Unless you have any deep-rooted fears that you asociate with open water (which is highly unlikely given that you actually swam in it and are going back), I would expect that your anxiety will decrease the more you swim in open water. Are you a strong swimmer in general? For some people, the lack of having a concrete edge just a few feet away is enough to make them nervous - but if you are a strong swimmer than this is not likely to be the case. If you are a weak swimmer however, your fears will decrease as your swimming ability (and confidence) increases.

As for closing your eyes when you put your face in the water, this could lead to serious sighting problems. Frankly, I have a hard enough time swimming in a straight line as it is, so closing my eyes would be nearly catastrophic. I'd work on spending more time in the water and becomming more comfortable with your surroundings, and try to keep those eyes open. You don't want to swim into a pair of feet on race day either!

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I'm a pretty strong swimmer, lots of endurance, not lots of speed. Funny thing is, I'm so use to pool swimming, that I started to think I couldn't swim that far, even though I can do 3000m in a pool. No end to do a 180 on. Weird.

The feet on race day is a good point. I was opening my eyes when taking a breath, then closing as my face went down - lots of blinking! - I don't want to run into someone though. Going back tomorrow, guess I'll try to keep my eyes open. Thanx!

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Most people don't recognize opportunity because it wears bib overalls and looks like work.
~Teddy Roosevelt

It happens to me sometimes too. I'll get anxiety about anything: if I can see how deep the water is, if I can't see a thing, if I do see things, if I see lots of vegitation and other ~stuff~, seeing critters...

But for me it doesn't always happen and I can't tell when it will although I'm usually OK during a race. I just tend to let my eyes zone out and not focus an anything particular while my face is in the water.

Hi Kate, My wife is a strong openwater swimmer, always gets out of the water near the front of her wave and always closes her eyes when she puts her head in the water. It doesnt hurt her, it won't hurt you. Do what makes you feel comfortable. Good luck in you upcoming race!

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

after years of open water swiming both for triathlons and the military (most at night and freezing) i can say with out a doubt your fear of the deep is ok and healthy.

we are not natural to the open water. the idea of not knowing what is below us is creepy. so close your eyes and realize your normal. you'll get used to it.

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I'm new too, and I am finding, perhaps not surprisingly, that the more time I spend in open water, the more comfortable I feel in it.

As some others have said, you can do 3000 yards 3-4 times a week in the pool, but when you are out there with no lane lines and concrete walls, it's not the same experience.

But I have to say, I love the fact that I can see a beautiful pond or lake and think, "I can swim across that!"

I sure hope I get to do Alcatraz one day. I've been there, and that has to be the most incredibly challenging swim. Between the strong winds, cold water, and the currents, that is perhaps the most challenging swim I know of. Not to be crass, but the finisher's medal for that race should be a pair of brass ones.

Good luck on your race next week.

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Hi Kate,

Are you swimming by yourself or in a group? If you are not doing it already, I would recommend that you try and swim open water with some friends. It doesn't even have to be a fast or hard swim. Just focus on being relaxed and try and enjoy the moment. The more you will do it, the more comfortable you should feel.

Good luck!

After my previous post I went out for a swim. Well the plantlife and kelp in the ocean was pretty plentiful today and I kinda freaked out. At times it felt like swimming through hedges. Arrggh!!

Out of curiosity what are you afraid of in the open water? I suppose a snapping turtle could snip off a finger or two or a watersnake might come by to check you out but the chances in that happening are pretty slim. (just joking) I love the open water. I swim at a local lake with about two feet of visibility. It is such a break from the lane lines and it just feels like a more natural way to swim. I've had a few critters give me a poke and at times a stray piece of vegetation has caused me to scream like a girl but that just makes it all that much more fun. Try to see the adventure in open water swimming and also realize there is nothing in the water that isn't more afraid of you. Unless of course you're doing laps in the Amazon.

Thanks for all your replies. Think I'll just keep my eyes closed while under, and hope for the best! Because there's virtually no visibility in this lake, its almost a claustrophobic feeling to look into the water. Perhaps on race day, the feeling won't be there or as bad, with so many other swimmers.

Swam with 1 other person, but sometimes she was close, sometimes she wasn't. Tom, you asked what I'm afraid of in the open water. Probably would have to say drowning is the first thing that comes to mind;) Critters dont' freak me out too much, especially lake critters - lots of snorkeling under my belt. There you go! A tube and fins! Why didn't I think of it before! He He He. You guys have probably seen someone try to do it.

Anyway, leaving in 1 hour to go do it again. Hopefully it'll be a little easier. Its sunny today - thankfully, that might help a little. Thanx again for all your posts. Its good to know I'm not the only one!

Kate

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Most people don't recognize opportunity because it wears bib overalls and looks like work.
~Teddy Roosevelt

I had a run in with a shark when I was 18 and a beach lifeguard in NJ. The shark was more scared of me, and cut my stomach with its tail in a frantic escape (it was also no more than 3 feet long, and probably ate plankton). I have since then been scared sh1tless everytime I have been in the ocean. I close my eyes when my face is in the water every time. Fresh water is a different story. My imagination is not vivid enough to put a shark in the local lake, so I have taken to looking all over the place. I am amazed at what I see down there, but every once in a while I catch a glimpse of something that my imagination registers as a threat and I sprint for 2 or 3 strokes. So far I have sprinted away from a perch, a sunfish and an upside down rowboat on the bottom (remember that scene from Jaws with the head...). I believe that this is okay, and sort of normal in some people, so don't worry about it. I don't have a problem with the eyes closed thing in the ocean, I find that drafting is not hindered if I can get my head up to look every 5 or 7 strokes. In a lake all I see are bubbles, I try not to look for feet because it seems to cause me to drop my hips. Actually, my brother is a marine biologist, and he says that sharks think we taste like crap, so it is a little consolation. He also assured me that perch cannot kill a human unless you try to swallow it whole. The anxiety will pass, don't you worry.

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"Maybe you should just run faster..." TM

I'm not "afraid" of anything specifically. It's more an irrational general anxiety that occasionally pops up. I get pissed at myself when it happens b/c I know it's irrational but what can you do? I think it happens simply because I don't do all that much open water swimming, especially in areas with lots of vegitation. I assume that, like most things, this anxiety will show up less and less often with experience.

A shark - yikes!! I admire the fact you do open water at all after that. Good news! The swim yesterday was WAY WAY easier than the day before. I guess knowing what to expect goes a long way. Still closing my eyes though. I opened them a few times and right now, I find that it helps my relaxation to keep them closed and I actually swim faster. Will even a small perch kill you if you swallow it whole? Hmmm...

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Most people don't recognize opportunity because it wears bib overalls and looks like work.
~Teddy Roosevelt

With me, it's more just the deep. Which I guess is silly, because if you can swim in 5' you can swim in 50', right? Easier said than thought;)

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Most people don't recognize opportunity because it wears bib overalls and looks like work.
~Teddy Roosevelt

"A shark - yikes!! I admire the fact you do open water at all after that"

You should take up scuba diving. I've been on a shark feed in Cuba where the divers were hand feeding 10 ft. long bull sharks. Bull sharks are considered among the most dangerous but it was like feeding a golden retreiver. It proved to me that our fears of sharks are somewhat irrational. Most attacks on humans are that of mistaken identity.

Must admit, I'd be much more afraid of sharks as a surface swimmer or surfer than as a scuba diver.