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| Swimmers/Triathletes... help me with open water swimming.... (Read 739 times) |
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posted: 4/22/2008 at 3:51 PM |
I'm training for my first tri. We have a lake house and I want to do some of my swim training in the lake to get ready for the open water swim. My question is, how do you calculate distance in the water? I was going to try to put a buoy about 0.25 mile from our dock, or maybe farther if reasonable.
Thanks in advance! |
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| view log House Master |
posted: 4/22/2008 at 3:57 PM |
| Quote from run_ac_run on 4/22/2008 at 3:51 PM: I'm training for my first tri. We have a lake house and I want to do some of my swim training in the lake to get ready for the open water swim. My question is, how do you calculate distance in the water? I was going to try to put a buoy about 0.25 mile from our dock, or maybe farther if reasonable.
Thanks in advance!
Do you have a Garmin? I have no idea honestly. Have done tons of open water swims but never measured one. Good question.
If you have a Garmin you could get in a boat, start the Garmin and go out until you reach the desired distance but this assumes a straight line as well. |
| The Gaijin Samurai. a.k.a The attorney dissin' attorney.
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posted: 4/22/2008 at 4:09 PM |
| If you are swimming along the shore I'd measure the distance on land to certain landmarks that are easy to see from the water. |
| Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose; it's how drunk you get. -- Homer Simpson |
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posted: 4/22/2008 at 4:34 PM |
I don't have a Garmin, but good idea, Marcus! I may be able to borrow one from a friend to see if it'll work.
Protoplasm-- I had first thought your idea might work, but because the lots at the lake are really deep, there's not a way to accuartle measure (ie:drive) the distance at the shoreline. Meaning, the distance driven on the road would be much longer than the distance at the shore. And, unfortunately, it's not really feasible to drive it by the shoreline either.
If I can get my hands on a GPS, I may be able to just walk the distance next to shore. Hope the neighbors won't mind my tramping across thier land. 
Come to think of it, I may be able to measure it using mapmyrun.com. ??? or Google maps?? or tax assessors website?? Hmmm. Thanks for jumpstarting my thoughts!
Any other ideas are greatly appreciated! Thanks guys. 
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posted: 4/22/2008 at 8:59 PM |
I think I've figured it out. Roughly. Very roughly.
I went to mapmyrun.com and found my house and dock by using the satellite map, and then measured a quarter mile down the shoreline (at the end of the docks, actually). Then, I went to the tax assessors website for that county and used the satellite map to match up the dock and figure out what house/address it is so I will know how far I need to swim. I think it'll be close enough. 
Thanks again!
PS. I would still like to know how they do this in races... |
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posted: 4/23/2008 at 2:18 PM |
| I do ocean swimming every year from May to October. I remember seeing my triathlon swim coach using something that looked like a telescope to map out the swim course and place the buoys. I will ask him next Wednesday about it. |
Tokyo Marathon - the best race EVER!
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| view log Future marathoner! |
posted: 4/23/2008 at 3:21 PM |
it may have been a yardage estimator or laser rangefinder. Yardage estimators are used a lot by golfers to guesstimate distance to the hole. They've got a meter inside the glass, and when you focus on the point you want to reach, the numbers for the distance come into focus too. It's all mechanical / optical synchronization.
Laser rangefinders are more sophisticated versions of the same device, but work by calculating how far the light has to travel to hit the point you are trying to reach (I'm not completely clear how). They are also more accurate and more expensive. Also used a lot in golf, and in hunting.
One of these may work for you as well. if you have a buddy who is into golf or huting, see if he / she has one and give it a shot. |
Michael
2008 Goals
NYC Newport, RI Marathon
Get to 150-160#s | 1000 miles
2008 Plan
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NYC Marathon
"The race goes not always to the swift, but to those that keep running." * ~ Unknown |
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posted: 4/23/2008 at 8:20 PM |
| Quote from mgerwien on 4/23/2008 at 3:21 PM:
One of these may work for you as well. if you have a buddy who is into golf or huting, see if he / she has one and give it a shot.
I have lots of friends/family that do both! I'll check with them. In fact, my husband my have a cheap one in his golf bag from his "I think I want to be a golfer... ooops maybe not" days. I'll have to try it out and see how it works.
Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions!
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posted: 5/1/2008 at 9:14 AM |
I've been doing open water swimming in the pool. 
The tri club I swim with shares the pool with the water aerobics class. Even if there are cables between us and them, we surprisingly get a lot of waves from them jumping up and down.
- R |
| veggies on the run |
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JoJo! |
posted: 5/3/2008 at 3:19 PM |
| I always guesstimated - I always alternated pool & open water training so I knew my time range for distance in the pool ... I didn't get caught up in 'exacts' in the open water. If I swam without stopping more than a few moments - I would think time would be pretty close unless there are strong currents or very choppy conditions. I wish I could get rid of my nerves out in the open water because I LOVE swimming but can't seem to shake my childhood phobias when I'm 'out there'! Good luck with tri season! |
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posted: 5/8/2008 at 12:40 AM |
Ocean open water swimming and pool swimming aren't the same at all. Swimming in the ocean can be scary. I almost had a panic attack during my first two ocean swims - fear of deep water and not being a very good swimmer. After those two scary swims, I became comfortable in the ocean. Once in the water, I just don't think about any of those childhood phobias. I just figure that there is no point.
My swim time is faster in a wetsuit and when I am drafting behind someone else, why not let them do the hard work? Ocean swim lessons start here on May 17th, and it seems that the water temperature here is already up to 20C. It was up to 26C outside yesterday when I ran 20k, so I am looking forward to hitting the ocean really soon! I think this summer is going to be a really HOT one! |
Tokyo Marathon - the best race EVER!
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| view log TRI-HARD |
posted: 5/11/2008 at 12:14 PM |
| Great question! I too have pondered this same query, and beleive I have just found the answer! I went to mapmytri.com. I punched in the lake I'll be using, found the Island I plan to swim around, plotted my course and presto! .66miles! Can not say exactly how accurate it will be, but it gives me a pretty good guesstimate. Try that, and good luck. |
| Gotta TRI |
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posted: 6/11/2008 at 1:23 AM |
there are a couple of beaches around here with pre-measured buoys (1/2 and 1 mile). I do not go in the ocean unless it's a HOT day and the water is at least 70...which is almost never.  With the recent shark attack and several great white sightings, I'm not too enthused about getting out there either.  |
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posted: 6/12/2008 at 1:34 AM |
| If you can find your lake house on the RA google map, you could measure the distance with that. That should work as well as any GPS, although it may be a few feet off (a gps wouldn't be exact either). |
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T1dawk view logRunning Addict |
posted: 6/12/2008 at 2:23 AM |
Quote from Lifesabeach on 6/11/2008 at 1:23 AM:there are a couple of beaches around here with pre-measured buoys (1/2 and 1 mile). I do not go in the ocean unless it's a HOT day and the water is at least 70...which is almost never. With the recent shark attack and several great white sightings, I'm not too enthused about getting out there either.
wow... I'd set a PR every day with those kind of thoughts while swimming...
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Upcoming Races:
StumpJump 50K trail race: October 2008
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