Walking during swim? (Page 2)

Ironically enough, my first triathlon I had to do this.

It was a 400m out and back swim in a lake.  I swam out and walked back.  To this day I remember having people swim by me and I was "power walking" back to shore.  I was glad the lake was shallow.

It was a humble beginning to my 'tri career' to be sure. 

About 200M into an OLY swim this year I noticed the water getting very bright and at one point I realized my hand was hitting rock, not seaweed, so I stood up and walked about 10-20 feet. It was interesting and I did it just to do it. Stayed with the group I was with and got back to swimming after about a minute and off we went

I cannot say that I would recommend it as a regular thing and I honestly cannot understand people who are scared of the water and/or cannot swim signing up for tris with open water swimming. That baffles me.

This is a "problem" at some races - Musselman (NY) and Lakeside (ON) are two examples. There is just a long stretch that encourages more walking than swimming, and many/most people find it easier to stay upright at these points than to try to swim and keep scraping the bottom with their fingers - or wrists - or elbows.

I view this as fine. After all, at the end of a swim we make the decision to stop swimming at some point (knee-high water?) and walk or run, and that's acceptable. So, if the water is similarly shallow at the start, why not walk/run then as well?

What I can't quite picture from the early posts is the scene of people walk in the shallows along the shore -- presumably well away from the two buoys between which the swim started? If this is the case, then I have a problem with what those people are doing. But if everyone starts in the proper spot, and if the water is so shallow that trying to swim in it is ridiculous, then why not walk a bit - just as you would at the end of the swim?

Finally, walking/running the first part of a swim start IS a big energy-drainer, a great way to spike your heart rate to a level that makes the first minute or so of ACTUAL swimming quite taxing.

I walk, dive, jump, breast-stroke, doggy style my way through my first two triathlon.  First time, I was afraid of water.  Second time, I was in a course with unexpected strong wave.  I will be drown if I don't do so.  I was the last few come out of the water both time.  That said, I did tried to swim.  At least the first 50 feet or so.  (with a large amount of water consumption)

I guess most people who do it in a sprint are beginner.  To me it is a basic survival reaction.  

If that doesn't make you feel better, think about this... One who try to walk the swim and never intend to swim will never able to complete in something bigger with deeper water.

Yes, Vineman can be so shallow that your hand hits the bottom when swimming.

I don't know that I'd say they aren't in their right mind...it's that facing a fear is difficult and procrastination is so rampant. They sign up for a tri in the moment of the excitement and with lots of time to spare. When it comes down to facing their fear of swimming, they tend to put it of "until tomorrow" and before you know it, yesterday's tomorrow turns into a week, into a month and then they are at the point of panic just a few weeks out from the race. It's certainly not the way to approach a tri, but it shows that people don't realize just how hard swimming it and think that they can put it off longer since it's the smallest portion of the race. I would say this is probably the reason why we hear about more deaths on the swim portion of the race than any other leg. It's a dangerous sport when participants don't approach it with respect and proper preparation.

What's the current like out there?  Since resting without a kayak in some places will start to take you off course.  Not a fun experience.