Open Water Swim

Open Water Swim is swimming in a natural body of water such as a lake, river, or ocean, rather than following a pool lane line. It trains your lats, shoulders, and triceps as the main movers, while your core works to keep your body steady in moving water. The goal is to build comfort, navigation skill, and steady conditioning outside of a controlled pool.

Set up at a supervised venue with a buddy or group nearby. Wear the wetsuit and goggles you plan to use on race day, and enter the water gradually so your body can adjust to the temperature. Check that your goggles seal well and your wetsuit fits snugly through the shoulders before you start swimming.

Begin with relaxed, easy strokes until you feel your rhythm in the open water. Sight every 6 to 10 strokes by lifting only your eyes forward without snapping your head up or breaking your stroke tempo. Keep a long body line, maintain a light steady kick, and practice starts from the shore or a floating position, turns around buoys, and drafting behind another swimmer when it is safe.

Breathe to the side in a relaxed pattern that matches your effort. In cold water, focus on slow, full exhales so your breathing stays calm and controlled. To make it easier, stay closer to shore and rest on a kayak or buoy when needed. To make it harder, add more buoy turns, practice wave starts, and extend the distance you swim without stopping.

Fault: Lifting the whole head to sight, which drops the hips and kills your rhythm. Fix: Sight every 6 to 10 strokes by lifting only your eyes to the horizon, then rotate your head to the side on the next stroke to breathe.

Fault: Drafting too closely and bumping feet, getting kicked, or following someone off course. Fix: Practice drafting at a safe distance off a swimmer's hip or feet, and keep sighting so you stay on your own line.

Fault: Wearing a brand-new wetsuit or untested goggles on race day and discovering chafing, leaks, or restricted shoulders. Fix: Rehearse your race-day wetsuit and goggles in training so you know how they fit, where they might rub, and how to adjust them quickly.

Fault: Swimming open water alone or in an unsupervised area. Fix: Never swim open water alone; always use a supervised venue or bring a buddy who can keep you in sight.