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What's the Point of Competition?

May 18, 2011 by Katie

When you're new, it's all about participating.  Wow, I'm actually doing this!  If you're really awesome, maybe it's about your ranking or a payday.

For the rest of us, competition is all about the data.  Am I improving?  Are my goals realistic?  How do my results stack up overall?  What changes do I need to make to my training plan?

It's hard to gage your performance in an open water swim.  Conditions (wind, boats, currents, water temperatures, etc.) vary, and the course may not be measured exactly.  If most people were 10% faster today than they were in the last race, a PR might not be very meaningful.  But if most people were 10% slower, and you were only 1% slower, you've probably improved.  (This is a nice post on the subject by marathon swimmer Evan Morrison.)

The data is what makes the entry fee worth it.  The race swag and the Oreos are a lot of fun, but in the end it's all about getting the facts about how the entire field performed.

Next up:  Race report from Saturday.  (Still waiting for the official results.  Times are off in the initial results...)

What's your reason for competing?  How do you use the data from your races?  Do you check to see how your peers do from one race to the next? 

 

Comments

Thanks for the mention,

May 18, 2011 by Evan (not verified), 2 years 2 days ago
Comment: 106

Thanks for the mention, Katie. I might add "the pure joy of it" to your list of reasons. Frankly, to me, that's the main reason for doing Open Water. I find it to be joyful in a way that the pool never was. Thinking of some of the more spectacular (scenery-wise) swims - Waikiki Roughwater, La Jolla Roughwater, and even the NYC swims in a different way - it's thrilling just to be there, regardless of time/place/etc.

Definitely Open Water

May 18, 2011 by Katie, 2 years 2 days ago
Comment: 107

Definitely Open Water Swimming for the pure joy of it.  Nothings tops that.  (But if I'm paying a race entry fee, I realy, really want to see the data.)

This is one of those

May 18, 2011 by Evan (not verified), 2 years 2 days ago
Comment: 108

This is one of those instances where I started to write a thought, but it went somewhere else before I could express myself clearly. What I meant to say was, the "pure joy" of competition. It isn't for everyone, I love to race, and it's a big reason I do so many events. It's what keeps me motivated to train. The tactics & strategy in OW are on a different level than pool swimming.

Racing

May 18, 2011 by Carolyn (not verified), 2 years 2 days ago
Comment: 104

Hi there. In open water swimming, like you mentioned, there are so many factors that go into a time. I might not PR at the same mile OWS race that I did the month before. BUT neither will my competition if conditions like current, wind, etc. are in play. Really I like to compete in swimming because I truly enjoy swimming. I did a 2.4 mile race last weekend and I had a blast! It was a beautiful day, the race isn't killing you - it is an endurance event - we are out for the long haul - and I can swim forever and ever. I'm rambling. I just started following you from fitblog chat last night. Tell me about your OWS background. What is your longest race? Be well, Carolyn

Nice job on your race, and I

May 18, 2011 by Katie, 2 years 2 days ago
Comment: 105

Nice job on your race, and I love your blog.  My longest race so far is 7K--actually separate 4K-2K-1K events in a row with a few minutes in between (for you, it would be more than a few minutes).  I can swim forever too--love it!  This season I'm working on speed.  I want to do a marathon swim, but I'm a little slow.  I don't have to be a speed demon, but it's no fun to race the cutoff.

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