So you couldn't clear your goggles? Do you normally swim w/a cap? I had trouble at first in OWS because I never wore a cap in the pool. Started doing that and there was less trouble in OW.

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Oh yeah!

Other than working on panic recovery, let's try and discover where the leak came from:

-did you take a hand/foot to the face in the scrum?
-were they new goggles?
-if they were your old faithful goggles that you've used forever, have they ever leaked before under any circumstances?
-were you wearing a swim cap under or over the goggles strap?
-did you have the forward lip of the swim cap under or over the top edge of your goggles?

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Carl Matson

The best strategy if your goggles fail during a swim is to simply remove them and swim without. It also pays to do some open water swim practice without goggles so you are accustomed to this.

Think about this: Big wave surfers don't wear goggles. Once you are accustomed to it you realize you actually don't need them, even for ocean swims. Try practicing for different contingencies so you are comfortable in the water before race day.

You made it though- that's what counts. Well done.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I've always wondered if these people without goggles/masks whatever wear contacts? I can't see mine staying in with my eyes open in water.

Why were you vomiting your guts out after your goggles failed? Because of the panic?

I would have tossed them. In fact I did just that in an aquathon a few weeks ago..

jaretj

It's worth asking the water support for assistance, whilst obviously requests for spares etc. cannot always be granted sometimes they can. I had a spare set of goggles on my boat and could have got them to you, way to tough it out and I hope overall you had an enjoyable day.

Reading between the lines, I think this was a failure to prepare properly.

Did you have new goggles?
Have you practiced long open water swims?
Did you start with clear water to stop any panic?
First non wetsuit swim?

To answer your question on how to prep better:
1) No new goggles on race day.
2) Always wear a swim cap when practicing
3) Practice open water swimming with other people bumping you
4) Always practice without and with a wetsuit.

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I'll agree with Tom on this one. Just press on without them. Stuff them into your swim cap or on your head or inside your wetsuit. Take 5 strokes with your head down and eyes closed, and then open them to sight every 5 strokes or so, and repeat for 1.2 miles. I've had a few races where my goggles leaked and this worked for me.

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My business-eBodyboarding.com

also worth noting is that you are allowed to hang onto a kayak / paddleboard during the swim to fix gear or simply rest with
no penalties. I started a race with a bug once and ended up stopping twice on a paddle board puke during the swim.

As long as they don't progress down the course you can hang out for as long as you want.

.

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" I take my gear out of my car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of of their lives shocks me. "
(opening lines from Tim Krabbe's The Rider , 1978

James Haycraft wrote:

I've always wondered if these people without goggles/masks whatever wear contacts? I can't see mine staying in with my eyes open in water.

I've lost so many contacts in the water in general due just getting splashed, there is no way I could finish a tri, or even the swim without mine, I'm pretty blind though. I recommend my approach. Find goggles you like, buy about 5 pairs, keep 2 in your race day bag, 2 in your training bag, and an extra set somewhere (usually the trunk of my car) and use them all evenly. I guess I'm just super paranoid about this, losing my ability to see is not an option for me during a race.

x2. Never used to bother me before I had contacts, which I got late in life. I surf with mine in now but I don't exactly like it, always afraid they're going to wash out. Can't wait for my vision to stabilize and get lasic.

Good job on finishing the race!
you just need to get comfortable in OWS. I have done a lot of OWS in my early days but don't anymore but I think those swims helped me get comfortable in the open water.
Find goggles that fit on your face and work for you. I went through many and finally found one that I am in love with. I just bought two more of them. BTW: I dropped mine coming out of the water at Racine, anyone saw them(speedo mirror tinted goggle)?

Thanks for the advice. I think I had 2 problems - leaky goggles and panic (I believe the vomiting was caused by motion sickness from the rolling I was doing). The panic part I know how to work on but the goggles - they were not new and I swam with them in the pool several times last week with no leaking. The only things different in this race: it was OW, I had on a cap, and I had suntan lotion on my face - any of these common leak causers? It was a great day in spite of this and definitely not my last 70.3.

I'd say suntan lotion could be problematic, specially if its that greasy sorta waterproof stuff, maybe the goggles were sliding around and didn't get any suction?

Swim cap definitely causes my goggles to leak if it is pulled down too far and the suction cup area of the goggles are touching latex instead of my face. Pretty easy fix though, fold up parts of the cap to ensure your goggles have a clean connection to your face.

Also you mentioned it was your first HIM, was it also your first OWS? OWS, and triathlon OWS definitely have some big differences between pool swimming in terms of environment, tactics, technique and equipment. Gotta practice it best you can and it will eventually become a lot more natural.

It's funny. I used new goggles (new brand etc.) on race day and they were fine. I have been a swimmer all my life and I have never worn a pair that I could not make work. Some work better, but you can tell as soon as you put them on the first time if they will leak, no? I think this has more to do with freaking out than anything else. I say the soloution is to spend more time in the water.

I've been lurking on ST for a while and your suntan lotion comment actually made me scream at my computer and register just so I can finally comment.

Are you kidding me? You put lotion on your face and come ask people why your goggles leak?

Thanks for the constructive advice. Keep lurking.

Another thing I have done is I stuff an extra pair of goggles under my swimsuit / wetsuit. If you don't need them, great. But if you do, you have them.

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Barry Dmitruk
2017: Florida 70.3 (done); Mont Tremblant 70.3 & Ironman

Does Racine allow a warm up swim? This is the best time to check for leaks/issues. Finish the warm up as close to your start time as possible. Don't mess with your goggles once you exit the warm up.

Probably the swim cap, or hair sticking out from it that is causing the leak (bad seal) if anything the sunscreen would initially help the seal but also mean the googles are more likely to move away from where they were put (even with water flow). Avoid sunscreen around the eyes anyway as there is little worse than if that gets in your eyes too! Practice a little without goggles but take some eye drops with you when you do this as it will dry your eyes, when something bad happens try to remain calm and think about the things you can do rather than get more and more frustrated which will lead to more anxiety. Again, don't be afraid to ask for help it's amazing sometimes where it comes from if you need it.

swim with eyes closed while your face is underwater, open em when you sight. I do this when playing/swimming in the ocean with contacts. Its worked fine for me, never lost a contact, but I also haven't swum continuously more than a couple minutes doing this...If I lost a contact during a tri swim, I'd have to bail on the bike, too dangerous w/o contacts.

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some days you're the windshield some days the bug

I agree that the suntan lotion was most likely the culprit. A few years ago I used to swim in this great pool that was outside and I would also do some work on the pool deck before or after swimming. The few times I put on sunscreen before swimming, I always had problem. None of the times did I even put it on my face but just the contact from my hands to the goggles made it a mess.

I also raced Racine on Sunday, and also had some panic time on the swim. 100 m into the swim, my goggles and cap were ripped off. And to make matters worse, I swallowed half of Lake Michigan. For the first time ever, I grabbed a kayak, put my goggles and cap back on, calmed myself down, and salvaged a pretty good swim. Thanks to the nice guy in the kayak 100 m from the shore !!