In the 11 years I’ve been a competitive swimmer, the only type of racing I’ve ever done is the pool kind. The kind where you’re guaranteed clear water and you can always look to the bottom of the pool to see that trusty line guiding you from wall to wall. A few days ago, when I took on my first open water race, it was not the most comfortable experience.
I’ve always wanted to try it. My sister has been a triathlete for years, and after watching her complete the Lake Placid Ironman, I was ready to give it a try myself.
Upon my arrival here at college, I checked our schedule and realized that my team would be participating in an open water mile swim at the local beach.
Initially, I was excited: until I realized how much of a challenge it would actually be.
The day before, my coach had us take out the lane lines and swim the perimeter of the pool all at once. This was interesting for me- being kicked was a new experience.
Even though I had practiced in the pool, I was not ready for what was coming for me when I jumped in the ocean. Not being able to see anything underwater threw me off tremendously and having to navigate around the buoys forced me pick my head all the way out of the water every few strokes.
Over the years, my freestyle has become such a natural movement to me, that having to change my stroke was pretty odd.
However, that wasn’t the worst part. Undoubtedly, the most challenging part of the race was trying to avoid inhaling water. In that 22 minutes, I swallowed more saltwater than I have in the 19 summers I spent at my family’s beach house combined. I don’t know how I could ever get used to that.
The other major difference between the two types of races is how my body felt. In a typical 100 or 200, my body wears down and gets more tired as the race goes on. However, on Saturday, I felt the same throughout the entire race. Once I became accustomed to the water and my revised stroke, I felt numb. It was only when I ran up to the beach and finished the race that I began to feel nauseous and short of breath.
All in all, I’ve gained a great deal of respect for triathletes and open water swimmers. Now that I’ve experienced what it’s like, I can honestly say that no matter how many years you spend in the sport, nothing will fully prepare you to take on the ocean until you actually do it.
I’m gonna stick to the pool for a while.
Agreed but I still do little of ocean swimming from time to time
I recently participated in my first open water event and for me it was a totally different experience. I actually enjoyed the swim.