Need Advice About Swim

[frances]

hi nanci,

i think it's great that you are willing to try/tri it regardless of how you swim!

as long as you are not afraid of being last out of the water, just do your own thing. i am sure no one is even going to notice because everyone else is busy swimming. i wouldn't recommend backstroke because you can't see where you are going. but, sidestroke is totally acceptable from what i hear (i am going to do my first tri in a few weeks).

i'm not a great freestyler myself. so the one tip that someone told me is to just stay in the back, out of the way, so you don't get run over. i also tend to switch between freestyle and breaststroke a lot.

best of luck and let us know how you do!

frances

[Nanci]

This is the last day I can enter on line, but I can still enter day of race for $15 more. But then will I go?

I revisited the swim site with my watch today. You'd think with two "athletes" in the house, I'd be able to find a (living) sports watch, but oh, no, I had to swim with my (old, retired) dress watch.

So it takes me ~15 minutes to go ~800 yards, as clocked by my bike odo, not counting all the zigzagging around. At least the "waves" (a normal OW swimmer would probably call them ripples) were a little smaller so I could see the bouy line clearly at all times. I guess that's not super terrible. I wonder if I will be faster on race day, due to excitement, or slower due to confusion/chaos.

Am I supposed to wear my bike shorts for the swim, or put them on after, and will that be too hard when I'm wet???

Thank you everyone for all the hints/encouragement. There really isn't a better event for me than this one, I just have to get up the nerve to go.

Nanci

[Nanci]

Ok, so that's that, can't waste the $50, I have to go :-)

[Trekhawk]

Good for you - dont forget to let us know how you get on we love to hear all the stories.

[TripleFire]

Go, Nanci, Go! Good for you for overcoming your fears/concerns and registering. I'm starting to realize that any event like this is at least 80% attitude and determination (as long as you have basic skills ) and you surely have that so I bet you'll do great!

After my mild panic attack a few weeks ago in my first tri, I got a wetsuit and registered for another. I also did a mile swim in a pool to give myself a place to go in my mind should I freak out again. So if you start to get panicky in the water, just start to visualize yourself doing the swim just like you did recently so that you have something to reference. I wish I had good advice on breathing and open water tips but I'm still learning myself.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes!

[KSH]

Am I supposed to wear my bike shorts for the swim, or put them on after, and will that be too hard when I'm wet???

Regular bike shorts are not made for a swimming to riding to running transition. The pad is usually too think to ever dry out. You don't want to be riding/running with a soggy "diaper" butt.

If you shorts have a very thin pad in the butt, then you might be fine.

[Nanci]

Cool, thanks. I definately do not want diaper butt in addition to all my other worries! :-) The only other tri I did, Meek and Mighty, was in backwards order, which is so much easier logistically. You just keep stripping things off.

Nanci