Welcome to the tri club!

My first tri, I swam 85% of it backstroke (if not more). I even had a multi Kona-IM talk to me after the race saying, "I saw someone out there thrashing around and I thought it was cool because I could go save them, then, I realized this person was going to swim the whole 1/4 mile backstroke." My face dropped and I said, "Oh, that was me."



You'll panic. Then you'll lift up your head, look around, and realize there are many, many people out there panicking with you. Take it slow. Breathe when you can. Survive the swim. You'll do fine. They say almost nobody swims their first tri all freestyle.

You'll be fine. Like I said, look up, look around, take your time wading in the water. There's no hurry. You have to survive the swim, then you kick butt on the bike/run.

You'll do it.

Totally normal. I know it happened to me in a big way. And you were smart to get in OW before the race. The second time is loads easier, and then they just fade into pure ease. Bring a friend, even if just to watch from the shore.

What kind of yardage do you put in in the pool?

Definitely, you'll be okay! At any supervised open water swim, there are always people to help, and as said, others have had/will have the same issues w/ panic. Just remember you're a strong swimmer ready to take this step up to something more challenging! And it will always feel a little weird the first time, before you get used to it!

I did an ocean swim two years ago having not ever done an ocean race before (I hadn't even taken a swim in the ocean for years!). Hardest part was just getting past the breakers, then I was fine. You will be too! Remember to give us the full report!

I did my first Half IM on Sunday and something similar happened to me. I panicked, my swimming technique seemed lost, and I did not stay on course most of the time when i did freestyle. I breaststroked a lot. When the swim part was almost over, i started to swim decently. During the first 5 min., i spent some time on my back.
I had done one olympic race before and panicked (did breast stroke entirely there), then went into a lake in Germany with friends in July and panicked, too. This was my 3rd OW swim.
I will be writing my RR one of these days for this site.

I don't think I got as nervous as some describe, partly because many of my early swimming lessons were in a bay, so I got used to jellyfish, seaweed, waves, and the rest of it. So even though in my first o.w. swim I had been strictly pool swimming for a while, I at least knew what to expect in terms of conditions. What I had forgotten, though, was how far away things look when you're in the water as opposed to on land or in a boat. Also having to negotiate too much lane traffic in my pool made me more or less used to the craziness of starts--I actually stayed off to the side/back and that wasn't a problem either. Sighting definitely needed work! Still does to some extent, but at least I didn't have that sense of the whole thing being new to me. In the ocean, I had some panic during the beginning through the breakers, and I was going to turn back, but it looked just as scary to go back. Fortunately, an "angel" on a surfboard talked me through the last of the breakers, and once I was past them, it felt like normal swimming.

In retrospect, would I have practiced swimming in the ocean before that first ocean swim? I'm not so sure. I wonder if the panic I'd have felt would have made me change my mind and not do the race. This way I didn't have to face the panic twice! But then maybe I'd have been more comfortable the second time... who knows? After that race, I became less afraid of ocean swimming, though!

ProutyBoy, man do I miss you around here...

If you want more "shared experience," you may remember that my very first Triathlon was a test in staring death in the face and seeing who would blink first. Death blinked. I won. It was that harrowing an experience. I didn't even know how to swim and had innate fear of the water. I won't go into my background, but let me say that none of this was exaggeration. But yet I did it. And so too will you.

And it didn't end there. I had several more cases just like this, even when I was a better swimmer. Having no sensation in my entire body, not even feeling that I was breathing, I still punched on to complete the swim at a very chilly Mooseman swim because I knew failure would derail my dreams of Iron.

And the thing is, we've all been there.

But that only makes you feel better. It doesn't help you. So what can you do...

Know that these demons are in your head. You understand that, but know it. Because you will have to push them aside. You are strong than them, but only if you believe in yourself. Give them an ounce, they'll take a mile. So push those fook'n bee-astards aside and control your own destiny.

That plus, when you get in the water, slow yourself down. Every part of you. Your stroke rate. Your nerves. Your adrenaline. Your feet. Catch your breath and don't lose it. Even if it means you're the last in the water. Then slow -- and I mean slowly -- start working. Know that if they can do it -- they being other athletes -- there's no reason you can't too. Then slowly work up to pace. If at any time you lose breath or feel anxiety coming on, slow down. Slow down. Slow down. Breath. Even if you have to tread water. Breath. Slow down. Then resume. But don't stop for too long. Because that's when self doubt kicks in, and self doubt plays kind to demons, as it leaves the door open for them to come in.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene this year... I wont go into the back story, but know that it was the swim from ****. Conditions sucked badly. Whitecaps and all that. Everybody was panicked. I was too. One piece of advice that really helped me was to keep making forward progress. As long as you have your breathing under control, don't stop moving forward; otherwise self doubt can creap back in. And derail you.

Dude, you can and will do this. Know it.

It's like running your first 20-miler. You had self doubt going in, but you decided you would do it, you decided to trust in yoruself, and you took that step. I don't know about you, but for me I'm glad you did, because I still brag about our 20-miler together. And I'm able to do it because you trusted in yourself.