Note…you might also want to read this older post about Fear of Ocean Swimming.
A blog buddy who is doing her first tri at White Lake wrote to me saying…
Ok, are you ready for this, I swam today in Lake Gaston, the water was cool, but do able with the wetsuit, but I had a complete panic attack after i started and really couldn’t get my face in the water. What in the world. It kept taking my breath away and I just couldn’t relax. I made it to the turn around with some real talking with God and the other friend that was in the kayak who by the way talked me through the worst part. Once I turned around and I guess new I was heading home, I could take bout 5-6 strokes and then spot for a second or two and try to start over. Oh my g–! I feel completely unprepared now. I was so confident coming to the water today because of how successful I had been in the pool. Now I have doubts. My transition practice was fine, great actually. But the swim, whoooo weeee. I’m just not sure. I felt great once I got out, not cold or anything, it was just trying to get my face in and relax.
Any thoughts???
Thanks, T.
Yes, we start in waves. Each wave will be probably ~150 swimmers! It’s too late to train for this, but one of the things we’ve done at the lake swims is get in each others faces while swimming…ie., purposely bump into each other. You can also swim in a pool with kids and ask them to purposely bump into you while you do laps. That gets you used to the pack.
One thing you can do on race day is to wait 20-30 seconds and then start swimming. Letting everyone else go ahead of you is probably worth the few seconds lost if you are afraid of the pack.
l told her that it was great that she was practicing before her race, so that she didn’t experience that feeling for the first time DURING the race! And what she’s doing is just right – swim a few strokes, stop to get your bearings, then restart! Eventually it will get easier!
I also suggested that she swim breast stroke if she feels uncomfortable putting her face in the water. There’s no rule that says what stroke you have to swim in a triathlon – anything goes. I have even seen people doing backstroke! You are also allowed to hold onto the lifeguard boats and take a rest. As long as you don’t climb into the boat, you can continue your race.
I reminded her that the water in White Lake is much clearer than most lakes, which may make things feel easier than looking down into muddy water. That’s one reason White Lake is a popular race! Hopefully, those tips will help her feel better about next weekend. Sometimes just knowing that your fears are normal helps!
The fact is, it is normal to feel SCARED looking down into murky water and see nothing, and worse, imagine that maybe you see something. It took me a lot of open water swimming to get over that. And I still feel that way sometimes. Luckily, race day excitement prevents me from feeling that way during races.
The photos below clearly show why you feel panic swimming in open water, even if you are completely comfortable swimming in a pool. A picture is worth a thousand words, eh? (click to enlarge)
 Underwater shot at the Triangle Sportsplex pool in Hillsborough, NC. Crystal clear blue water with lane lines to follow! |
 Underwater shot at Eastlake in Chapel Hill. This is the lake I run to when I do my “six mile run to the lake and back”. I carried my underwater camera there this week, just to see what it would capture. Uh, not much! |
today was my first open water competition, I trained for 2 hours in the pool without holding on to the sides 2 days earlier & beyond , this was supposed to be a 30 min event (1mile)3 minutes into my swim I told a lifeguard that i was done.Can you believe all this physical training went out the door becouse a panic attack . i’ll have a xanax next time!
I did my first triathlon today. I did lots of training in the lake where it was held. It went smoothly and I was comfortable.
Today, about 100 yards into the race I started to be short of breath. The water was choppy from swimmers and someone behind me had hit me what seemed like a dozen times.
I pulled out of the pack, treaded for a couple of minutes and swam alone for the rest of the swim. It is several hours after the race and I think my chest is still tight. (Normal pulse rate, no panic).
Yuck
It is comforting to see others struggle also. I had my first OWS this last weekend and it was a complete and utter failure. I was sick on decongestants and could not catch my breath. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it or I just freaked out??? I am dumbfounded. I swam a mile in the pool just 4 days before and was gassed 150 yards into the 500 yard swim. I have practiced my OWS on probably 5 different occasions at a local lake with very little problems. This time though, I couldn’t get into a rhythmn, when I flipped onto my back to catch my breath I got light headed and dizzy. It was horrible. Since then my plan is to spend 5 days swimming instead of 2 to 3. Spend more time in open water and learn a recovery stroke (back stroke and/or breast stroke) just to get by if it happens again. Very deflating but good to know it is fairly normal for both new and experienced swimmers. To all of you out there I will make you a deal. I won’t quit if you don’t!!!!! Challenge is why we picked up the sport in the first place, this is just one I didn’t figure I would encounter….. Good Luck to all and thanks for you posts, they are reassuring to me and give me hope that others have overcame it so I will too. Heartfelt Thanks!
I just finished my first triathlon today(sprint) and I can’t believe how bad the swim went. It’s good to read similar experiences, 100 yards in and I felt like my wetsuit was too tight and just couldn’t catch my breath or put my face in the water. I made it through mostly on my back. I guess I need more open water training to get me over this.
Sue, I am training for my first 70.3 ironman (april 2009) and my first full ironman (aug 2009). I did my first triathlon 3 weeks ago and my 2nd one yetserday. I completely panicked both times. I have swam the same course in non-race conditions and did not panic one time. I also absolutely could not put my face in the water. I tried the breaststroke but it seemed way too slow. i resorted to the back stroke for almost the entire swim except for the last 100m when i could see the finish and just gutted it out. If anyone has any tips please respond. I can get through a 500m open water swim with backstroke but i don’t think i can do it for 2000m or 4000m for that matter.
Similar experience to Amanda, was hoping to make a tri in a couple of weeks, but have not trained for swimming for a couple of years, and never in open water. Got 50 yards out from shore and panicked, then felt like I couldn’t catch my breath in the wetsuit. Scary!
Any helpful tips on how to overcome this would be greatly appreciated! 🙂
My first tri is in two weeks and I just tried my first open water swim today by myself. What was I thinking? Around two minutes after I started I had a panick attack. How do you mentally prepare yourself for this swim? Floating on my back seemed to help a little bit, but overall it was a very frightening experience.
I did an Ironman last year with no problem I am now doing shorter swims and guess what? I panic. I did an Olympic while sick and on decongestant medicine (not good) and I am now doing just a sprint distance and not sick but I went for an open water this morning with my girlfriend and panicked again. Once I realaize it’s not that bad and you REALLY need to exhale while under water, you can do it.
I had the open water panic attack today as well. I am training for my first triathlon this weekend. I had done the open water practice swim last week with no real issues. Made it through the whole course. Today, for some reason I started panicking about a quarter of the way through the course. I floated on my back for a couple of minutes while I calmed down and caught my breath, then decided to swim back to shore feeling completely defeated. I plan to do the practice swim once more before race day. At least I panicked now before the race. Just wanted to throw my two cents in for those others reading this getting ready to do a tri this summer.
i just experienced my first open water swim panic attack today. This after having two prior triathlons with no such problem and starting the race with alot of confidence and postivity….it was quite a strange feeling. Like i just had to get out of the water. i got myself to the side and stood up, breathing until i felt comfortable again and was able to get back into the race and swim just fine for most of the course.
I had a panic problem my first open water swim–which was in a race. I ran out of breath by going to fast and my mind just started screaming that I didn’t have the support of the pool to protect me. I used the backstroke for two minutes to get past it. I did some open water practice swims and some mental exercises and have not had a repeat.
hey!
this is lydia grandma says she wants the youtube of you and the bike race in clear water. thank you!!
love,
lydia