Subject: RE: swim/race without gogglesIf swimming in a pool, I prefer to use goggle most of the times, except for a brief period. If the pool is not dirty there is no problem for me without goggles, but most swimming pools are dirty, and in some particular dirty pools my eyes burn immediately upon entering the water without googles. (We are not allowed to use goggles in life-saving training, if the pool is dirty my eyes burn like hell afterwards! )
If swimming in a sea, it depends how clear the water is, and how long I am going to swim. If it is crystal clear, able to see the bottom clearly more than 4 m deep, I don't use goggles if I am doing less than 3 km. My sighting is better without goggles, although I have some shortsightedness, I can still look for my target some distance away, but goggles blur the vision to the extent that I can basically see nothing far away thru them (I suspect it may due to the aging of my goggles and I have just bought a new pair, but I am going to take it out only a few weeks before my next race, see if it helps or hurts, and use it sparingly ). I even open my eyes in sea water to see the feet of my drafting target. I use goggles only if the swim is long (probably 5 km or more ) or the water is of questionable quality.
In mass-start races, I no longer use goggles because of the sighting problem mentioned above, and no chance of goggle mishap without goggles. |