General Discussion Triathlon Talk » My first OWS was the scariest thing I have ever done Rss Feed  
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2014-05-26 5:59 PM
in reply to: Meathead

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Subject: RE: My first OWS was the scariest thing I have ever done
Originally posted by Meathead

Big thanks to everyone who replied. Like I said, the fear was running through me like crazy after the first loop, but after that, I got the hang of it, and I was able to focus on things like learning how to properly sight the buoys, look for other swimmers, and understand how to deal with zero visibility underwater. I also got to work on my treading water skills as my buddy was a lot slower than me, so I would swim to one buoy, tread water waiting for her to catch up & give me a thumbs up that she was good & then move on to the next buoy where I would repeat the process.

It gave me confidence, understanding, and a solid belief that I have a good chance to go out & do really well in my first race next week.


Did you do the Allatoona swim on Saturday? I think I met you.


2014-05-26 8:15 PM
in reply to: chrishatcher1138


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Subject: RE: My first OWS was the scariest thing I have ever done
Sounds like you went to Swim with Pete. I had the same fear of OWS as you and needed to beat it before I did Augusta last year. Going to SWP was the best thing I ever did. The good thing is you arent the first, nor last person there who goes to conquer their fear and even in the process has a panic attack. Just keep at it and let your confidence build. You'll actually start to feel like a badass and will look forward to triathlon swims.
2014-05-27 10:18 AM
in reply to: chrishatcher1138

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Atlanta, Georgia
Subject: RE: My first OWS was the scariest thing I have ever done
Originally posted by chrishatcher1138
Did you do the Allatoona swim on Saturday? I think I met you.


Yep, that was me.
2014-05-27 10:20 AM
in reply to: tb1000

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Atlanta, Georgia
Subject: RE: My first OWS was the scariest thing I have ever done
Originally posted by tb1000
Sounds like you went to Swim with Pete. I had the same fear of OWS as you and needed to beat it before I did Augusta last year. Going to SWP was the best thing I ever did. The good thing is you arent the first, nor last person there who goes to conquer their fear and even in the process has a panic attack. Just keep at it and let your confidence build. You'll actually start to feel like a badass and will look forward to triathlon swims.


It was the Swim with Pete. And I agree that it was the best thing I could have done. I'm more confident about my race this weekend, and I plan to do the SWP at least once a month now to get some more OWS time.
2014-05-27 10:37 AM
in reply to: Meathead

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Subject: RE: My first OWS was the scariest thing I have ever done

 

Very important to get some good practice in open water before a race. I haven't been in my wetsuit since 2011, I have IMCDA in 1 month and got my first OWS in yesterday. The first 500 yards was bad news. Getting re-accustomed to the wetsuit, cold water, not being able to see, sighting, etc. Took me a while to find my groove. The next 2,500 yards went much better. I plan to get 6-8 more OWS in before my race. I found a local tri club that is hosting some group open water swimming so I am going to hit that a couple of times to hopefully get some time in the pack. Should be nice a comfy by race time.

Moral of the story, don't put off OWS until the race, get some good time in before.

2014-05-27 12:54 PM
in reply to: Meathead

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Subject: RE: My first OWS was the scariest thing I have ever done
Originally posted by Meathead

Originally posted by chrishatcher1138
Did you do the Allatoona swim on Saturday? I think I met you.


Yep, that was me.


Cool. I was your swim buddy's friend. Glad you guys were able to help each other out. It was good to meet you this weekend. Keep up the OWS practice. It gets easier.


2014-05-27 1:43 PM
in reply to: Meathead

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Subject: RE: My first OWS was the scariest thing I have ever done
you got back in the water and finished the swim, so you overcame your fear at least once! Good job.
Treat each OWS race differently. No one race has been the same for me, no matter where I start in the pack and how many people start with me. I've started with 20 others and came out of the water with a swollen foot, scratches, and having swallowed more water from being pushed under than ever in my life. But I've also had races where I've started with an AG of 60 others, smack in the middle of all of them, and never had an issue. You can't psych yourself out and have a panic attack before every race moving fwd just because of what happened at one race. Take it one at a time.
I also began to take inventory of where my AG'ers like to start....for me personally, I noticed a lot of them crowd to the right front before the start so they can hug the buoy line. This gets the group all tangled up in each other. I've gotten stuck in that mess once and feared I wouldn't come out alive, but I just kept sighting my buoy, skipped to every other stroke for a breath (to prevent me from choking on water) and counted out sprint sets 10 strokes on-5 strokes off so I can speed up out of the pile up of women.
It takes time. Stick with it, keep practicing OWS and don't get discouraged.
2014-05-27 3:29 PM
in reply to: chrishatcher1138

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Atlanta, Georgia
Subject: RE: My first OWS was the scariest thing I have ever done
Originally posted by chrishatcher1138
Originally posted by Meathead
Originally posted by chrishatcher1138
Did you do the Allatoona swim on Saturday? I think I met you.

Yep, that was me.

Cool. I was your swim buddy's friend. Glad you guys were able to help each other out. It was good to meet you this weekend. Keep up the OWS practice. It gets easier.


Good to meet you too, and while I forgot your friend's name already, be sure to tell her that she did awesome as a buddy on the 3 loops we did together!
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