Demoralizing first OWS practice

Just realize that you're not the only one and that this isn't abnormal!  My wife and I both panic in open water and we've done quite a few triathlons spaced over the past 4 years.  Don't get demoralized; if you stick with it, you'll eventually start to feel more comfortable in the OW and realize that there isn't anything to worry about.

In 2009 my wife and I did Ironman Coeur d'Alene.  We had been deployed for 13 months leading up to it and therefore hadn't been able to do an OWS for about a year and a half.  2 weeks out from the IM we did a practice OWS and both panicked really bad.  I didn't see how I would overcome this with so little time.  However, we fit in a few more practice swims and by race day all the OW nerves were gone.  It happened again in 2010 for my first race of the year, and I'm sure it'll happen again next month when I do my first OWS of 2011. 

Relax and remember to have fun! 

Sorry to hear about that. 

First off I'm a terrible open water swimmer so about the only swim advice I can give you is how not to panic.  The most important thing is to spend time in open water, not only swimming, but treading, relaxing, etc.  I'm convinced that the best thing for me in OWS was understanding that I could float / tread under any situation.

Just go out and tread water in the middle of the ocean / lake and it helps alot.

Ah, but you didn’t drown.  So, you now know form practical experience that you can swim through chop while adjusting your goggles (not that you would want to).  And you didn’t panic so badly that you totally forgot what to do.  You did good! Next time will be easier.

I went up to Chicago for my first sprint. My buddy up there insists I have to pre-swim. Drags me down to Oak St Beach.  I had only swam in a pool, had yet to learn bi-lateral breathing, and never swam in a wet suit.

Well, the lake was like ice water even with the wet suit. The thing feels so tight I can hardly breath. And there are 3’ rollers breaking into me on the only side I know how to breath on. I can’t see my friend, or the buoy we are suppose to be swimming to. The only life guard is a quarter mile away up on the Lakefront Path and seems to have the attitude that…if I’m out in theses conditions, I must know how to swim.   

Point is, I didn’t drown either. And I now know if I can swim in that I can swim in almost any thing.

to clarify:  I DID just flip onto my back and call out for help.  My friend swam up to me and calmed me down, and I just backstroked back to shore.  I was  too frazzled to go back in.   We decided to just finish out the planned workout (bike and run) and call it a day.

It's really good to hear that I'm no alone and it's not a lost cause.   I sooo want to continue to do triathlons.  

All great advice.  I, for one, sometimes still struggle with the 'nerves' at the start of a OWS.  Make sure you get a good warm up in before you start. 

Sounds like you did all the right things.  Keep at it, it'll come-WELCOME TO TRIATHLON. lol. 

Go to a lake, ocean or bay for fun.  Swim in it for fun, not for a workout or anything else.  Learn to enjoy those waters (if you go to the ocean, do some bodysurfing).  It will change your mindset away from seeing them as something to conquer or overcome.

That's easy for me to say and probably hard for you to do.  I grew up going to the beach for weeks every summer and now live less than 10 miles from the ocean, so I'm used to it.  More than that, I see the ocean as fun because I've always done fun things in it.  I'm still training for my first triathlon, and I have no doubt that I'll see the ocean a bit differently that morning, but the ocean/lake is just a deep pool.

I'm sure it didn't/doesn't feel like it to you, but THIS IS GREAT PRACTICE! You went out, you panicked, you rolled over on your back, you made it back to shore. Kudos!

Keep practicing. It gets better/easier. Really, it does.

My background is swimming. I expected OWS to be a piece of cake. The first time I went out to practice OWS, it was HARD. Way exceeded my expectations on how hard it would be. I was so disappointed with myself. The swim coach who was leading the clinic asked me why I was frowning so much. I told him it was HARD and that I did HORRIBLE on the swim. His response: "This is the hardest open water swim you will have, 95% of your triathlons will not have choppy water like this,  congratulations, you're prepared for the worst." And he was right; nothing scares me when I go to do a race. Because I know I faced the worst and was able to swim through it, even if I swam much more slowly and had to work very, very hard to get through it, I now know that there is no race swim start that I can't handle. In fact, I prefer choppy water swim races because I know it gives me a competitive advantage over probably 90% of the field.

Now you are prepared for the worst - a panic attack. And you will do just fine. Keep practicing. It gets easier.

This is what I would recommend.  I grew up on a lake skiing, wakeboarding and just generally playing in it long before I attempted a tri.  I'm comfortable in the water because of it even though I'd say I'm not a great swimmer from a time perspective.  Being comfortable makes you less tense and helps a TON.  so as bwalling says..  just go play in the lake.  goof around, tread water, go under and swim around.  You'll get much more comfortable in no time

My tag line comes from advice I got for my first race last year. Losing your composure like this is 100% mental, and your mind can pull you right back to reality. If you just keep swimming, you'll be fine. The rare people who actually drown stop swimming and go vertical. It's easy to swim easy - pick any stroke.

The other thing that people are right about is, you can't sink in a wetsuit. Knowing that helps you regain your composure. (Actually, if you're in a wetsuit, you don't need to just keep swimming. A break can be just fine.)

...and, next, set modest goals and you'll get comfortable fast. Swim to an easy target. Once you can do that, you'll be over the hump.

Once you are comfortable with an OWS, I'd suggest practicing problems. You've already started with the goggle thing - it's important to practice putting on goggles as if they've been kicked off (trust me, the real thing is rarely bad). Go out when the chop's up, and when the conditions are otherwise tougher than you're likely to see on race day.

Play in the water like this and there's a good chance you'll absolutely fall in love with ows.

Did you do the South Shore Triathlon?  That's one of my races this summer!  Ah, refreshing, bracing Lake Michigan water!

I also grew up around water - had plenty of swimming, water polo and waterskiing to keep me busy as a kid.

But even so, just standing in the crowd of people at a mass swim start gets me on edge.  I always take a few minutes while I'm lined up and just close my eyes while everyone is standing there.  I block out all the other people from my thoughts, breathe slowly and calm myself down before I start.

Thanks so much for the great advice and support - it really helps.   I am going to go back out and just try to get comfortable being in open water before attempting to do another workout.  

In hindsight one of my mistakes was not warming up/getting comfortable in the lake before we started.  It was cold (but not wetsuit cold so we were just in tri gear), so we basically just got out of our car, jumped in, and started swimming towards the buoys.

At the risk of sounding completely cheeseball Pollyanna, this type of support is one of the reasons I like the sport.  I've only done one tri, but been to many of my husband's, and everybody is so supportive.

Had my first OWS this past weekend, in an Oly no less.  Completely freaked out, just like the first time I tried to swim laps, my body would NOT exhale.  Paddled on my back and breast stroke for the first half before I slowly started to feel comfortable with my face in the water.

I feel much more at ease now, knowing I can overcome because I just wouldn't quit (and believe me, I was VERY tempted to call over the boat and withdraw).  As far as being comfortable in the water, I'm good there, spend many days being dragged behind a boat in the same lake, but putting my face in the water and breathing was a whole new experience that I was not ready for.  Just like learning to swim, I can only hope it gets easier.

And before I get chastised for doing a race without first trying an OWS, I know, I just couldn't make it work schedule and weather wise.

Lack of warmup/acclimation can induce panic easily. Get back out there some more and you'll be fine. In fact, like Renee said, panicking is good too, as you learn that you are able to overcome it. Even w/several practice OWS and 2 OWS races behind me, I had some panic on a practice swim last month. A little backstroke, a little breathing, and I was back into it.

OMG djhuff7 I had the same experience this past Sunday too! Mine was my first OLY, 2nd Tri OW Daytona Beach FL. Water was so choppy and current strong(High surf warnings) I got half way to the first buoy and seriously had to talk myself out of quitting. Couldn't catch my breath at all with freestyle or breaststroke so I ended up Backstroking until the last buoy and then finally felt comfortable to freestyle to the end. Whew!!!! I had 3 previous OWS practices on the west coast but the east coast is a different beast altogether. I am just happy I finished even though it took me 35 mins!!! Like everyone says practice makes perfect or at least makes you comfortable.

Congrats, you took another step toward being a bonafide triathlete! Always better after you get the first OWS panic out of the way.