Just Did First OWS - I Have Questions

Congrats on your first OWS. I am glad to hear that you liked it. I am by no means an expert, but here's my $0.02.

1. A lot of people say that their stroke changes when they get in the open water or wetsuit. However, I am concerned that you felt "resistance" coming from the westuit. I don't really think there should be any restrictions from the wetsuit that would cause you to have to shorten your stroke. Is it possibly too tight in the shoulders? Where is your stroke shorter? Are your hands hitting the water sooner or are you having a hard time extending your arms out in front of you? Do you have a full range of motion in your wetsuit when you're standing on land (i.e, swinging your arms around, extending your arms overhead, etc.)?

2. As for sighting, it just takes some getting used to. When I swim at the pool, I pretty watch everything that goes on around me, and therefore I tend to be decent at sighting when I turn my head to breathe. So, while in the pool, practice watching what's going on on the sidelines, then it'll become second nature. Also, practice swimming a stroke or two, every few strokes, with your head out of the water and looking straight ahead. You may even want to do that for a full 25 or 50 from time to time.

I hope that helps. Like I said, I'm not an expert, so you'll probably get some better tips from other BTers.

1) shorten stroke issue -

Key cause is that the wetsuit is not the right size or FIT to your body type. A properly fitting wetsuit will not have much restriction. The DeSoto 2 piece pretty much eliminates this problem since the top is not attached to the bottom. That being said, all wetsuits will have some restrictive feel to the stroke reach, but with the added bouyance makes it not necessary to reach as far as you would without a wetsuit. Shoulder fatique and arm constriction during your reach are mostly defined by the wetsuit fit. With a properly fitted (AND, that includes putting it on correctly) wetsuit the constriction and fatique is minimal. Are you sure you had the crotch pulled all the way up?

2) Sighting -

Sighting is something that simply takes experience to develop. Uneven pulls and arms crossing overhead (instead of straight) are the main reasons why it is difficult to go straight in OW. Sighting of a large object (not the bouy) is the best option. Finding a rythm where that you look ever X number of strokes is also a good tip. I typically sight (in normal swim conditions) about every 6-8 stroke (but, I've been swimming over 20 yrs and done over a hundred OWS tri starts)... so, you might want to try a 4-6 range as a sight to stroke count ratio.

FWIW Joe Moya

Edited by Joe M 2006-07-01 1:55 PM