Swim is a swim, right?
1km swim is the same in the pool is the same as 1km swim in open water, right?
No, they sure are not the same. You may be using same muscle and similar moves, but these two sports are very different animals! Here are some things to keep in mind:
Distance to safety
When you are in the pool, you are never too far from some sort of safety – either the lane dividers or ends of the pool. In the open water, land is not that close. You may have a friend near by in a boat or on a board, but it’s not the same, is it? In open water, you keep having to look which direction you’re going. You may not realize it in the pool, but you are most likely not going perfectly straight naturally. You have to correct for your own asymmetry. How good are you at spotting your destination anyway? That’s one good thing about crowded races when you aren’t the fastest person around: just follow somebody.
You know how far down you can go in the pool. While swimming in a lake, river, sea or an ocean – not so much. That may not be an issue for you, but for many, it messes with their minds. Do you remember when you were little and it was a big deal to go to the deeper water, even if you knew how to swim? Yeah, it can feel like that.
Laps
This is an issue a friend told me about, but I haven’t really given it much thought: turning around in the pool. Apparently for many people, the quick breather when you turn around helps delay tiring, so they get tired sooner during open water swims.
People
This will vary on whether we are talking about a race or just a swim for you and possibly a couple of friends. Same goes for the pool – you may be alone or you may be surrounded. During the race though, everybody is jostling for a position, trying to swim as fast as they can. Nothing can properly prepare you for it. On the other hand, pool is full of colorful characters. I guess they are there to prepare you for the race day!
Other wildlife
Crazy people are not the only wild things you will see when swimming in open water. Pool has clear (I wouldn’t necessarily call it clean…) water. When you swim in the wild, you will encounter plants, jellyfish and other ‘stuff’. I will never forget swim practices in a lake when I was 10. There was an area covered in seaweeds (lakeweeds?) and breaststroke was basically a great way to guarantee getting tangled. Even if you don’t get stuck in plants, swimming through them is seriously unpleasant. Speaking of things that are seriously unpleasant: how do you feel about swimming through jellyfish? The ones in the Baltic Sea during Ironman70.3 Gdynia at least don’t sting painfully. I have been told that’s not the case for Ironman Maryland 😒. I recall seeing something about a possibility of getting hit by stingrays during Ironman Florida. Not cool… So yeah: it’s nothing like swimming in a nice, devoid of wild fauna and flora pool.
Weather
Uhm… so there is no weather in the pool, even if we all like to complain on occasion about water temperature. But the water will be pretty flat. On a lake, or even more so on a sea – rarely. During my olympic distance triathlon in Luray I was pretty lucky and the water was perfectly calm. But that was a total luck of a draw. It wasn’t that bad on the Baltic Sea, either on the day on my race. That’s rare though. Water can get choppy. Swim portion gets cancelled on various races regularly due to dangerous conditions. It can be high waves, thunderstorms or a number of other issues. None of it sounds awesome. Another thing you may not think of before it’s too late: sun or rain. If it’s raining, you have to make sure you’re not taking in water when swimming. I’ve tried that… not awesome… The sun can beat down on you, causing exhaustion and dehydration. It actually happened to me some at Luray. You wouldn’t think of getting hot and dehydrated while in water, would you? Then be warned: it’s totally possible. And if it’s a salt water environment, drinking water around you won’t help. Interesting thing I read in Ironman Florida course description I would have never come up with on my own: you may need darker swim goggles if swimming to the east in the morning, as the light can blind you.
Wetsuits consideration
It’s highly unlikely that you will use a wetsuit in your indoor pool. You should practice swimming in it before race day though. Nice thing about a wetsuit: it floats, so it reduces drag and makes swimming faster easier. Down side: they are tight. It doesn’t sound bad in theory, but when your chest is being squeezed tight (this might be worse for women for obvious reasons…) and you are surrounded by freezing water, it can induce a panic attack. Personal advice: focus on your arm strokes or kicks and take it one at a time. It’s crucial to get out of your own head.
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