For the past three weeks, I've been going to a cedar water lake about 20 minutes from my house and joining upwards of 30-50 other people for some laps around a few buoys. Three weeks ago was the first time I swam in a wetsuit. It was pretty cool. Since then, I've been getting more comfortable with the suit and with open water swimming in general.
The loop is .2 miles, and the first week I did a loop, then stopped for a minute, then did another, then stopped, etc., for 5 loops. By the second week I did a loop, stopped, did a loop, stopped, then did 3 loops without stopping. It usually takes the first loop for me to get my breathing calmer and my stroke smoother. This past weekend, I did a loop, stopped for just a minute to swap out goggles (still working on finding the right pair for me!) and then started my next loop. I felt good, so I kept going for my 3rd. Then, as I approached the "start" area, I still felt good so I kept going. And again. So for this swim I did 4 straight loops, or .8mi.
I know that doesn't sound like that big of a deal, and yes, I've swum that distance plus some in the pool many times. But OWS has never been that comfortable for me. I don't like wondering what I'm swimming with. I don't like wondering when someone is going to swim into me or cross in front of me or pummel me. And with each OWS session, I'm getting a little, teeny bit more comfortable. That's huge.
I actually, sort of, look forward to going to the open water swim each week now.
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