Swimming: Pool vs. Open Water

For me, my first OWS ever came during my first tri.  Mistake.  I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.  Swimming over people, people swimming over me.  Can't see anything.  Have to look forward to sight.  If you can get some experience prior to your race, do it.

That said, now that I'm used to it, my times in the pool are just a bit faster than in open water.  As for your 8:00 400, that just depends.  Different for everyone.  For me, I'd add 20-30 seconds for the open water.

bah..dont worry about how long t takes to complete a distance, unless you have it measured out.

Open water has so many variabes, headwind, tailwind, sidewind... which all = waves. Plus the tempuratures and clarity. Maybe just count strokes when in open water, but if you can find a way to measure off a distance accurately, do it up, but i wouldn't compare them to indoor times. Just go with how you feel, and i agree with getting the experience necessary...it always helps getting some of the elements of surprise out when it comes to your first tri....

Personally i like open water swimming better..... i can push myself harder mentally/physically....and i hate turning around over and over again while indoors, i suck at it.

x2, don't get hung up on estimating your time, just go out and do what feels comfortable.  True story, I did an open water swim in the ocean about 3 years ago, took me 25 minutes to complete.  The next year same triathlon, it took me 11 minutes.  No joke, the current was so strong it literally pulled me the entire way.  I almost missed the final turn because I couldn't believe how fast I hit the last marker, plus the waves were so high I could barely see it.  There's too many variables to say "well, since you do X in the pool, you'll do Y in open water."

 If you can go out and practice a few days before, I'd highly recommend it.  Sighting is a tough task on your first go-round so the more experience you have doing it the easier your swim will be.

Once you do a few open water swims and get comfortable the times, under calm conditions, are comparable. In training for IMWI last year I did a few 4225 yd swims in the pool and they were all between 52:00 and 54:00. My time at IMWI was 53:00 and change. OWS times will also vary by where the timing mat is compared to the end of the swim. At one race I did a 31:00 for a 1.2 mile swim but the timing mat was a couple hundred yards from the water and the water was so shallow that I had to walk the last 100 yds of the swim.

Most pro's will do 90% of their swimming in pools. It's easier to judge your progress and once you're comfortable in OW you really don't need to practice in OW.

On race day?  I don't even call it "the OWS" anymore...  I think "cluster%#*$ works much better.

x10 on getting some OWS before the race.  I managed three OWS before my first tri -- not enough!  (I'm also an inexperienced swimmer, to put it mildly; maybe someone with lots of experience in the pool could make the adjustment more quickly.  But if you're talking about doing 2minute 100s, then I'm guessing you are not super-experienced in the pool either.)

Having said that, you can get some simulated OWS experience in a pool, and I wish I had done more of that.  You can certainly practice lifting your head to sight, and you can swim with your eyes closed to see how straight you can go without that handy line on the bottom of the pool to stare at.