MAPS is Meditation, Acclimatization, Practice, and Strategy, which are key for giving you the confidence and skills to execute the open-water swim in a triathlon well.
I learned in this race that in order to finish the swim, you have to know where you are going. And in order to know where you are going, you have to learn to sight.
Stroke after stroke, my pace was pulling me out into the middle of the lake quickly. The cover seemed to be getting thicker. But still in the distance, the little boathouse was my lighthouse.
"I was talking to this guy I work with who's son does tri's and he says that fish and sharks "NIP" at you while you are swimming." Okay so now I am freaked out.