We've been tackling the open water...right in the swimming pool at swim practice. One night we learned how to sight a target, a skill needed to swim a straight line in open water where you can't see underwater. Last night we built on our skills by swimming around a buoy. We combined lane dividers and broke into groups. The coach jumped in with a big mesh bag filled with pull buoys and held them in place. Then the group sprinted off, simulating the water orgy of a mass start, and swam around the buoy. The coach probably got clobbered by the crowd. Then the group moved into the next section of the pool and sprinted from one end of the pool to the other, simulating the experience of swimming in a pack with people tapping your feet the whole time. I probably should have tried to spot the person beside me as an aid in pacing and alignment.
I was going to take a workshop to learn these skills...someday....when I was ready. The team is practicing for the bay swim, but I'm not venturing into open water at any point in the near future. But I really appreciate the coach taking the time to teach the team these skills.
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