New open water observations

[CoachStuartMcDougal]

Hi Joel!

Great to hear and nice work! I’m booked up all July too so lets touch base when you’re back in the states. Love to swim with your Tri crew too.

Safe travels and see you in August!

Stu
MindBodyAndSwim.com

Streak, super cool to hear, and totally consistent with what I've been experiencing. Being knife-like in the water continues to help me and my tri-coach is amazed at how quickly I've taken to open water.

I've been swimming in San Fran bay so plenty of chop and currents to keep me honest.

Originally Posted by tomoy

Take single snapshot peaks like a photographer. When your head is back in the water, process the memory of what your eyes just saw. Don't take movie-length films of what you saw. If you peek every 6/8/20 strokes, you can put the film together of where you are with as minimal an impact as possible on your balance. If you get good at it, then it affects your stroke like a breath - and you know how much better your stoke is when you don't breathe. Being able to sight to your buddy while breathing makes sense how it would help your balance. Much less forward looking / balance upsetting.

tm

Tom, that visualization of taking a snap shot is really fabulous. I am still struggling with sighting and amazed at how long it takes to process visual information when I am in the water. Trying to make sense of what you I am seeing while looking at takes too long and screws up my stroke. I've found that I often need to think of a sighting as being 2-4 clips that my brain needs to string together, especially if I am trying to change my landmark. Can anyone report back on whether or not this improves with practice?

[Tom Pamperin]

Originally Posted by thaddeus.ward@gmail.com

I've found that I often need to think of a sighting as being 2-4 clips that my brain needs to string together, especially if I am trying to change my landmark. Can anyone report back on whether or not this improves with practice?

It sure has for me. I recently switched to almost all open water swimming and have become remarkably comfortable and efficient with sighting compared to how I was when I started. Mindful repetition does wonders for any skill.

[sclim]

Originally Posted by Tom Pamperin

It sure has for me. I recently switched to almost all open water swimming and have become remarkably comfortable and efficient with sighting compared to how I was when I started. Mindful repetition does wonders for any skill.

It sure can happen like that. I just returned from a 93k bike ride today with all kinds of side and head wind, and found that I've finally got much better in biking efficiently in aero position, didn't actually notice when I got comfortable in this mode -- it happened imperceptibly some time in the last 1-2 months. I guess I have been paying a lot of attention to technique, and it finally paid off.

It kills me that my swimming is so slow to improve. I think I'm paying attention, but maybe I'm not, or not enough. Funny, the relaxation and being mindful of staying out of the way of the fluid moving past you are basically the same concepts! The only thing different is the anchoring of the catch against this same fluid in swimming to get traction and propulsion so as to move past the very same fluid whose viscosity and drag against the forward progressing body parts you are trying to evade.

Also funny, I just realized, even the sighting from an aero position on the bike shares many elements with sighting in open water TI swimming! Raising the head to get a clear view of the road ahead is essential for safety, every now and then. In fact some ill-advised extreme head down aero tuck position contributed to my alarming 54k/h bike crash (I drifted onto gravel on the edge of the road) a month ago. The trick is to find a sweet spot timing combination between too much drag and too much blind navigating.

[WFEGb]

Hello,

spent some days in Sweden, Blankaholm... damned GREAT(!) such an environment with so few People and even less swimmers. First time I swam OW alone, just what I do like so much: A small bay, shore not more than 200m away from any point, warm water (22°C from a far too hot summer), water felt more supporting than in the pool, but nearly didn't taste salty (an incoming river around)... and my goggles rested at home...

What should I say, great fun, but irritation from my abiltiy to hold direction. First time I had to care for direction myself, most time with closed eyes, had to stop to get objective orientation. First result: 60 strokes every three nearly half a circle(!)... Found I got more straight, when 2/3 of breathing on my weak-felt side and 1/3 on my "better" side. Still a drift to left. Next day... same pattern... drift to right.. more straight when breathing 1:1... Well on the last day it turned out as random drift. Swam a triangle approximately 200m-sides, there where just two buoyancies and a boot, left and right way round. But approximately would say missing the target at 100m by 10m-20m.

Great enjoyment, missed my usual FPs to FP swimming straight ahead, not really satisfied but will see what happens with goggles and trying some orienting sights integrated next time... If there will be a next time...

Wish everyone to such swimmings one and then... better everytime...

Best regards,
Werner

[Streak]

Hi All.
Back from my travels. Unfortunately my planned swim with the TI group in Israel did not materialize. They canceled the swim the night before due to conditions!

Anyway I have done a bunch more open water swims here and enjoying the warm conditions. I continue to get more DPS with a slower and more deliberate stroke in the open water. I have been swimming alongside a very fit and strong instructor with the Marines who does 2000 yards at each outing. It's been great being able to sight on him and to concentrate more on my stroke mechanics. I even find myself having to hold back a little as I sometimes start to edge in front of him when I get everything together (he's strong, fit about 20 years younger than me but his mechanics are not great).

I'm going to continue doing this twice a week until the water gets too cold.

Thanks for all of your input.