TXrunningdiva
Posts:9
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| 09/14/2007 8:29 AM |
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| This is my first half and while I know it seems a little late to be freaking out, I can't believe that I am the ONLY person out there who has had some last minute anxiety just thinking about an open water swim that distance. I have done only sprint tri's so I am not totally incompetent, but can someone give some advice or mental exercises, just something that worked for you to calm you down, not panic etc? There isn't much open water where I live so all of training has been in a pool and open water swims have only been on race days. |
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trigordo
Posts:8
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| 09/14/2007 8:55 AM |
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You are not the only person feeling this way. My wife is doing the 1/2IM as well and is having the same concerns. We have done several things to try to calm her down. 1. We've slowly incorporated more open water swimming. If at all possible, try to find a lake to swim in this weekend and practice what you are going to do if you start to panic during the race. 2. In pool workouts, she would swim in a lane with some faster swimmers. This made her deal with people swimming behind, around and over her. 3. She is planning on starting far off to one side where she can get away from all the other swimmers.
Lastly, it sounds like your wave is the second to last to go off. This means there will be very few people swimming up on you so you should have some open water to swim in.
Good luck. |
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apw0397
Posts:92
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| 09/14/2007 9:16 AM |
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Breathe, relax, stay to the outside in the back. If you need to, roll over on your back and swim for a while.
It can be quite intimidating, but if you know what to expect and prepare for it mentally, there will be no surprises on race day. I always prepare the worst; that way anything that may happen hopefully won't shock me. |
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This is what I do.
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/index-weekly.asp?memberid=22399&year=&month=&day= |
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pvanland
Posts:17
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| 09/14/2007 10:55 AM |
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| I am not the fastest swimmer, but I usually come out of the water in the top 20% or so. Still, I have never had an open-water wetsuit swim where I do not experience anxiety at some point- and I know this is common to others. In my case, it is the wetsuit that induces the anxiety, but what I do may still be applicable to you. Basically, I stop and tread water for a few seconds and tell myself I am being irrational. It seems obvious, but it helps me to know that there are others out there who are experiencing the same thing and that it is a completely normal feeling. Just relax and swim. |
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veryslowmike
Posts:9
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| 09/14/2007 11:03 AM |
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| I use ear plugs (Macks) which not only keep water out of your ears but also offer a quiet solitude effect, it may sound goofy but just before starting the swim it really helps to relax, breathe deep, meditate and let yourself know everything will be fine. l |
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4mul8r
Posts:2
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| 09/14/2007 4:24 PM |
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| #1 Try to relax. #2 Try to warm up a little in the water and get the heart pumping before the actual start. #3 Don't start out too fast #4 Slower swimmer?...start towards one side or the other. I've done a number of 1/2 iron swims, but earlier this year I ran into a Major problem by starting the swim directly from the crapper to race start with no warm up and starting out too fast. After 150 yards...I was in trouble and took 5 minutes to find my stroke and calm down. Lesson learned. |
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smills111
Posts:1
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| 09/15/2007 6:55 AM |
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I try not to focus on the total distance, just focus on making it to the next buoy. Once I get there, focus on making it to the next buoy. Really, that's all I do for this ironman distance. During the run, focus on making it to the next aid station.
Also, focus on swimming in a straight line. I take a peek every 5 strokes to make sure I stay on course. |
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irondave
Posts:2
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| 09/15/2007 6:03 PM |
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| I have completed the Redman Half the last two years and am entered for my third year. I am a swim coach and a 9 time Ironman. I coach and teach clinics on Open Water swimming. I will venture forth to offer two solutions - I say venture because I have not seen any of you swim and your individual swimming technique may be causing other problems. The panic phenomenon in open water swimming usually occurs for two reasons: constriction of the chest and not exhaling sufficiently. It is a fine line between a wetsuit fitted properly (not too loose) and one that constricts the breathing. Generally a wetsuit can feel fine walking around in normal movement but can be fairly restrictive in allowing your lungs to fully inhale when put under the stress of long distance swimming. Make sure the wetsuit is pulled up on your body and does not compress the chest too tightly. The second issue is not exhaling enough in the water. It takes ten times longer to exhale than it does to inhale (that is not empirical data I just made it up for effect – trust me it takes a lot longer to breathe out than to breathe in). A lot of swimmers try to exhale and inhale when their head rotates out of the water in a breath pattern – there is not enough time to do that. Sooooooooooo on every breath the triathlete is getting further and further behind on her needed air. Pretty soon the brain registers that it and his buddy the heart are not getting enough air and so it uses the old natural panic feeling to make our favorite triathlete do something about it - immediately. Two solutions – make sure you warm up in the water – the vast majority of triathletes do not warm up adequately for a triathlon swim – get in the water, get your balance in place, feel the water and get your exhaling going. Second, make sure when you are swimming that you are making loud bubble noises when you breathe out in the water – be forceful about it – make sure you are empty when your mouth breaks the surface of the water so you can get a full complement of air. In none of the other disciplines do you have to conscientiously think about breathing out. Try it, you’ll like it! See you in Lake Hefner. |
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irondave
Posts:2
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| 09/15/2007 6:11 PM |
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| Might I suggest that you extend you stroke count for sighting for more than 5 strokes. If you swim in a pool then you should know your stroke count for 25 yards/meters. This week try something new - push off the wall with your eyes completely shut. Swim your stroke count (minus 4 strokes) and then open your eyes. If you bump into the lane line - note which direction, which side you hit. That is the direction you pull. Do it again and again until you can go the distance without hitting a lane line. Now when you hit the water next Saturday - swim your new stroke count for 25 yards - how far are you going to wander off in 25 yards? start eating the elephant in substantial bites at a time - stop nibbling at it. At minimum you should go 20 strokes without sighting - otherwise you are just starting and stopping constantly. |
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wtt9808
Posts:4
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| 09/16/2007 9:13 PM |
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| I too have had panic attacks on every open water swim I've done. I end up flipping over on my back numerous times to calm down and breath. This time I've decided I am going to work that into my routine. Jeff Galloway is a writer for Runners World who teaches a marathon routine that incorporates planned walking breaks. I am going to incorporate planned floating breaks (since it is very difficult to walk in a lake) this time and see if I can overcome this anxiety. Don't know if this is a good plan, but its a plan! |
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gregmporter
Posts:4
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| 09/17/2007 9:54 AM |
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I am lucky enough to swim in a lake 3 times a week almost every week. I too, still have panic attacks once in awhile. I am not a super fast swimmer, but I do o.k. I am not usually concerned with winning events, although I usually rank amoung the top clydesdales. I use the breast stoke whenever I get panic'd or I need a break. It allows me to get a good sight on where I am going, it allows me to breath very easily and I continue to move forward. I count 100 stroke cycles (R+L=1 stroke) of freestyle and then I take a 10 stroke break using breast stroke. This breaks a mile swim into about 7 chuncks of 100 strokes. The breast stroke helps bring the heart rate down a bike and uses some different muscles for a minute or so.
I also use the breast stroke when I am getting kicked or hammered around the bouys. It takes the surprise away since you can see everything coming at you.
Good luck,
Greg |
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wolfie
Posts:1
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| 09/21/2007 8:52 AM |
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A little tip that might help some of you on the swim. Make sure to keep your eye brows almost even with the top of the water. That means that instead of having your eyes pointed toward the bottom of the lake/pool you have your eyes close to parallel with the top of the water. This helps keep your shoulders further out of the water making your stroke more efficient. (Speaking of your stroke you should be using an "S"-type motion keeping your arm close to your torso pushing out past your thigh).
Anyway back to the big part of the tip. If you keep your eyes almost level with the water, it takes just a small modification of your stroke to "peak" out of the water to see where you are at and what is in front of you. Doing that will keep you fast and hopefully with the "peaking" maneuver free of panic attacks.
Take that for what its worth, but I usually finish in the top 5 swimming on the sprint triathlons I do, and I hope to finish well in the half.
--wolfie |
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