1st tri done/swim anxiety/help!!

well one simple thing is to delay your start and let the mass move forward. you'll lose a bit of time but
less people to run you over. your start position has a lot to do with how the congestion will reduce.

for me, breathing well and staying calm to keep the heart rate down is key. the fact is most tri swims are chaos.

having good goggles, and sighting for clear water helps a lot.

also if you can get stronger and confident with your swimming in general, that will also help.

Yep, let the crowd go. Ease into it. And if you have the opportunity, go swim in open water several times before your next race. You are not alone in this -- it's extremely common.

The first one always sucks, and the second is always better.

Swim to the right or left of them so you are in space or give them a head start.

Congrats! Look at it this way - you got through it, so you have the grit! It's now about strategy.

I'm a middle of the pack swimmer, but I like to put myself about 3/4 to the back. I'm a slow starter in swimming so I like to let the fishies get ahead of me, but I'm not stuck behind slower swimmers either. Once I get a bit of space I start picking up speed. Like one of the OP the key to a good swim for me is keeping my heart rate down and concentrating on my stroke. So mentally I focus on my own swim and I don't worry about anyone else.

One other thing that helps me mentally is I have a mantra - mine is to keep going forward. This helps me when I do start to feel a bit edgy during the swim. Focus on myself, keep going forward and finish the race!

Ditto on this being a very common reaction. I did the same thing and ultimately swam a HIM, which was my all time favorite most comfortable swim even though we had 3 to 4 foot waves. It is all about being comfortable with the fact that you have prepared the best you can and knowing that you can swim. As for where to start to avoid running into people, unless you are an olympic or very fast swimmer that is almost impossible to avoid. However, what the others have said about starting either at the back, or in my case to the outside of the group, will help a lot.

A very common experience. Happened to me my first race. Never since. There's a lot on BT about how to manage in OWS. I've read a lot of it, and here's what I find helpful:

1. Experience in open water. Get some OWSs and go *further* than your race distance to build your confidence. Try some sprints and then swim while coming back to baseline. Get desensitized to that high heart rate experience so it's not alarming if it happens.

2. Mental preparation/rehearsal. I mentally rehearse what I'm going to be doing in my mind during the entire swim instead of just improvising. Examples include frequency of sighting, "chunking" the course into segments based on landmarks/buoys, a confidence-building image/reminder ("I swam further than this in training. Piece of cake"), a mental routine (e.g., counting strokes, mantra). I've recently started racing with a tempo trainer, and the "beep" provides a convenient focal point that helps distract my mind. I have found that because I feel so prepared mentally, I end up "just swimming" and enjoying it more!

3. Lastly, I rehearse a contingency plan in case I "panic." How I'll calm myself. I visualize panicking and successfully coping.

Get back in the water as soon as possible and race again. Avoiding only gives that anxiety more power in your mind.

Good luck!

All great advice. I experienced exact same issues my first (few) races... In fact first OWS tri I was 5th to last out of water due to issues, same tri 4 years later I'm top 10%. Now that being said, I accept that this thing can and will creep up on me sometimes. Just work on being comfortable and keeping the HR in check. Still if I go too hard at the start of a sprint my HR goes up, I bang around a little and issues can start. Just start farther back, work on staying clear and calm.

One other tip, if you can get a pre-race swim in ALWAYS do so. no more than 10 - 15 minutes before the gun if possible. And during your warm up, do a couple HARD sprints, short and sweet to get the HR up, and let the body feel ready. Then during the race it won't feel as 'shocking'.

Also the good news is the longer race you might utilize a more relaxed / controlled game plan.

I would echo the tips about getting a quick pre-race warm-up swim, hanging back a little at the beginning to let the the chaos get ahead of you, and staying to the outside edges of the pack. I'd also add that it can be helpful to find a "buddy"... as the swim progresses you will likely find someone who is going at about the same pace as you. Swimming beside them or behind them can be helpful as it helps you know where you are in the water more easily that sighting and may reduce the possibility of you banging into someone - it can be a calming/stabilizing effect. Having things to focus on too - breathing, stroke, etc. can help keep you calm as well.