I'm sure I went too fast. I do that in the pool too the first few 100. I get winded and can't recover without resting. There is no resting in open water!

I need to start out slow and take it calm. I'm hoping the sheer number of people in the race (likely 400+) will be a calming factor as well. I mean, they're all out here doing it!

Pluses:
+ got it over with. I know what it's like. No more unknowns.
+ water didn't taste as bad as I thought
+ no creepy seaweed
+ no critters
+ sandy bottom from what I could touch
+ nice water temps

Minuses:
- panic!
- too fast and got winded, leading to panic.
- gotta keep moving. More swimming, less thinking.
- stroke went all to **** given all the above minuses.
- didn't come close to swimming the distance in OW (which I do easily in the pool). I doubt I got more than a few 100meters! Maybe even less.

JenSC

55 posts since
May 17, 2007

1. Jun 2, 2007 3:42 PM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

Try not to be so hard on yourself. This is the first time you've attempted open water and that's a very natural reaction. You swam some, got used to it, and didn't freak out. That's a great first step. Like learning anything - gotta take those small steps which lead to bigger ones. Good job and next time will be even easier.

Jen in SC

triandstopme044

1,454 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

2. Jun 2, 2007 3:59 PM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

Definitely give yourself points for getting out there! OW swimming is a VERY different animal pool swimming. There are so many factors to get used to. It's normal for the brain to want to "freak out" a bit in these conditions. Get out there a few more times and you'll be fine.

I'm still going through this process myself. Tri swims where I live are mostly ocean swims and getting through the break is going to take practice on my part. My first time out with my tri club was pretty similar to your outing. Maybe even worse. I did fine diving under the waves (trying hard to ignore they were 4-6 feet in height). But when it got time to put my face in the water and swim, I'd put my head down, and it'd pop right back out. This happened again and again. And even though I felt calm, I clearly wasn't since I couldn't catch my breath. I've come to realize it was probably a combo of zero visibility and really cold water. But it was totally confounding since 99% of me was totally jazzed to be out there doing this thing I'd wanted to do for so long. That other one percent (probably born of my Midwestern roots) thought it was an incredibly bad idea. That one percent was really powerful. And I don't feel like I can count that as my first OW swim, since no real swimming was done.

My current plan has me swimming in a more protected area, so I can get used to everything but the waves before having to learn to get through the break. It's a process. But the more we get out there and achieve in small wins, the better we'll get.

And just think... not many people would even TRY what you did today. So you're already ahead of the game! Give yourself credit for each little win and you'll continue to propel yourself forward.

mbannon

1,814 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

3. Jun 2, 2007 4:05 PM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

This is why everyone tells newbies to do at least one OW swim before their first triathlon. It really is a different sport. Good job for getting out there!

And don't worry too much - somehow when you get out there with a hundred other athletes it doesn't seem nearly as bad.

------------------
Running To My Future
Me[/URL" target="_blank"> and My Log[/URL" target="_blank">
The Newbie Wiki[/URL" target="_blank">

Dougie Fresh037

600 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

4. Jun 2, 2007 8:43 PM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

Your experience is like every OW swim I've done in the past two years. I hate that sense of going nowhere because you have nothing like swim lines, walls, etc. to relate your speed to when in fact you're going way to fast and completely burnout.

BTW, don't for a minute think you need to freestyle the whole thing. Don't be afraid of switching to another stroke where your head is out of the water the whole time so you can breathe normal and sight. You might get there slower (perhaps) but you'll get there and it'll be all done. You can rest in open water doing the sidestroke or easy breast stroke and if you have to there is no penalty for grabbing a kayak or buoy as long as you aren't assisted in moving forward. No worries.

Knowing this is how I've gotten through two triathlon swims when both times any chance of doing freestyle went out the window in the first minute.

Good luck!

RunBobaluRun

393 posts since
Dec 1, 2004

5. Jun 2, 2007 9:38 PM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

On race day, you will be a pro. You will have hundreds of people around you and will be pretty busy thinking about your swimming than to worry about depth or how far the shore is.

Knockem dead!

Bob

------------------
Run, bike, swim, lift, but not necessarily in that order.
Bob
My User Profile[/URL" target="_blank">

Kymber028

136 posts since
Jul 19, 2006

6. Jun 2, 2007 10:09 PM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

You did it!!! Yay you!!! Next time will be easier

dave.macluskie

299 posts since
Nov 1, 2007

7. Jun 3, 2007 7:18 AM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

Thanks for the word of encouragement all. I feel better about it after a night's sleep. I was a little restless replaying the day over and over in my head. Positive visualization! Thanks

Boggsmsg

425 posts since
Dec 12, 2007

8. Jun 3, 2007 8:02 AM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

Hey Mobius, good job getting out there and getting a feel for it. Now you know what to expect on race day. Although on race day it won't freak you out as much, I promise. The fact that you can't see your hands won't bother you when you have lots of other people around you in the water.

I can completely relate though. I just recently moved back to VA from Miami where the water is so clear you can see ripples in the sand at 30+ feet deep. There I liked being able to see the critters in the water during training swims. During a race though, the critters are gone. They have no desire to come in contact with a few hundred humans thrashing about.

I'm also doing the Yorktown Sprint next weekend. My parents live on a river in Gloucester, so on Mother's Day I jumped in the river and swam out to the point and back. My BIL was swimming next to me, thank heavens, because for a minute I got that panicky feeling. But I just remembered that I'm a much faster swimmer (and will be done sooner) when I calm down and keep my form.

Since you know you tend to go out too fast, I highly suggest doing a warmup before the race start. I never used to do a warmup because I dreaded the swim so much, but then I learned that if I do one, I'm calmer at the race start.

Good luck next week, perhaps we'll meet up.

dave.macluskie

299 posts since
Nov 1, 2007

9. Jun 3, 2007 9:00 AM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

I'd love to meet you Boggs. I'll post a race number when I get one Saturday. Not sure how else to do that.

Boggsmsg

425 posts since
Dec 12, 2007

10. Jun 4, 2007 7:04 AM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

We'll figure something out. I'm coming down from Northern VA Saturday. I'll probably go down and swim in the York and then drive the bike course before heading over to packet pickup.

On race day I'll be wearing a red and black tri top with a big "EF" on the front. But it's a team top, so I'm sure there will be lots of others out there.

LeftRightRepeat

1,618 posts since
Aug 16, 2007

11. Jun 4, 2007 7:32 AM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

It gets easier every time you get in - the worst one is over. Way to stick it out!!!

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->>> John[/URL" target="_blank"> <<<-
Go write something in the Newbie Wiki[/URL" target="_blank">!!

amyf001

7 posts since
Jan 31, 2007

12. Jun 4, 2007 2:02 PM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

Hey, Mobius, you did much better than I did on my first OW swim. I went to our town pond, set up all my stuff on the beach, adjusted my googles, strode confidently into the water, and dove straight in. I must have looked like something from a Bugs Bunny cartoon - I am sure that I shot straight up out of the water, and ran back across it to the shore! Yick, yick - the water is murky, I can't see anything and worst of all... something slimy touched my foot! I sat on the beach, feeling like a wuss and a failure. How can I possibly do this triathlon thing? After about 5 minutes of this, I got up and headed back into the water. I managed about 4 strokes before I had a repeat exit onto the beach. After some more self-talk, I headed back in and got through about 10 stokes before freaking out. I decided that was enough for one day and headed home.

The next time I did the OW swim, it was better. And it kept getting better. But the first OW swim of each season is always a bit of a freak out. You just have to get it out of the way, and move on.

Sammie_Girl

84 posts since
Nov 14, 2007

13. Jun 4, 2007 3:06 PM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

Mobius - Within the next month, I am going to have to brave the same thing, I will make sure I post it so you can sit back and say 'Thank goodness I don't have to do that again!'
Frankly, I am scared to death, but I know I have to do it!

Good job!

------------------
-Sammie
My User Profile[/URL" target="_blank">

ussoccer

1,748 posts since
Dec 11, 2007

14. Jun 4, 2007 3:19 PM

in response to: dave.macluskie

Re: First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

Way to get it done, Mobius. It will get easier with each time you get in. Just be sure to remember to slow do, take deep breathes, and think positive, because you can and will do this, but you have to believe it, because your fears will try to tear you down. Tell them to fook off. And do it. That's all there is to it.

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Jun 2, 2007 3:04 PM

First OW Swim - not my finest hour (minutes)

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