Open Water Swim advice

[marcus]

Hi all,


My question is... how different are people's techniques in open water vs the swim?

Does anyone else have to hold their breath while swimming open water as opposed to exhaling underwater and then only inhaling when turning to breath?
Does the pace completely drop off in open water even when it is calm?  I had heard that swimming with a wetsuit is loads easier and faster but I am finding the opposite at the moment!

I have been to a couple of Seapoint sessions and will be committing to loads more before my Half in September but at the moment, the swim is really holding me back which especially annoying because I love it in the pool!

Any help massively appreciated! 
Marcus

[jbroaders]

Hi Marcus. Ive done a lot of open water in the past. And a lot of Masters pool swimming. What helped me greatly in the open water swims was a site called totalimmersion.net worth googking some of their videos. It focusses on open water.

[alexgu]

Following!

[liamjlynch]

Hi Marcus
It sounds like you have an anxiety problem with your open water swim,the problem most swimmers new to open water is starting to fast which tenses up your breathing,remember there are no walls to stop at so slow it down till you get comfortable in the water use this time as a warm up or to focus on you form.I do a good bit of open water swimming about 7km this week.When I'm out I use the mantra 1-2 breath and and if you can away from the direction of the waves also every 6-8 strokes pop your head up to sight another tip is not to look for the buoy but a landmark close to it or above it (Pick your point before you start to swim).the only way to get comfortable in the water is to get out and do it.Hope this helps.
Liam