Open water swimming if you suck at pools?

Question

I tried getting into a swim club once, but they rejected me because i cannot sprint fast enough. I feel that their workout program is sprint-oriented, and i think i'm a distance swimmer. I still love swimming though, but no swim clubs means no competition. I'm not comfortable with sprinting, i'm out of breath every time i complete a fast lap. But swimming 50+ laps is no problem for me.

The stroke cadence of the club swimmers are far faster than mine. Mine is just a slow *** gliding stroke lol.

I'm thinking of swimming in oceans and stuff, the whole distance is measured in miles. Is it feasible?

Or maybe i just suck at swimming? I'm confused, help?

Answer 1

Any club that is focused on sprinting is a club to stay away from if you are 14 or younger and even then you need to do some distance swimming.  There are other clubs out there that build aerobic base and would be good for your interest in open water swimming.  You can find information on open water swims on either your state's LSC website or USA Swimming (you can find your LSC - local swimming committee on the USA Swimming web page at usaswimming.org).  All you need is a USA Swimming registered swimmer card which is $54 and you are allowed to compete in open water and club meets.  If you are interested in open water swimmer it sounds like you have the stroke and interest to give it a go.

Answer 2

I have competed a few times in open water swimming. I can tell you that it is more tiring than the pool. You also have to sprint the first quarter of a race to get into your position.

You have to work with your coach to learn how to sprint. I used to not be able to sprint to save my life, but I worked on it and I am pretty good at it now. It improved my 1000 and 1650 because you have to be able to sprint the last part of these races to swim well.

Sprints are the foundations for distance swimming.

Just work on it and don't give up. It's never too late!

Answer 3

If you can swim those 50 laps+ no problem, then the problem is not with your swimming, so you're more of a "distance" runner. But then again, swimming in the safetly of a pool and swimming in the ocean are two different things: in the pool, the temperature is controlled, there is no wind, no waves etc... It's up to you to decide which way you want to go, but if you're going to attempt  to (eventually) cross the English Channel or some such, you'd best do some serious research.