How dangerous are the open water swims for a beginner- really?
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Triguy98 posted 3 years ago.
if you can swim 400- 800m in a pool, or even many repeats of 200m, you'll be MORE than ok. Just take it easy and pace yourself. The most "dangerous" thing is the possibility that you will get caught up in the moment, take off too hard, and "blow up." The trick is know your limits and you'll be fine. The races I ahve done have had waverunners out there monitoring the race in the water. Your significant other swim? I think he needs to step up to the plate and be more supportive.
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
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Amy Lee posted 3 years ago.
Triguy,
Thanks for your encouraging words and the "Dr. Phil." you're right-a little support would be more helpful!
Amy
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tri1on posted 3 years ago.
Amy to answer your questions straight up 1) NO its not that dangerous 2) Yes they have lifeguards...people on boats, kayaks and some times scuba-divers 3) Most poeple are in the same situation as you..and its not that bad...just get in there and DO IT.
AND if your swimming a mile in the pool YOU have a leg up on most people!
One caveat is that you should get in and practice in the open water if you havent yet..its just a little different ball game with no black line to follow and then you need to sight-breath.
Good luck and youll have fun
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Amy Lee posted 3 years ago.
tri1on,
thanks for your reply. appreciate your frankness. gonna start open water practice with a wet suit in my backyard come june. i plan to do the team open water swims as well.
i haven't learned how to sight yet. i'm afraid to try for fear it's going to mess up my breathing and my head position. guess i have to bite the bullet and start working on it.
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tri1on posted 3 years ago.
Try the sight-breathing in the pool first...youll get the hang of it dont worry, I always breathe when I look.
another thing to try when your in the pool is closing your eyes while your swimming, do it for a few strokes and build to more...gives you a better feel for what you will experience in open-water and which way you tend to go
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geochuck posted 3 years ago.
If you do feel you are in trouble get on your back. If you are allowed to use a wet suit no problem it is also a floating device. As the others say practice sighting or swim beside someone who can sight then you don't have to lift your head.
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aquabiker posted 3 years ago.
Amy Lee,
I am proud to say and report that I did my first open water swim yesterday! It was at Buckroe Beach in Hampton, VA. 1.2 miles with about 50 people... I am a long time swimmer, 18 years in the making, but haven't been all that vicious in that last 5 or so, so this was a true test for me. I have issues mingling with sea creatures and the fact that I can't see what's in the water with is killer! But, I got out and just did it, despite my company being significantly more experienced than myself... I finished, was not last, and I am living! It was awesome! I used a wetsuit and did a combo of freestyle and breast, mostly free, the whole time. At times, I lost site of other people, the waves were kicking my $ss and I swallowed more bay water than I wanted to, but I'm glad I did and I am officially hooked!
Just do it, Amy, there are enough safety precautions in place. Listen to yourself, only you know if you're ready. Just don't panic, that's the most important thing in the water. Good luck and keep us all posted!!!!!!!!!
[COLOR=Purple]Aquabiker
..."It's never too late to be who you might have been."
-George Elliot
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qb ant posted 3 years ago.
Hey Amy-
After reading your posts over the last several weeks, I have NO DOUBTS that you will master the whole swim thing. Just relax and find your pace. Like it was said, there are a lot of safety measures in place to make sure everyone makes it out of the water. You may want to consider starting in the back so you don't get caught up in the crowd and with the more experienced swimmers who are going full throttle. There will also be less chance of getting kicked or bumped. Since this is your first, take your time and concentrate on just getting through it - don't worry about time or where you finish. I'm feeling pretty confident that once this is under your belt - there will be no stopping you!!!!!!!
Good luck and keep us posted - Ant
"90% of the game is half mental" Yogi Berra
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pimm posted 3 years ago.
I had my first open water swim : I was terrified, as I had read of the many differences in racing in open water and training in the local pool ...
I took the plunge today, and it was well worth wile : I'm a bad swimmer, and I had taken the necessary precautions :
- staying at the back
- keep to the side of the swimrace-track
- watching out for any kicks from other athletes
- (trying to) keep calm, even in dark, cold open waters
- trying to stick to your training rythym and breathing propperly ...
Fortunately, it was very hard to get into any pattern with all those arms/legs around you, and I had a lot of trouble in getting my breathing right!
So that's one to watch out for ... Other than that, I did pretty OK! It was less intimidating than I had forseen, so I hope the same goes for you!
... Good luck ...
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ccollins posted 3 years ago.
Amy -
I grew up on the Beach in FLA - but live in ATL now - so i wasn't concerned about the water in my last race - Gulf Coast - i was more concerned about the distance - it's hard to gauge if you're ready when you get to touch and turn every 25 meters - if you're swimming a mile continuously then you're ready for your Sprint - get a wet suit and the water temps won't be an issue - AND there is going to be plenty of support in the water - the ones at Gulf Coast kept me from swimming from Panama City to Destin - plus the race promoter can't be blamed if you crash your bike - but they're probably going to catch heck if you drown -
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Amy Lee posted 3 years ago.
to everyone who posted on this thread...thanks! :) you guys just fill me up with such confidence! it's quite a relief to know that there is a support system in the water at most tri's.
i know i can handle the distance now. ( that's one less thing to worry about-yeah!) now i want to practice sighting and remaining calm/ getting rid of anxiety while swimming. my heart starts racing when i know my coach is watching me-ugh! i hate when i mess up my breathing or i swallow water or get that burning sensation up my nostrils. i have experienced getting knocked in the head but i have yet to be kicked, elbowed or swam overtop of. anything else i need to learn to" work through" during the swim?
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ubdawg posted 3 years ago.
It sounds like your more than prepared for this. And likely everyone has been saying don't worry about safety, plenty of boats, kayakers and life guards should be there to take care of you and the other swimmers.
I just finished my second tri and I've learned two important things from the swim. for beginners its best to start in the back and to one of the sides. If the course starts with a right turn start on the left side that way everyone is to your right and you will have the outside angle(noone will cut across you from your left side and run you over through the turn) and vice versa if the first turn is a left turn. Of course if its just a stright out and back, or straight swim its your preference. The second thing is just relax, trust in your training. Get your pace a just go. this is where being on the outside helps, not having people run into you for you running into the back of other people will help you set your pace. my first tri was an 800m swim and the most I swam leading up to it was 600m. So I went out on race day and felt dead getting out of the water. The fact the you can already do a mile in the pool puts you leaps and bounds above a lot of first timers.
Good luck. and don't worry. Its a fun time.
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RV posted 3 years ago.
The biggest difference in open water aside from water that is more churned up is learning to sight.
Practice in open water if you can before the race - else do it in the pool. In open water you may be surprised at how one-sided your stroke actually is. You don't want to swim too many extra yards. It is not a difficult skill to get worked into your stroke. Just don't wait until the race to try and figure it out. Just takes a little practice. Even easier in a wetsuit as your legs won't drop as much as you raise your head to take a peek. And just raise up far enough to get your goggles over the surface, then continue right into your breath cycle.
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
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makscooter posted 3 years ago.
If you're going to do a tri with an ocean swim, you may want to practice going out and coming in.
Going out is easier when the surf is small; your can go over the breaking waves or walk sideways thru to the other side. If the surf is bigger you may have to dive under the breakers and swim underwater to come up on the other side, and you may have to do it more than once to get out to the swells.
Coming in is a lot faster if you can bodysurf in. Otherwise don't fight the waves; swim a bit and let each successive wave carry you a little closer to shore.
Tell your sig. other that you need to go to Hawaii to practice swimming in the surf! That's where I'm from and that's how I learned to swim. Only the rich haoles had swimming pools. I never swam in a pool until I got to the mainland.
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Sethers posted 3 years ago.
ive only practiced my swim for 2 wks and i just did a triathlon with an open water swim 1 mile in murky water. Its easy as long as you don't panic panic in any sport and you will hyperventilate.
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kylie posted 3 years ago.
I was waaaay less prepared than you and I lived through my first open water swim in a tri just fine. Just expect some bumping and "swim your own race" instead of trying to stay with a certain person if you are nervous. Good luck!
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jmcglos posted 3 years ago.
Amy - it sounds like you are definitely prepared and ready for your open water swim. Like others have said, if you can swim a mile continuously in a pool, you will have no problems in your open water tri. Is it a sprint distance? I would definitely start learning to sight if I were you and being able to get a rhythm down while sighting - so it comes naturally while in the open water. That's one less thing you have to worry about. And since you live on the water, you can practice swimming in the open water every day if you need to and that will help build your confidence. If it's possible, do a swim or two at the race course. Then you definitely know you can do it.
The first time I jumped in open water to swim, I freaked out - race anxiety, not being able to see well, and nerves all came up at once. Luckily this was a practice swim before race day - so I was prepared on race day with how I would feel and I was much more confident and knew I could do it. If it's allowed, try to warm up on race day in the water. It will help get your heart rate up some, plus get you acclimated to the water and help get your nerves down.
If you want to avoid the craziness at the start of the swim, stay towards the back of the group and over to one side a little. You will do well! I know you can do this - well all know you can! Good luck!
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Marc posted 3 years ago.
Amy Lee wrote:
so my questions are... is it really that dangerous?
No, Amy, it is not! The Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon and The Alcatraz Challenge always have more than enough kayakers to escort their swimmers safely back to terra firma. The procedure is really quite simple, if a swimmer decides that he/she has had enough then such swimmer need only signal the nearest kayaker for assistance. When this happens a kayak escort will usually have the swimmer, who is in distress, hang on to the front of his/her kayak (Not the side) then he/she will hold his/her paddle straight up in the air to signal a powerboat, or jet ski, to come over and remove that particular swimmer from the water.
I just started swimming mid February this year. i have been busting my butt 5 days a week trying to learn how to swim well enough to do a few open water sprint tri's this summer. i belong to a great tri team and do their swim workouts twice a week plus i practice on my own another three days. just recently i swam a mile in the Y pool and was so elated because i did it continuous- no wall breaks at all. i still have 8 weeks before i attempt an open water tri and i feel confident i can do it as long as i keep doing what i'm doing now plus practice plenty in the open water. i live on the water so finding a place to practice isn't an issue.
my "significant other" is afraid i am too weak and inexperienced to handle the open water. i keep telling him i'll be ok and there are plenty of other "not- so- strong" swimmers out there who have done them. i have read so many posts on trifuel about this very same issue.
so my questions are... is it really that dangerous? do they ever have lifeguards monitoring the events? do other competitors help out if you get in a bind, or is it really dog eat dog out there? i hate to ask but...anyone ever actually drown in an event that you know of ? help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i really, really, really want to conquer this whole swimming thing!