Open water Swimming

Mark Stahlkopf

I've made some significant progress in my swim speed over this past few months IN THE POOL. Since transitioning to more lake swimming this summer it seems that the things I have done to improve in the pool are not translating as well to lake swimming.
I know that the wetsuit makes things different and am trying to adjust for that. Does anyone have advice/ tips for me to try?

Al Truscott

Initial random thoughts:

• Sighting alters body position - head raised, body dropped, increased water resistance. Timing the "peek" during the stroke is a unique skill. Also, consider how frequently you actually need to look. Bilateral breathing helps straighten your path, compared to breathing only on one side.
• There is no "rest" when making a turn (even a flip turn offers some rest, during the glide phase). So overall effort might need to be dropped down a hair too account for that. Even going in a 50 meter pool vs 25 yd pool will slow you down noticeably.
• Most small lakes have little wave action, but there is still wind to consider/ You can't do anything about it, but recognize that when swimming into the wind, even a small ripple on the surface, you will go slower. My own local lake is ~600m end-to-end. There can be up to a minute difference one-way when swimming with vs against the wind.

Josh Church

You could carry over some cues from the pool. When I start swimming OW I have to remind myself to swim like I’m in the pool but notice/remember that my OW routine is different. I usually do this until I find my happy place in OW again. 
Things like
  - counting strokes
  - finger tips down
  - over the barrel catch

Also, I have a tendency not to swim as hard in OW, since I’m usually doing longer 600+yrd then Turn and repeat with no break.
So sometimes I’ll cut it to 300 and swim fast, rest at my turn and go again. So I get the feel what it’s like to swim hard in OW. Not just the pool.

Katherine Chabot-Boucher

Hi Mark
I too have been training in the pool for several months and transitioned to the open water about 3 weeks ago and have been finding myself pensive and melancholy about my performance in the OW. I went back to the pool for a workout and my times dropped in the pool, I go back to the pond with a wetsuit and my times are bad! I do not understand, I went back to my swim coach and OW training with her but she does not see anything significantly wrong with my technique. I am hoping that with more time in the OW water my times will come down. I do know one thing with swimming I am consistently inconsistent and it can be frustrating.