Hello:

I am by no means an authority, but OWS and pool swimming are completely different. OWS is harder and builds more endurance, at least in my experience. Others will probably disagree. Try and find somewhere to do several OWS of two or so miles to get the feel for continuous swimming, sighting, and navigating in murky waters. You will be amazed at how different the two are. Open water swimming is fun and can be peaceful, especially when the sun is rising or setting. Make sure you are with another swimmer and wear a bright swim cap or use an orange safety float so you are visible to boaters. Good luck!

I agree with the above poster that OW builds more endurance. If you are used to pool swimming, you will really notice the lack of turns when you switch to OW. This not only leads to more tired shoulders, as you don't get that "break" every length, but OW also seems to tax my core more - a flip turn allows your lower back to stretch, whereas in OW it's constantly engaged.

I would answer your question as "do some of both." I prefer the pool for building speed because I like doing intervals and find them far easier to do in the pool than OW. However, it is good to get OW time in so you learn how to sight, how to swim with or against a current, how to swim in rough conditions, etc. That said, if you are a good swimmer and don't get in any OW time, you will probably still be fine. I've had many a fast tri swim-split and standalone OW race on very little OW training.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Pool is handy for pace work & building speed, OWS is better for building the long, non-stop endurance that is needed. A combo of both is best, but you can make either work adequately to get the job done at AZ. It's easier to produce & monitor measurable results in a pool, therefore it's easier to train harder & with a higher intensity - that will translate directly into the open water power & speed.

If you can only do pool, throw in some longer continuous swims & don't use the walls. Agree with TC in that there are vastly different dynamics in open water that require a different muscle strength/memory than simply pool swimming - sighting & rougher water, not to mention current if applicable all change your body position, making an OWS a more dynamic workout.

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AW

I concur with the other responders……with an added question:

How comfortable are you swimming in ow ?
If you have no fear/comfort issues, I would add to the chorus of "some of both" . Get a long swim in once a week or so and continue with the intensity and focus in your pool sessions.

If you have concerns, fear or discomfort in the ow, I would suggest getting out of the pool more often with, perhaps initially, some shorter ow sessions focusing on comfort and logistical issues (sighting, etc) and , as you become more experienced and comfortable, add to your ow time and distance.

Yep, some of both, with at least one long ows of 2+ miles per week. I like to get up to at least 3 miles, since that extra bit of endurance can really help if the swim conditions turn rough.

And who wants to start a long bike/run tired? ;-)

As for tracking distance/pace, I've had good luck sticking my Garmin 310 under my swim cap. I use both for the data after the swim, and I set the alarms to beep every 15 minutes and every quarter (or half) mile to help me keep track as I'm swimming.

Good luck and have fun!

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

Thanks for all the advice. I am ok swimming OW no anxiety for me. Will keep the pool swimming workouts for the speed intervals and will now add one open water swim a week as my long swim set.

I'd like to bring up what nobody else has in this thread, that being water temperature. After coming so close to kq at IMAZ that I could almost taste it, I remember staggering out of the ice-cold water for an unusual 9-minute T1.

To me, water is water (from the perspective of a fish) and as long as I can handle the waves, then all is good. What I WASN"T prepared for though, is going from 78 degree water to 62 degree water and the hypothermia of never getting warm enough after 1:10 in the water.

Maybe it's that I'm in my 50's now and I'm not as strong as I used to be, but definitely the cold should not be taken for granted as a non-factor at IMAZ swim.

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DFL > DNF > DNS

I honestly believe there is little relevance between pool and OW swimming. I've known people who are fast in the pool and much slower in OW and vice versa. My wife is always faster than me in the pool but we're about the same in OW. I've got friend who can beat me in the pool any time but always comes out of the OW behind me. In OW there are many factors that you don't deal with in a pool - wearing a wet suit, waves, visibility, currents, cold, fish, etc. They can be quite a shocker to people who don't train in OW that often.

The typical triathlete would be better served swimming intervals in a pool judging by the multitudes of triathletes I've observed swimming OW.
Sure the occasional OWS session is fine. But if you're concerned about your swim fitness and getting out of the water in the best possible time and with the least amount of fatigue, the occasional OWS session is about all you need.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

X2

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DFL > DNF > DNS

I beg to quibble. I suspect there is a statistically significant correlation between OW times and pool times. Slow in pool = slow in OW too. Fast in pool = fast in OW too.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I'd like to see those stats but I'd suspect that those fast folks swim in both disciplines. The people I'm referring to do most if not all of their swim training in a pool and not much OW swimming. I actually didn't do much actual OW swimming but had a background in wreck scuba diving in the cold low vis great lake area so was never intimidated by OW (but was never fast either). I've known fast people in the pool who are totally uncomfortable in OW.

I'm with Tigerchick on this. If you looked around you'd see that probably 85-90% of the time the fastest pool swimmer is going to be faster in OWS.

Are there exceptions? yes but the norm is faster is faster.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Stats professor here, I'm with TC on this one -- if you find us some data, I'll have my UGs run the correlation. That said, my BF Andy Potts says "train in pool, race in open water" -- but he also says that your stroke must change to be truly successful in open water, so in re the OP's original question, I'd think if you are relatively inexperienced, you might do well to practice OW a bit. Additionally, those of us who race often in the ocean, especially where there is potential for high surf, practice the beach run, getting through the break, sighting, and bodysurfing to shore in various conditions (just ask the 2014 Womens campers why this is important...). And finally, it's just fun. Way more social than our pool swims, and hard to beat watching the sun rise from 500m offshore in the Pacific Ocean.