First open water swim.... I suck.

You got the hard one out of the way.  It will only get better/easier.

I used to be an open water lifeguard back in the day(HS), and did many buoy to buoy workouts 6-10x 300yds.  Timebreak 18 yrs... put on a Wetsuit for the first time 2 weekends ago and hit the cold cold water of Keuka Lake. 

OMG PANIC!  It was like Monty Pythons sprint for people with no sense of direction!  The cold water hitting my face, going down my suit and the general tightness of the suit drove the air right out of me and I went into SUPER WTF SPRINT MODE.

2 days later it was calm easy going swim mode.

Thjs was my experience almost exactly.  first OWS, first wetsuit swim too.  I have yet to do me second OWS and my race is in 18 days!!

Glad to see everyone commenting that it will get better..

You still did better than I did in my first OWS, which was also my first wetsuit (fitted badly by a good fitter, ironically).

I swam so far off course in a measly 500m swim in a LAKE with no currents that I nearly hit a pier. 2 kayaks followed me the 2nd half since they didn't think I'd make it, and I barely did, as my fullsuit was too small and my arms had completely fatigued. (So much for reputable fitters in Santa Monica.)

Changed out the wetsuit, and it got way easier since.

Same for me last week.

1st one was a disaster. 2nd one was way better.

You just have to keep going and things will improve.

This sums up my experience as well.  Now, I don't even think about it being an issue.

Keep at it!

My wife and myself did the Knoxville Rev 3 Oly in May.  It was the first time she had wore a wetsuit.  We went for a practice swim the day before the event.  My wife was a competitive swimmer in school and swims like a fish with virtually no effort.  I jumped in first and waited for her.  As soon as she jumped in and came up I noticed complete panic on her face.  I went to ask her if she was OK and she went by me like a rocket back to the dock and was hanging on for dear life.  She told me no way was she going to do the tri.  I let her get over the panic and she was OK after a few minutes.  I should have let her not compete.  I started the Rev 3 4 minutes before her.  She blew by me on the swim like I was standing still.  LOL.

Give it some time. 

You just hit my first one (and only one to date) on the head, that's brilliant.

And, FYI, I'm totally going to steal that one.

I just attempted (notice I didn’t say completed) my first OWS.  I’m new to the game this year and have been swimming in at the Y since March.  Never really swam much before this year.  Started out rough but have improved to the point that I can swim a couple miles worth of laps during a training session.  So I was feeling okay but nervous about my first OWS.  It went something like this…

1)      Standing on the shoreline a buoy a ½ mile out in the water looks like a very long distance

2)      I start to over think the situation, water is cold, can I make it, what if I don’t, etc…

3)      In the rush from work to home to the lake I forgot my goggles and to borrow an ill-fitting pair from another member

4)      Also forgot my nose clamp (I don’t do well without one.)

5)      The whistle blows and I’m in the middle of the 25 person pack

6)      We take off and I’m hit or kicked about 3-4 times, each time I come to a complete stop, I don’t know why I just did, couldn’t help myself

7)      About 500 yards in my legs seem very heavy, I realize I didn’t zip up my legs, I stop and zip up my legs openings

8)      While zipping up, I look back towards the shoreline (I only thought it looked far standing on land, now it is ridiculously far!)

9)      Anxiety maybe even panic attack, I can’t get any air, wet suit is closing in on me

10)   I force myself to start swimming (back towards the shore)

11)   For some reason I’m not breathing, I’m holding my breath

12)   I obviously get winded very quickly (50 yards) and stop to catch my breath

13)   Oxygen restored, I start again toward shore this time I force myself to breath out into the water

14)   It wasn’t a pretty stroke but it improved over the next couple hundred yards and was almost smooth the last couple hundred yards

Lessons learned…

1)      Don’t forget your gear

2)      Don’t forget to zip up properly

3)      Don’t stop and look back

4)      I need more OWS practice

Shameless plug, but check out a webinar I just did on open water swimming that might help for your next open water swim as well as your next race - http://www.performancewebinars.com/Performance_Webinar/Alan_Kipping-Ruane.html

REDEEMED!!!

So I went back today. Beautiful day. Perfect conditions. I prepared myself for the tight chest, the zig zag lines, the cold water... I said bring it on.

Wow, what a difference a week makes. No wind which is what was blowing me off course last week. I swim pretty straight. Sighting was easy with my new goggles and anti-fog. Did 900m and was getting warmed up.... went back and felt great. Pulled strong, getting my rhythm.

Then BAMMM! left calf cramps up like mad. Make it to shore. Try to work it out. Consider calling it a day..... said screw it.. either it will cramp again or it won't. Swam the whole course without stopping. Had a few spasms in BOTH calves, but not full lock up. Both of them are a mess now... nothing but huge knots.

BUT THE KICKER...Tried to go as hard as I could, was worried about the cramps, could not kick strong..... did the 1.15 mile course in 37 minutes. I'm SO HAPPY with that. I wanted to do my HIM swim in 35 minutes. Not perfect today, but I am definitely in the ball park. So so happy.... so so sore.

Good to hear!  I'm hoping the same for myself this Saturday.  I did my first OWS Tuesday evening and wasn't too great at it.  I'm not a great swimmer anyway, having never swam more than 100 yards until a couple of years ago, but I can do 2000 yards in a pool without taking a break, so I can functionally swim, just slow.

Anyway, I went out there and swam like it was the pool for about 50 yards, bilateral breathing every 3rd stroke.  Then I looked up to sight and totally lost my rhythm.  Felt like I couldn't get enough air.  Wound up rolling over on my back and doing an elementary backstroke just to catch my breath and calm down.  After that, I struggled with the rest of the swim and was starting to get better by the end. 

But having done that, now I just want to get back out there as much as I can to get better. I don't expect to do great next time, but I hope I at least suck a little less.

Exactly!. I don't know how everyone else is, but fear of the unknown usually does a number on me. Once I know. I'm good. So I just took the mind set that I was going to suck again, but that it was OK.... and it went just like normal.

It still took a good while to get going though. I felt good after the first length of 900m....but it took that long. Not sure how it will go for my Sprint this weekend with 750m to swim.

But after I warmed up, it was just like the pool..... monitoring stroke, breathing with rhythm, putting in work. So hopefully it will be the same for you.

And just for me....  I can bilateral breath... but I can't get enough air every 3 strokes. Swiming normal I can hold my breath and exhale/inhale at the same time... but when I have to put out... it's exhale all underwater, inhale above continuous. Perhaps give that a try and see if your times come down.

Great post.  Really underscores why people should not wait until their first race to do their first OWS!  Even if they feel confortable swimming.

As for calf cramps, I found that if I switch to breaststroke the change in muscle usage will "work out" the cramp.  You might give that a try.

Breast is my favorite and what I liked to race in. Much preffer it for recovery than backstroke. I used it a bit to flex things out. Can't say it helped much, but can't say it hurt.

It's weird too.... I have always had flat feet in the water, sat on them all my life.... it isn't like the calves are putting in a lot of work back there.... but sitting there contracted.... it just hit me. I never never have cramping problems.... but I did do a hour long TT on the bike at lunch.. it is hotter, I stopped salting my food... who knows. Hopefully it will be worked out by this Sunday. they are still knots. Rode the bike in to work at a easy pace to get them moving.