These types of open water swims have been a great experience builder. Swimming in such a large group had many of the characteristics of being in a race. While my workout partners are awesome you still might get a foot in your face or get a body crossing your path. I with every swim I am getting better and continue to learn.

Swimming in the ocean presents challenges I did not experience in the river. Getting out past the waves while not a challenge will add to the excitement at the start. The rolling of the ocean made it more difficult to sight but I did feel like it was slightly easier to get into a natural rhythm because of the oceans rolls. It actually was calming experience for me. Fighting the strong current was a whole separate challenge.

Today I also got a little chaffing across my back in the shoulder blade. This will be a easy fix for my short swim in my first race next week but I would certainly rather that happen now then on race day.

All in all it made for a great morning and a great start to the holiday weekend. I only wish I could have joined them for the bike! Next time!

Happy 4th of July!

As I learned in my first open water swim direction is a challenge. Staying on course can save you time and energy needed to complete the race. In the pool it is easy to get used to clearly defined lanes and lines to follow at the bottom of clear water. These luxuries do not exist in the open water so sighting becomes very important. We drilled on how to count out a buoy sighting while swimming. This was a great tip and really helped me stay on course because it is easy to become disoriented which I am sure will be exaggerated in a race environment.

The second drill we did was a race start and exit. Tom explained several types of race starts on how to position yourself for a good start and set some expectations. While we were only 15 people when we crowded together and ran into the water you can get a good feel for the potential problems. In the first drill I ran into the water and dived but my goggles were not tight enough so I had an annoying amount of water inside them which was disruptive. The tight swimming and mass of people in the water can be intimidating but now I feel I am more prepared.

This was really helpful and I learned so much. I am more enthused now than ever before. Thank you Tom!