LESSONS FROM MY FIRST OPEN WATER SWIM (OWS) CLINIC

DO NOT...and I repeat...DO NOT wait until race day to experience your first open water swim!!! I know there are a group of crazies who go out and experience their first OWS (open water swim) on race day.  I personally don't know these crazies but I highly recommend you not join their club.

PUTTING THE WETSUIT ON:

• The wetsuit is pulled up like a pair of pantyhose.  If you have longer fingernails, be VERY careful you don't puncture a hole into your wetsuit.  You can try wearing a pair of gloves when your putting your wetsuit on.
• Make sure you pull the wetsuit high up into the crotch area.  Seriously! Don't be shy about grabbing your crotch and getting the wetsuit right up in there.  Everyone is grabbing their crotch so trust me, no one will even notice you.  Having a hanging crotch is going to make for an uncomfortable swim. So as your shoving the wetsuit into your crotch, think of me :)  Oh, and pull the sleeves up so that you can get the wetsuit up into your armpits comfortably too.  You don't want to restrict your arms and legs.
• Roll Body Glide onto your neck to keep the wetsuit from chaffing you around the neck area.  DO NOT use Vaseline. Vaseline will break down the integrity of your wetsuit.  I was told you can also spray Pam cooking spray onto your ankles in order to remove the wetsuit quickly during transition.  Another cool trick I learned.
• Goggles - Consider purchasing two sets of goggles; one with a tinted lens and one clear lenses. If its very sunny out you can wear your tinted goggles.  On a cloudy day you may prefer wearing goggles with a clear lens. 

SIGHTING:

• Sighting is SO important. Practice, practice, practice sighting!!!  In fact, do yourself a favor and practice it every time you go swimming, even in the pool.
• In sighting, simply lift your eyes up out of the water, take a quick peek and return back to swimming.  The key is to not lift your head out of the water.  Doing so throws your body out of alignment and will cause your hips and legs to sink, making the swim more difficult. 
• Some people in the clinic were told to sight every 11 to 12 strokes.  These were the experienced swimmers.  I was told to sight every 6 strokes.  Some folks were told to sight ever 3 strokes. The coach had a swim about 12 feet with our eyes closed while he watched.  He based his assessment on how quickly or not so quickly we veered off course.  
• When sighting, try to find a large landmark to sight.  This is especially helpful in the ocean where waves may make it difficult to see a buoy. If there's a large house or something big on the shore, use that as your sighting object.  Try not to use a boat for sighting. You can never be sure that the boat isn't going to move.    
• As you begin approaching a buoy, make sure to sight more often.  Your going to want to position yourself away from the cluster of people going around the buoy, so frequent sighting is key here..

During the clinic I had the opportunity to watch a group of novice swimmers make their way to a buoy and turn around.  I was shocked at how many swimmers never sighted and went completely off course.

TURNING A BUOY:

There are a couple of different ways to turn a buoy.  There's the "novice way" and the "fancy ballerina experienced way".  Here's a breakdown of both:

• The novice way is to lift your entire head out of the water and swim freestyle around the buoy. Your basically doing a Tarzan Drill and keep your arms wider (2 and 10 o'clock) so that you can claim some personal space for yourself as you navigate the buoy.    
• If your approaching the buoy and notice swimmers clustered around it, simply overshoot the buoy a little bit to get around the cluster.  Once you are completely around the buoy, return to regular freestyle swimming and sighting techniques.
• The professional way of turning a buoy is going to take some practice.  We were told in the clinic to overshoot the buoy a tiny bit even when doing it the "professional" way.  If you watch the video below you'll see why overshooting the buoy, even by a little bit, is a good idea!  

Video Demonstration: Turning a Buoy the Professional Way

 

 

DOLPHINING:

 

Dolphining was another technique that we practiced during our swim clinic. You use this technique to get into and out of the water quickly and using less energy. It's especially helpful if you're going into or coming out of waves in the ocean. While we practiced it a few times, I kept forgetting to plant my feet with each push off.   Once I realized that I wasn't pushing off with my feet, I corrected my mistake and found it helpful.  Be forewarned though. The first time we did it, everyone got a nose full of water. You seriously need to keep your head tucked.  That was another thing I kept forgetting. 

 

 

Video Demonstration: Dolphining or Dolphin Technique