John Cutler posted on July 27, 2010 10:24
Swimming is often the most challenging triathlon discipline to master, and open water swimming can be downright intimidating. Uncertainty abounds – Am I swimming in the right direction? Am I going to get kicked, dunked, punched by other swimmers? What was that you just bumped your hand into? Having the opportunity to practice in a non-competitive environment can go a long way toward minimizing that intimidation. And even if one is finally ready to practice, there are very few places in the area with public access to lakes or rivers where one can do so.
With that in mind, we invited 80 of our closest swimming buddies – actually anyone who registered – out to Pohick Bay near Lorton, Virginia, for a some practice. It's a great place to practice because it never gets deeper than about 6 feet. The participants all agreed that the wade out through the yummy seaweed was well worth it! With all our hot weather recently, the water temperature was a balmy 85 degrees – perfect for not only open water practice, but open water without one's wetsuit “woobie”. Several of our swimmers were able to say, “That is the farthest open water swim I have ever done without my wetsuit!”
Before anyone got so much as a toe wet, CL coaches Steve Dolge and Eric Sorensen spent 45 minutes talking about how to put on and take off a wetsuit – not applicable for the day's swim, but important for the next time they'll need to wear one – seeding oneself at the start of a triathlon swim, protecting yourself and swimming confidently in open water, and how to sight.
Over the next hour, the swimmers were free to swim a much or as little as they would like. Afterward, we all headed up the hill to join Team Z for some burgers and beverages. Many thanks to Frankie Marcinkowski and Mei Mei O'Connor from Curl-Burke Masters for opening their doors to their open water location.
Keep your eyes open for our next free clinic on August 28th, Tips & Transitions, just in time for The Nations Triathlon.