Having taken almost the entire last year and worked primarily on fixing bad swim technique I have found something I never thought I would: I LOVE SWIMMING! It’s just plain fun once ya stop fighting the water and work with it. I have already ditched running due to bum knees and I fear my desire to ride will dwindle to the point I won’t even own a race steed one of these days:( I can still get up for a big event and will even do an IM distance aqua bike next year, but that’s about the extent of it…one big event for the year.
So, not having any particular interest in swimming Masters what other alternatives are there? Is there any kind of open water swimming community out there? We have a local group that does beach swims once a week, but I live an hour away and can never get there in time. For a big event on a weekend I’m golden. Anyone else find some ways to satiate your swim bug? Thanks!
I’ve been swimming on my own for nearly all of my 30 years in the sport of triathlon. Over the past 5 years I’ve added numerous OWS races to the agenda.
Not having every been a ‘smart’ swimmer it was always akin to a bull in a china shop. HTFU, just go harder kind of approach. In a medium 800 times more dense than air that is a great way to punch yourself in the face! Now that I’m having so much fun with it, way faster than I ever was or thought I could be…that’s a bet I would have lost to say I would dump all my other stuff for swimming only.
There are lots of open water races but you have to search for them. We live in Florida and there are a few but elsewhere not sure. As a masters coach who is unable to swim practices due to being on the deck, this is my alternative. i get a few of my swimmers who are slightly faster than me and i swim with 2-4 of them. You only need one other person but helps if they are faster.
Don’t swim with the old farts, swim with the age grabbers. Nothing like trying to hang with the 14 year olds, those kids can recover between sets. If you want to get worked hang with the kids. I would say work out with the college dudes, but I am thinking they are too fast for you.
If ever in the Sarasota, Florida area, My wife and I organize a FREE monthly OWS at Nokomis Beach. We mark a 0.6 mile loop with 7 standard 5'5" race marks, kayak supported, have waiver signature, body marking, mass start and keep time for up to 4 loops and then hang at the beach to socialize. We usually have 40-60 swimmers so it's a great resource for race day practice or picking the brains of seasoned athletes. OWS results as well as beach maps showing GPS measured OWS options are posted at TriathlonRocks.com. For our Sarasota Storm Tri Club @ Serendipity (pool) we organize a FREE bi-weekly swim clinic with 12-16 athletes where our focus in on technique & feel more than mileage and we have a blast! It's been very rewarding for myself (USAT Certified Coach) and my wife (3x Olympic swimmer). Also, USMS has recently moved to Sarasota where we have the annual Tropical Splash OWS each October. Although we have a fantastic masters program here...I am not a member.
Having taken almost the entire last year and worked primarily on fixing bad swim technique I have found something I never thought I would: I LOVE SWIMMING! It’s just plain fun once ya stop fighting the water and work with it. I have already ditched running due to bum knees and I fear my desire to ride will dwindle to the point I won’t even own a race steed one of these days:( I can still get up for a big event and will even do an IM distance aqua bike next year, but that’s about the extent of it…one big event for the year.
So, not having any particular interest in swimming Masters what other alternatives are there? Is there any kind of open water swimming community out there? We have a local group that does beach swims once a week, but I live an hour away and can never get there in time. For a big event on a weekend I’m golden. Anyone else find some ways to satiate your swim bug? Thanks!
If you have a coast or lakes, there will be open water swimming groups and open water swimming races.
What area are you located? I know Gerry Rodrigues coaches the Tower 26 team out of Santa Monica. They do weekly open water swims. Gerry is a great guy. I’d swim with him in a heart beat if I lived in the area.
So, not having any particular interest in swimming Masters what other alternatives are there?
I’m curious why you immediately discounted Masters from your swim plans. Is it a lack of desire to do swim meets? Meets are generally (always?) optional. Is the aversion to Masters due to perception that they only do pool swims? Because, this varies from club to club. There are a lot of triathletes who participate at my local Masters club (Mason Mantas), and although we don’t have many organized open water events, members of the team will often self organize to meet at one of the various lakes and do a openwater swim. Even at the regular organized practices at the pool, the coach recognizes the number of people interested in openwater, so fairly often lane lines come out and we do perimeter swims, or criss-cross swims (requiring sighting), or other open-water specific drills (e.g. buoy turns). Our coach (and interested members of the team) did the Chicago Big Shoulders open water swim, Chesapeake Bay swim, and other open water events; and the team even did a triathlon relay, just to introduce non-triathletes to multisport. Obviously some of these things weren’t US Master’s events and could have been done solo by dedicated individualists, but I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you’re looking for a critical mass of swimmers interested in open-water, I think you’re doing a disservice to yourself by immediately discounting the Masters program (presumably) for fear that they are only into doing lap swimming.