1st ocean swim "race" advice 250

It's always a good idea to OWS before a race. It's best to find a group to swim with and learn from. Under race conditions, people freak out when they learn they have problems with their goggles, wetsuit, getting bumped, the sun angle, etc. I'd say the bare minimum would be swim the course once or twice if OWS isn't already second nature.

Sounds perfect. Even if you do freak out you could probably dog paddle 250.

This is my first year in triathlons and I did 2 with ocean swims. One had a half mile swim and the other was 1,000 m.

The two biggest take aways for me were to (1) not make a mad dash into the water and (2) sight as much as possible.

In the first tri I did make a mad dash and got winded right away. I had to take it really easy to catch my breath which is unnerving when you're in the ocean. In both events there were not allot of bouys. That and the action of the ocean made sighting a challenge. I had to compromise my swim efficiency (which is already poor) to make sure I stayed reasonably on course.

Also, on the second event I got in the water beforehand to acclimate to the cold so it wasn't a shock. That helped too.

Have a good swim.

Bob

Thanks everyone I might have a go !

I just completed my first two Sprint tris this summer/fall. Both had ocean swims.

I would say if you are comfortable with 1500 you certainly can use a 250 race as a learning experience. Go for it, but understand that there is a learning curve...don't be hard on yourself. Just do it for the experience, and have fun!

If you can do 1500m swim than doing a 250m ocean swim is reasonable. Do go in with any expectations, ocean swims are very dependent on water/weather conditions. You said cold, how cold? In 50°F water temps I've seen FOP swimmers freak out and turn back for shore. Hope you have a wetsuits if its cold.

Are there waves? learning to get through the bash big, you have to put a lot of hard effort in to get through the breakers sometimes. You have a much higher chance of getting water in your goggles going through breakers too. Cold means goggles fog up easier, be prepared to stop and clear them. Remember to use the waves coming back to shore!

A 250m ocean swim is a good place to learn all this stuff.

the water temp i believe is around 58F and the weather conditions look calm but the water maybe quite cold i guess arrive early and get used to it ? 1st swim in the ocean this year . but yes pool recently swam 500-1000 meters ok

everyone is different, at 58°F I'm standing on the beach until the gun goes off.

A friend and I did a tri in may this year, ocean swim with water temp at 57°. We both can swim a HIM swim in about 30 mins, and my friend was a lifeguard on the beach we swam at 20 years ago. When we hit the water, I had a sleeveless wet suit on and I took off with no problems. My friend had a full wetsuit on and could not keep his face in the water to swim until he was more than half way into it.

So I can only tell you what I would do, ands that would be to preserve my core temp and stand on the beach until its time not to.

Good luck

thanks apprciate it

Thanks everyone for your help the weather is looking good for the swim maybe a slight chop but I think the 250 metro swim runs along the shore

Take a line at the side so you have plenty of space and avoid the kicking and just stay relaxed.

It will feel a bit weird at first but don't let it panic you.