First OW swim experience (& "Test tri")

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2005-09-06 6:43 PM

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Subject: First OW swim experience (& "Test tri")
Although I have been able to swim a 750 yards in the pool , based on a lot of input , headed out to Shadow Creek (the location for the event , too) for an OW swim and swam in the lane lines with just a tri-shorts on ... no wetsuit.

Was an eye-opener ... the initial feeling of depth (for the last 5 years my swimming -when it did occur- has been restricted to a 5ft pool ) , then the realization of how long the 150yard lane line looked and finally , the murkiness/plant life on the lake bed . Probably panicked a few times but remembering all the good advice here on the forums ... just breastroked to regain confidence .

Eventually , my problem was that with freestyle , I would end up hitting the ropes since I don't swim straight So , I ended up doing 4 lengths with a mixture of strokes with the realization that I need to have more focus on my OW swims .

Here are some questions I have:
1) Is this feeling of my 1st OW experience reasonable or should I have been able to deal with this much better ?
2) Given that I have less than 2 weeks left for my tri and probably at the most 2-3 OW possibilities , should I rely on breaststroke only or should I try and freestyle and get it to work ?
3) Any quick tips on sighting when I'm on freestyle , keeping in mind that I can't breathe bilaterally
4) I did swim at around 8:30 am or so and the water was tolerable , but since my TRI will start at 7 am , should I go with the wetsuit or should I try to wing it on my trishorts ? Am trying to keep the costs to a minimum

Appreciate any and all input


2005-09-06 9:37 PM
in reply to: #241707

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Subject: RE: First OW swim experience (& "Test tri")
First off don't sweat it. You are at least one step up on most first timers in that you attempted an open water swim before your first race. You get a chance to get all the heebee geebees out of your system and come to grips with the fact that you won't have a wall to grab every 25 yards. My first couple openwater swims I couldn't breath properly because the shock of the cold water (alot colder than the nice warm indoor pool I trained in) on my face caused me to hyperventalate. I had to swim about half the leg face out of the water before I finally adjusted. I'd reccommend trying to stick with freestyle but if you need a break don't hessitate to switch to breststroke (or even a backstroke) to gather yourself and to sight. With a bunch of other folks in the water and a lane line, I'd just try and keep an eye on the line each time you breathe and judge your drift off that. Plus you can also sight off the swim caps around you. Just every once in a while pop up and look forward. I can't swim perfectly straight in open water or breathe bilaterally either, so you just have to stay calm and adjust to things as they come. Finally, there is no need to buy a wetsuit until your are sure you are going to get your money's worth out of it. I have done 14 tris in water as cold as 58 degrees without a wetsuit. I will buy a wetsuit before my next cold water race, but if the water is reasonable you can certainly get by without one.
2005-09-06 9:49 PM
in reply to: #241707

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Subject: RE: First OW swim experience (& "Test tri")
Just keep repeating "I am a spandex GOD!"...works for me.

Incidentally...learn to breathe bilaterally as soon as you can. It will help you go in a straight line because it helps develop balanced muscles in your back/shoulder/arm area. Do you tend to track to your breathing side? This is an issue for another race though...too close to race day to change it.
2005-09-06 9:54 PM
in reply to: #241707

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Subject: RE: First OW swim experience (& "Test tri")
I still breathe to my left side only...every 6-10 strokes I will quickly pull my head up to sight...I have learned to keep it straight. Although, I spend some time during each training session to breathe on both sides...my neck and shoulders hurt (from the bike as well). Relax and breathe out completely while your face is in the water. Goodl uck
2005-09-06 10:02 PM
in reply to: #241707

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Subject: RE: First OW swim experience (& "Test tri")
Chances are your next open water swims will quickly get you comfortable...the first one is just an eye opening experience, then you get used to it......Why not mix up free style and breaststroke, use latter as fall back to regain breathing and sight? The water temps wont change much during the day so stick w/ shorts if it's working for you, save your money.
2005-09-07 12:38 AM
in reply to: #241707

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Subject: RE: First OW swim experience (& "Test tri")
I'd also recomend against the ALL breast stroke idea... that seemed like a good idea to me in my first tri and my inner thys/groin area felt a little funny after that ... unless maybe you train breast stroke a lot ?

2005-09-07 7:46 AM
in reply to: #241707

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Subject: RE: First OW swim experience (& "Test tri")
I want to repeat what some have said - any open water experience is better than none. Most pools in my area have closed for cleaning, forcing me to do more open waters in the past couple of weeks. I am focusing on improvement at this point, not necessarily times. Things like coping with waves, trying to swim straight, and not turning every 25 yards have been difficult to get over. You rock for trying it, and keep it up.

Just to share - I'm also irrationally grossed out by everything in the lake - fish freak me out, the seaweed stuff is gross, and the lack of chlorination is difficult for me to get used to. Like I said above - each time gets easier, and I know that for my first tri on Sept 11, I will be so much stronger.
2005-09-07 1:07 PM
in reply to: #241831

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Subject: RE: First OW swim experience (& "Test tri")
phoenixazul - 2005-09-06 6:49 PMJust keep repeating "I am a spandex GOD!"...works for me.Incidentally...learn to breathe bilaterally as soon as you can. It will help you go in a straight line because it helps develop balanced muscles in your back/shoulder/arm area. Do you tend to track to your breathing side? This is an issue for another race though...too close to race day to change it.


Yes ... absolutely correct
I do tend to track to my breathing side i.e. right ... are there any simple drills for me to start/try bilateral breathing ?
Although my event is < 2 weeks away , am willing to give bilateral breathing a shot , if it will help me stay straight .

Also, as a clarification , I do default to breaststroke since I have max. comfort zone with this stroke . But yeah , given all the input , I think I will push on and see if I can get at least another OW experience and try and freestyle more than breaststroke .

Thanks a lot for the advice/encouragement.
2005-09-07 1:16 PM
in reply to: #241707

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Subject: RE: First OW swim experience (& "Test tri")
I also have the problem of not swimming straight, I worked on practing sighting, so that instead of breathing on my side every few strokes i would look straight up and breath. it may not be the best solution, but once i got a rhythem down it didn't seem to awkward.. good luck
2005-09-07 2:12 PM
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Subject: RE: First OW swim experience (& "Test tri")
A funny story plus a comment/question.

1) I am doing my first Olympic distance tri on Saturday and have been swimming in Lake Michigan this summer sporadically. The first OW swim I attempted I forgot my goggles. So there I was making 90 degree turns without knowing it. I called my friend who got me into all of this and told him that I didn't think triathlons were such a good idea for me because not only could I not swim straight I was heading totally different directions. Well, the second time I remembered my goggles and I was really excited to find out that while not perfect I could swim relatively straight. The point is that if you jump in the OW a few more times you will be fine.

2) I have the same wetsuit question as you. Trying to keep the cost down, I found a store that rented wetsuits and used one for the first time this morning. I found that I could swim a lot faster but the tightness made me really short of breath. I have been swimming up to a mile and a half in a pool and I had to keep stopping to catch my breath this morning. So now I am quite confused about whether to wear the wetsuit or not? Perhaps this experience and somebody's answer might help you too?
2005-09-07 10:32 PM
in reply to: #242155

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Subject: RE: First OW swim experience (& "Test tri")
sachinh - 2005-09-07 2:07 PM

phoenixazul - 2005-09-06 6:49 PMJust keep repeating "I am a spandex GOD!"...works for me.Incidentally...learn to breathe bilaterally as soon as you can. It will help you go in a straight line because it helps develop balanced muscles in your back/shoulder/arm area. Do you tend to track to your breathing side? This is an issue for another race though...too close to race day to change it.


Yes ... absolutely correct
I do tend to track to my breathing side i.e. right ... are there any simple drills for me to start/try bilateral breathing ?
Although my event is < 2 weeks away , am willing to give bilateral breathing a shot , if it will help me stay straight .

Also, as a clarification , I do default to breaststroke since I have max. comfort zone with this stroke . But yeah , given all the input , I think I will push on and see if I can get at least another OW experience and try and freestyle more than breaststroke .

Thanks a lot for the advice/encouragement.


I'm assuming you have a regular breathing pattern that's an even number? 1,2,4 strokes and breathe? The easiest thing to do is to take a day and focus on switching up your breath pattern. Do 100 yrds meters, whatever, breathing every stroke. Then try it every 2, then every 3, then every , then every 5. I'd assume that 5 is the max you'd be apt to go. 3 is a pretty nice mean number...one that a lot of swimmers use. The issue is breaking out of your comfortable pattern because it is that..comfortable. You have the muscles trained to respond automatically to swimming in that way. So don't get frustrated if you feel all sorts of crazy breathing to both sides or if you don't go anywhere. Just remember to reach in front of your shoulders, not across, because while you want to get your face out of the water, you don't want to be rolling around like a ship in the ocean. It just takes a while to develop the fine muscle memory in your core and your shoulders and arms that will let you do it well. Good luck!!


2005-09-09 5:43 PM
in reply to: #242471

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Subject: RE: First OW swim experience (& "Test tri")
phoenixazul - 2005-09-07 7:32 PMI'm assuming you have a regular breathing pattern that's an even number? 1,2,4 strokes and breathe? The easiest thing to do is to take a day and focus on switching up your breath pattern. Do 100 yrds meters, whatever, breathing every stroke. Then try it every 2, then every 3, then every , then every 5. I'd assume that 5 is the max you'd be apt to go. 3 is a pretty nice mean number...one that a lot of swimmers use. The issue is breaking out of your comfortable pattern because it is that..comfortable. You have the muscles trained to respond automatically to swimming in that way. So don't get frustrated if you feel all sorts of crazy breathing to both sides or if you don't go anywhere. Just remember to reach in front of your shoulders, not across, because while you want to get your face out of the water, you don't want to be rolling around like a ship in the ocean. It just takes a while to develop the fine muscle memory in your core and your shoulders and arms that will let you do it well. Good luck!!


Thanks for the advice on the bilateral breathing technique . It seems very doable given a bit more time ... but hey , I did say I'm willing to give it a shot , right
Me and my impractical ideas ... unfortunately with my tri coming up next w/e , I doubt if I have the time but thanks a lot for the info.

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