just relax. your scaring yourself. there is nothing scary in there. the best for you to do is swim your own swim. don't worry about everyone else. start on the outside. start slow and just get into your own pace.

if you feel like you are in danger, raise your hands and you will be saved.

*** Here is a quick story about a swim I had : I was doing a sprint. Racing elite ... I went out so hard I was swimming harder than i ever had trying to keep up. it was this little lake . Well 1/2 way into this swim about 4 minutes i gulped some water. Being anaerobic i flipped out for a second and i though i was going to drown no joke. i had to stop to catch myself but i though i was DEAD ! lol. I swam in like a manatee.

When I was in the Army we always had people that were terrified of the water and freak out!!! What we used to do is make them do some water confidence excercises. They were more than physically capable of swimming good but due to a weak mental state, maybe due to lack of swimming in the past or a bad experience, they mentally couln't do it.

Is it only in lakes and ocean you freak out or is it in any water over 6 feet deep including the pool?

If its clear pool water than you just have some unjustified fear of drowning. And some water confidence excercises will help you out a lot.

If its only the Ocean you kind of just have to suck it up and swim. Because although you may want to feel like you have a justified reason for being scared its usually only a mental thing. As in "I cant see anything, but I know something is out there" you have to get over that feeling. I used to have that and if anything it made me swim faster.

Accidently ingesting water or sending water down your trachea are trhings that will happen but if you have confidence that no matter what you will not drown it will not affect you, for long.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Watching those Ironman athletes swim 2.4 miles helped. I figure if those folks can do that- I can a piddly little 750m

What also helped me alot was that I went down to the local state park on the lake and swam back and forth in the swim area. When I can't touch the problem is when I get really freaked, so I said, "I'm going to swim for 20 minuted without touching the bottom, when I get tired or freaked, I will just flip over until my back and take several deep breaths until I feel better and then flip over and start over again."

I did it, and that has me feeling much better. I can get through it. Even if I have to do the elementary backstroke, I will get through it. And having practiced a positive strategy for helping myself calm down and continue through the swim I think really helped me. I guess tomorrow will be the real litmus test of how it worked.

But now- I must get to bed pronto- I HAVE A RACE TOMORROW!!:D

Hey I've been there - my first sprint race took me further out to sea without a boat than I had ever been and it was scary. I was around more swimmers than I had ever been and it was scary. It's all a new experience at first and of course you should be a little scared of it all. There's always a first time to this - the first time you put this amount of effort to get through a swim this long, etc...

I also got myself into swallowing a few big gulps of water, thinking I'd drown, being scared of not making it back, hyperventilating, getting on my back and doing the backstroke... Some people get through the swim easier than others at first and I was definitely one of the people who struggled a lot.

But it's like anything - practice makes familiar and familiar develops confidence and performance. Keep at it and you will start to see the ocean as a place to navigate wiith as much trepidationg as when you drive around your own neighborhood streets. Buoys, the sound of air horns, throngs of wetsuit-clad maniacs - that'll feel as normal as being in line at the grocery store. By your fourth race, your thoughts will sound less chattery and your head will become more quiet and focused as you develop experience.

This is the beauty of triathlon. Not just finishing a race but conquering mental obstacles by developing an obstinate non-quitting attitude.

and enjoy the view don't worry about the depth of the lake/ocean. It's just a pool; isn't it? Just relax and enjoy the ride. I was a lifeguard and I use to get scared at first because I got kicked in the head.

Just have fun
:)

its all about time spent in water building base..and on race day its all about regulating your breathing and smooth strokes (nothing fancy). Ultimately swimming is by far the SHORTEST distance in a tri...especially in the longer ones. Its nothing more than some time to get your HR going and prepare for the long day ahead. Take the focus OFF of others, focus totally internally and OWN IT! Doesnt matter if your slow on the swim, you'll kick ass on the bike/run!

I used to get pretty worked up before the swim also (its very common so dont feel badly), but make sure you get in the water well before the race.

I'm sure you saw people warming up by taking a little run or a spin on their bike....for me, I head directly to the water after I get transition set up. I wade around a bit and check out the course and I'm almost ALWAYS the first one in the water warming up. Swim out to the first bouy and back...wade around...and head back out again. It removes any nerves regarding the swim and gets me in the mindset to race.

Give it a try...