Open Water Swims

Some of you may know that my very first (and most recent) open water swim occurred during my first triathlon last August. I got in the water and started swimming, realized that there was no ground beneath my feet, and promptly began to hyperventilate. I ended up breaststroking with my head above water until I got to the first buoy and somewhere between the shore and the first buoy, I turned around and considered swimming back because I really wasn't sure what I was thinking swimming in a lake... Anyways, once I passed the first buoy I was fine, and I actually started swimming well (relatively speaking) and even started passing people. I got to shore, transitioned well, and then headed off on the bike. This was my last open water swim.

So...knowing that I'm registered for 4 triathlons, and am thinking about registering for two more, I've been thinking about this whole open water swim thing. I've decided that I absolutely must overcome this panic and in order to do this, I've been working on a plan. I've purchased a couple of wetsuits, one sleeveless, one with sleeves. Over the past several weeks, I've been working on my swimming. I went to tri-camp and learned that I'm actually a pretty good swimmer which gave me alot of confidence. Here's the big plan...I called my brother Eric last night and asked him if he would be willing to take his little boat out to some open water once a week, and follow along with me while I swim. I figure if I'm swimming in the water, that race days shouldn't be a big deal at all, other than the washing machine effect at the start. There is a plan in place, and I'm feeling good about the plan, so hopefully, there will be some pretty good/cool improvements in my open water swims this year.