It is only ten days until Ironman Chattanooga, and I have not swum in open water since my race at Ironman 70.3 Musselman in July. I needed to change that, so this morning I drove up to Moraine State Park, to get in some open water swimming.

It is mid-September, so I was a little concerned that the water temperature would be cold.  I wanted to do a non-wetsuit swim and I needed the water to be reasonably warm to do this.  

When we got to the beach, the sky was gray and the wind was picking up.  The water did not look too inviting.  Nonetheless, I put on my one-piece triathlon kit and swim skin, and got into the water.  The water temperature was perfect… I would guess about 70’F.

One reason that I went to the lake was to try out the swim skin.  I have had this swim skin for several years and I was concerned that it would be a little too tight.  Breathing is my biggest challenge at the start of an open water swim.  I was concerned that a very tight swim skin would feel constricting, when it came to breathing.  This actually turned out to be true.  I ended up dumping the swim skin and just swimming in my triathlon kit.

The swim was interesting.  I swam back and forth along the beach area.  Swimming in one direction was quite easy, but in the other direction it was very much a challenge.  There was a lot of chop on the water and on top of this, there were a lot of waves from passing boat traffic.  It was good practice however.  I need to be able to deal with adverse conditions.

Having completed my first open water swimming session in a couple of months, I have decided that I will try and do at least two more before race day.  Swimming in a pool is good for practicing technique and building endurance, but it is not the same as open water. Open water is where races occur, so I need to practice there too.