The above question is not a joke nor hypothetical. I’m still nursing a problem knee and biking/running is out of the question. However I have the competitive desire as much as ever. So I’ve been swimming 5x/week and participating in swim meets. But, for me at least, traditional swim meets just don’t have the same feel and excitement that I get from a triathlon race.
Open water races, however, are another story. I find these to be significantly more engaging and am signing up for as many as I can find.
Last week I did a
5k swim race in Long Beach, California. Despite the relatively warm water temperatures, I decided to wear a wetsuit. Many of the other participants were foregoing wetsuits but I was (perhaps wrongly) concerned that over the time that I’d be in the water (over an hour) that I’d become uncomfortably cold without one. Also, as a triathlete, I know the benefits one can get from a well-fitting wetsuit. Lastly, I had purchased a new X-Terra wetsuit last year and I’ve only had the chance to race in it once and it seemed a waste to leave it in the trunk while I was thrashing around in the waves.
Other than the aforementioned lack of wetsuits being worn, the race was surprisingly similar to the first leg of a typical triathlon. A gun goes off, people run into the water, draft, and then run out. The difference of course is that we then don’t have to get on a bike (let alone run) afterward. And this required a different mindset for me. As a triathlete, I know that it’s not about having the best swim time but instead the goal is to have the best overall race. That dictates a balancing act between how fast you can go and how fast you should go. (By the way, I just listened to an excellent Tri-Talk podcast [#63] on this very subject.) But in an open water swim race there is nothing after the swim and therefore nothing holding one back from laying it on the line while still in the water.
I still definitely a newbie when it comes to ocean water racing but I’m finding more and more information to help me. First off there are numerous websites, blogs and even Facebook groups focused on the topic. I strongly suggest checking out the blog
Olympic 10k Marathon Swim to get you started.
See you in the water.