Swim with your eyes closed. Only do this if you're in your own lane, and if you get off track then you'll just hit the rope anyways and no harm done. It feels really weird at first, but you'll get used to it. I'm the same way, and I've been trying this lately, and it seems to help.

Wish I said that!

HAHA. Curse you RV. I need to type faster.

I close my eyes. If you know your number of strokes, you can time the turn right a the end.
Take your mind off the black line or swim on one side of the line.

When you get to open water, you would have already checked out the swim course to spot any land marks to use as a gudie.

I've always heard try swimming with your eyes closed and just hitting the lane line if you are off is a good method :-P

You can definitely practice your open water sighting in the pool WITH YOUR EYES OPEN.

If you don't know your stroke count, you can just wear your bike helmet!

Wow 37 posts in one day - In a few months you'll have even out post Kylie! ;)

HA! It's ok... no one will ever catch beads ;)

So one way to 'go straight' is to not cross over when you breathe. Everybody thinks they are not crossing over until someone watches and says "gee, you cross over". Then it's like "are you sure? I don't feel like I'm crossing over".

You can also place your pull bouy on the deck at one end and practice sighting. It's sight first, then turn and breathe... not breathe first then look forward.

I sometimes bike down to San Diego, or have trained down there while there visiting friends or there for work (once a year). Perhaps next time I ride from here down (and then usually take the train back) you could start riding up and we'd meet somewhere in the middle and ride together a bit :)

Just for the record - that was my first Olympic distance event (Wildflower) and my goggles were fogged up and I just wouldn't stop to clear them. Also, I was thinking the course went in a square (as does the Long Course swim) so in addition to not being able to see, I had the wrong image of the course in my head.

So another recommendation I'd make is to make sure you know where the buoys are before you start the swim. It really helps! :-)

This goes with the warm up part of the swim to know where you are going to sight! Congrads on Wildflower.

You think I write a lot? It is a lot less then I talk!! ;-)
Ask Anton

I've never swum with Beads, but I have still heard him talking during his swims -- from across the country! :)

And I never made any claims about how much you talk or write... just that you have more posts than the rest of people here combined ;)