Now I consider myself a fairly advanced swimmer. I am usually out of the water in the top 10%. In a pool with no wetsuit, I swim 1:27/100m.
I feel comfortable with my stroke and with getting through the water.
BUT...I WILL NEVER GO INTO A RACE WITHOUT DOING OPEN WATER SWIMS PRIOR.
Open water is a very different beast than pools. And it is not just because there is no lane-line or buoy-line or walls. It is more than that. Your body responds VERY differently in different conditions that can not be anticipated; They can only be monitored and dealt with.
I bought a new wetsuit. It is a TYR Hurricane CAT1. YAY! My previous wetsuit was a sleeveless 19 Pipeline wetsuit.
Last week, I got into the lake for the first time. I am REALLY Glad I did. It was a different feeling all together and overall I felt like it was a failure. Even though there are no such things as failed workouts, I walked away feeling like I had hit rock bottom. I was only able to swim about 100m and ended up hyper-ventilating. I was in the water for about 15 minutes because of the new feelings. A lot of people don't have that feeling until they put their wetsuit on for the first time race morning.
Do not let race day be the first time you deal with the following issues!
These are factors that drastically alter your swimming method between swimming in pools in a regular swimsuit and swimming in a lake with a wetsuit on:
Go into your race with confidence. Go into it knowing what your weaknesses are so that you can avoid them.
I feel comfortable with my stroke and with getting through the water.
BUT...I WILL NEVER GO INTO A RACE WITHOUT DOING OPEN WATER SWIMS PRIOR.
Open water is a very different beast than pools. And it is not just because there is no lane-line or buoy-line or walls. It is more than that. Your body responds VERY differently in different conditions that can not be anticipated; They can only be monitored and dealt with.
I bought a new wetsuit. It is a TYR Hurricane CAT1. YAY! My previous wetsuit was a sleeveless 19 Pipeline wetsuit.
Last week, I got into the lake for the first time. I am REALLY Glad I did. It was a different feeling all together and overall I felt like it was a failure. Even though there are no such things as failed workouts, I walked away feeling like I had hit rock bottom. I was only able to swim about 100m and ended up hyper-ventilating. I was in the water for about 15 minutes because of the new feelings. A lot of people don't have that feeling until they put their wetsuit on for the first time race morning.
Do not let race day be the first time you deal with the following issues!
These are factors that drastically alter your swimming method between swimming in pools in a regular swimsuit and swimming in a lake with a wetsuit on:
- Water Temperature
- Just because you have a wetsuit on, it doesn't mean you are immune to water temperature. Other parts of your body are still affected by water temperature. All of your primary senses are exposed to the water.
- It has a dizzying effect. Cold water in the ear is the primary factor for dizziness, poor head position and thought control (insert sci-fi music here). When water is in your ear and your are in the wild, you can be easily distracted from the important things: Breathing, your stroke, and sighting. Your sense of time, distance, and exerted force will be all wrong. When you finally get out of the water you will most likely be dizzy and have a hard time walking straight. Most of these things can be minimalized by putting in earplugs.
- Coffin effect. When you are in a full wetsuit that is applying compression, and cold water is in your sinus, mouth, and ears, it can feel like you are laying in a coffin underground. feelings of dread, loneliness, and isolation can come about. Even if you are surrounded by people and it is a sunny day, once you are underwater you can feel like the undertaker is throwing the last shovelful of dirt on you. When I have bailed out on swims, it is because of this. Weird things would enter my mind such as "What if I see a dead body?", "What if a giant unknown type of fish comes out of the darkness and swallows me right now?", "What if I get wrapped up in that seaweed and I end up here permanently?".
I don't want to scare you with this stuff, but these thoughts do exist. It is important to know that they do exist so that you can learn to control them when they occur.
- Natural surroundings
- The lake will have natural vegatation and wildlife. This will include plantlife, algae, seaweed, fish, frog eggs, worms, frogs and anything else in your area. If you are used to it, seeing some of this stuff and swimming with it can be pretty cool. If you have the coffin effect, it can be terrifying. You need to learn to control the negative thoughts when seeing natural life in the lake.
- The water may have waves and current. These can both be very distracting and discouraging to novice swimmers.
- Wetsuit compression
- Do not expect to breathe normally in a wetsuit.
- Do not expect to be able to move normally in a wetsuit.
- Do not expect that the wetsuit will hold your position the way you are used to. It is very different.
- Wetsuit compression is a major source of swim anxiety. You must get used to it before it begins controlling you.
These are ALL things you will deal with your first time swimming in open water, or with a wetsuit.
DO NOT LET RACE DAY BE THE FIRST TIME YOU ENCOUNTER IT. You will be discouraged. As you watch the pack move away from you, the self-doubt will enter your mind and you will have a miserable race experience.
DO NOT LET RACE DAY BE THE FIRST TIME YOU ENCOUNTER IT. You will be discouraged. As you watch the pack move away from you, the self-doubt will enter your mind and you will have a miserable race experience.
Go into your race with confidence. Go into it knowing what your weaknesses are so that you can avoid them.
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