O pen Water Swimming is the concept of people swimming in outdoor bodies of water such as oceans, bays, lakes and rivers. Visibility of less than 2 feet. No stripe to follow on the bottom. Unseen creatures lurking under you.

My story starts 8 months ago, when I started to conditioning and training for my first triathlon. The open water segment of my race requires for me to swim 800 meters (.5 mile). When I first started swimming , I was one of those who kept the head above water, afraid of swallowing water. I did not want to swim in the deep end, afraid of getting tired and drowning. But I think the main reason to all fears was the fact I could barely make it across the pool. This became my first obvious challenge.

I remember saying to myself: “ How can I complete a triathlon if I can not even swim?” It took many days of practice to bring myself where am at today. I am able to swim 1500 meters with no problems. I felt pretty comfortable in the pool, no more fear, no more problems, so I was able to concentrate in technique for the last 6 months of my training. Life was good just until it was time for me to do my first open water swim practice. I knew I was nervous. I have never swam in a lake, so the concept of open water swim to me was more associated with going to the beach than any other idea. And boy was I ever wrong!!, I still remember entering to Lucky’s Lake’s cold water. We got signaled to start our swim. I started swimming like a champ, right up until I stopped seeing the bottom, and everything turned dark. This feeling of anxiety became greater and then I started to hyperventilate. Immediately after I stopped I found myself in the middle of nowhere and with nothing to hang on to. And “yes, it is one of the most frightning moments of my life ever”. During my period of anxiety I forgot completely about all swim techniques learned, but more so, I doubted of my swimming capabilities. These, fear and anxiety, were then compounded with the scary thoughts of creatures lurking in the water, me getting tired and dying. At this point, all I really wanted was just to get out of the water, mind you I couldn’t do this fast enough, because I was terrified. I finally managed to breast-stroke my way out of the water. After about 15 minutes of trying to regain composure, I decided to try one more time. Still not mentally recovered of the trauma, the second try was once again a complete failure. I got out of the water, puzzled and disappointed. I then asked myself: Why did this happen to me? After a series of multiple excuses, it was clear to me, all my expectations of this day were all wrong, nor was I mentally prepared for this challenge. I soon realized there were two clear paths to follow; 1- I quit and not do my race or 2- I continue trying until I get it. With 6 weeks away from race day this issue became my #1 priority, as I swore if I started this I would not quit.

My first day of open water swim practice made me also realize it was all mental. In the meantime, 5 more days have gone by and I was still having nightmares about my first open water swim experience and then it was time to do it all over again. My second visit to the lake was not so frightening. I was still a bit afraid but now I had prepare myself mentally to do stay calm, do more and push a little harder. With a more relaxed attitude I was actually able to swim with my head down in the water for a little bit longer than the first day. Second day was not a significant progress, but I felt a bit more accomplished. Still very disatisfied with my performance, and knowing I still needed lots of practice, I head back to the lake one more time. This third time around I was able to swim to the first bouy marker and back 6 times. And when I say swim, I mean with my head down in the water like I was in the pool. I felt much better; therefore, slowly regained some of my confidence. Not enough for me to feel ready to race, I went back a fourth time. This time in the water I was able to swim 1K with no significant problems. This swim meant a lot for me, not only because I was able to swim Lucky’s Lake across and back, but I felt I had conquered the fear I felt when I first started.

I know it is important to train and practice for race day with time ahead. This will give you a greater advantage. However, throughout this open water excersice I soon realized there were other elements affecting my performance.

Here is how I manage to overcome some of these elements:

 

Get comfortable in the water, I admit, the need to feel comfortable in open water was a must for me, before I could really enjoy what I was doing. I needed to understand what the water can do, what I was capable of doing and have confidence I could handle whatever the water threw back at me. Do not create a sense of dependency, the attitude that you can depend on someone else to bail you out is not good. I knew there were Lifeguards, and other people, will do what they can to help me on race day, but then the thought of what happens if seven other people have trouble at the same time I do, where does that leave me?

Maintaining composure was the hardest part of my mental excersice. I knew in the pool I was within arms reach for support in case I got my in trougle. I soon realized, that is not the case with open water swim. Swimming alone or with a small group, there is often nothing right next to you to hang on to. I asked myself, how far do I feel comfortable swimming without hanging onto something? Can I complete my race distance? Do I grab the wall at each turn in order to get a little rest or a little more breath? Can I swim longer distances without grabbing a wall? Can I stay afloat while coughing from getting a mouthful of water, or do I hang onto the lane rope? Can I keep swimming when you get a side stitch, calf cramp, or foot cramp? Can I swim underwater for a few seconds without feeling claustrophobic? You must think carefully about these questions, because the answers are very important. The biggest mental challenge to open water swimming is to maintain composure no matter what happens. This may require doing some breaststroke, or even treading water or floating for a little while. I have always valued my life so I needed to regain this mental security.

Don't Swim Alone, even if you have practiced and prepared for every possible problem, there is always the unexpected and then you find yourself needing help. I think that is not the time to be alone.

Make Yourself Visible, and easy to see. Not only will it help people find you if you need help, but it may also help boats or other people come close instead of running over you. I know understand those bright swim caps they make you wear at races aren't just for decoration!

Sighting or Navigation, Can you swim in the right direction when there is no line on the bottom? I know I personally can not, I tend to drift to the left if I don’t look up to see where I am headed. Open water swimming is not different, you must look up every few strokes to make sure you are still on course. I practiced in a pool, but again way different when you are in open water. Try lifting your head up and looking at different times during your stroke.

Racing with Others, in open water is not quite the same as just swimming in open water. There will be lots of other people around. I guess the question is, do you feel comfortable swimming in the midst of 400 flailing arms and legs? Do you prefer having a little space around you? Keep these questions in mind during your swim. You almost always have the ability to control how large of a pack you are swimming in. If there are too many arms and legs, move to the outside of the course. I recommend the outside of the course over the inside of the course because of turns. During turns, everybody bunches up as close to the buoy as they can. If you are on the inside, you must work your way into that group in order to swim around the buoy. Rules generally frown upon swimming to the inside of the turn buoy. If you are on the outside, you can remain just to the outside as everybody else fights to get within touching distance of the buoy.

if you want to perfect your abilities in this sport you must practice constantly and hard, because my friends if you are passionate about what you are doing “Failure is not an option”.