Drewwhite's Mentoring Group - Closed (Page 2)

Jamie, welcome to the group.  You are officially our last member.  I'm going to close the group.  I guess if someone really wants to join I have no qualms, but we've got a nice sized group so far. 

Do you have any specific races in mind for the summer after the tri this Sunday?  If so, what distance and when?

Good luck on Sunday! 

trymoretri - 2007-05-18 3:52 PM My big race each year is Danskin-Austin June 10. It's just a Sprint, but the course is a killer. I really want to beat my 1999 time, but the swim is what keeps dragging me down. I've finally built up swim endurance and some basic form, but the speed isn't there yet. If I can get my speed up for that, I'm playing with the idea of my first Half Iron in November. I did my first Olympic in April at the Lone Star Tri with energy to spare. Just not sure I can fit the HIM training program into my life. For example -- missing the open water swim with my group tonight in favor of my daughter's Pre-K graduation.

I love Olympic distance!  It's a blast.  I hear you on the swim.  I feel like I have a ton of room to improve in my speed in the water. 

Yeah, you'll want to get in a lake before doing the actual race OWS.  I actually like swimming in the open water more than in the pool.  I liken it to running outdoors vs. running on a treadmill.  It's a blast. 

Good luck tomorrow!  

Good luck!!

Sorry, but what is OWS?

Do you have a wetsuit?  If so, I would recommend soaking it in water for a bit before your first swim if you haven't been in it in water yet.  They're very easy to tear when they're bone dry.  However, if you have been in the water with your suit in the past few weeks, you should be fine; wetsuits keep a bit of moisture in them for up to weeks, even after laying them out to dry for a while.

Thanks Derek, that will be the same with me - 25 yard pool to the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay.

Good luck next weekend! 

This is a great question.  If you use a wetsuit in your race, which I recommend if you're swimming in the "open" water (lake, river, ocean), you remove the wetsuit after the swim.  Wearing a wetsuit isn't really too comfortable, and you would definitely ruin the suit if and overheat if you tried to bike and run with it.  Ideally, you're wearing a triathlon suit (tri suit) underneath the wetsuit.  Then, you actually don't need to worry about changing at all.  I have seen some women wear a bathing suit under their wetsuit and then just pull on a pair of shorts in the transition area before hopping on the bike.  The shorter races go by quickly enough to where there's not much time or need for changing.

I did my first OWS of the season early this morning.  I just wanted to leave you guys with a few tips that I remembered when getting back in the water.  I hope you find them helpful.

1. An extension of what I spoke about in a previous post (regarding soaking your wetsuit) would be to soak it a few days in advance in order to let the suit dry enough to make it easy to put on.  This morning, my suit was a bit wet because I had to soak it last night.  It was way too difficult to put on.  Normally, they should just go right on, even with the snug fit.

2. Make sure you know how to breathe out of both sides when swimming.  You're not necessarily going to do bilateral breathing, but depending on the sun, the chop of the water, and the course that you swim, you may be forced to breather from only one side.  You definitely do not want to toe the line at a race where you have to breathe on your "non-breathing" side!

3. Don't panic when you get in the water and can't see your hand when swimming.  Just remember that you have already done the time in the pool.  The only real difference is you can't follow the blue line at the bottom of the lake.

4. Practice sighting in the pool before you go out to the lake. 

5. Have fun out there and go back if your first swim wasn't as great as you hoped it would be.  You'll catch the OWS bug eventually!

Is it necessary to have a wetsuit for an OWS triathlon.  My race is Sept 9 in Annapolis and I was just curious as all of you are talking about wearing a wetsuit for your races - does it depend on time of the year or what type of water you are swimming in, or the length of the swim?

 Oh and what is "sighting in the pool"