Open-water river swim--anyone?

[skfulkers]

Ok, I'm probably stupid. Really stupid. I'm going to confess that I signed up for a tri that has an open-water river swim in the Ohio River, and I've never swum in a river. Ever. And the first 200 meters are upstream.

Has anyone done any river swimming and can offer some tips? Of course, I've done the obligatory google searches on river swimming, and all the tips are the same. But I thought I might be able to get some really good advice from my teammates (like, "hey idiot, what the heck are you doing swimming in a river for the first time in a race??").

Open water doesn't bother me, but the river does. So can anyone offer any advice?

Thanks guys!

Steve

 

[KeenHo]

Steve:

I grew up along the Allegheny River north of Pittsburgh and did a lot of swimming, fish'in and rock skipp'in/throwing in the river. I have never swam as an adult nor competitively. If the Ohio is anything like the Allegheny that flows into it with the Monongahela River, it won't be too swift, but it will have a current to fight against. Nothing you shouldn;t be able to conquer. You might want to do some practive swims in similar conditions to what you might expect for the event.

Good Luck! Watch out for those Channel Cats!

Your Pal,

Howard

 

[Cruella de mom]

The Chattanooga Triathlon has the swim in the river. They have all sorts of people out there to keep the swimmers on course. Lots of kayaks to grab onto if you get into trouble.

I had to do some river swim trials when I was a guide on the Ocoee River. The upstream is pretty tough. To get strong enough to actually gain ground, I did alot of work with a kick board. Of course that was over 20 years ago and there was no internet to look up swim programs. Dh uses a swim program he found on the internet at http://www.ruthkazez.com/SwimWorkouts/ZeroTo1mile.html

Good Luck!

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Ok, I'm probably stupid. Really stupid. I'm going to confess that I signed up for a tri that has an open-water river swim in the Ohio River, and I've never swum in a river. Ever. And the first 200 meters are upstream.

Has anyone done any river swimming and can offer some tips? Of course, I've done the obligatory google searches on river swimming, and all the tips are the same. But I thought I might be able to get some really good advice from my teammates (like, "hey idiot, what the heck are you doing swimming in a river for the first time in a race??").

Open water doesn't bother me, but the river does. So can anyone offer any advice?

Thanks guys!

Steve

Hey Steve- I can't resist... make sure you keep your mouth shut when you're swimming.

 

[JimB.]

I do some "ocean swimming" which probably relates well to river swimming.

My best advice is to just relax. Any time spent going upstream is made up for downstream. When I swim against the coastal surf current, my time is usually around a 2:1 upstream:downstream ratio timewise for the same distance.

Sometimes an open water swim is more about survival than racing. Relax, get it done & push hard on the bike & run.

P.S. - Draft when possible, especially upstream.

 

[skfulkers]

Thanks, everyone, for the advice (Dave--especially about keeping the mouth shut. ). I probably should have mentioned that this tri is this weekend, which I'm guessing is what added to my anxiety.

Jim--thanks for the short-term tips (which I WILL need this weekend), and Cecilia--thanks for the long-term tips. I'm going to have to try out a kickboard one of these days.

Howard--channel cats?? Thanks for the advice.

Steve

 

[Scott H]

As a Swiftwater Rescue Tech, I would suggest you scout the up stream portion, find the areas of slow current, eddies where the water is still, and use those to make your upstream progress. Then reverse the plan for the downstream portion, find the faster water. Toss sticks in the water and time them, look for those channels where the water is moving faster.

Hope this helps

 

[laxdef69]

Don't sweat em...now the flathead cats...

http://207.89.146.2/dandrsports/images/caseyoncats/2005_0801(006).jpg

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

This weekend!

I can't wait to read this report. Have fun!

Please make sure you get listed on the WISH Team Event Calendar

 

[wfloyd]

I would say if you were here swimming in the river, make sure you have a spotter with a rifle to take care of any gators.

Bill