At this time of year, the water is still pretty cold, which I think is impacting pace. Swim Yesterday for first 2000m was 1:56/100m pretty easy, with HR below 120bpm, the final 1000m was 2:25/100m, which I am sure was down to Garmin dropping out, unless I hit a rip tide (IMJ anyone?)
When I raced in Roth last year, I was keeping swim relatively easy, but HR was still 135bpm, so some headroom there
Mrs GB is like that. Fine in the sea, if her feet are covered as she has a thing about stuff touching her feet. But she hates being next to anything - river bank, jetty, moored boat, pier etc. There’s no way she’d get in.
I think I’ve benefitted from a misspent childhood of doing really stupid shit. Like pushing the boundaries of our local rock jumping spots. Knowing it’s too shallow. Jump in, hit the floor, feet get tangled up in seaweed, calmly untangle and back to the surface for more. And plenty more stories of proper dumb stuff. Surprised we made it out of our teens with no serious damage to be completely honest!
I think that windsurfing from a young age means that I am not afraid of OW swimming. Getting trapped under the sail and having to untangle harness lines, or going through the rinse cycle in waves.
It’s things above the water, like boats, that worry me the most, I have no fear of what’s under me
I was the same and surprised when it happened and I haven’t had a proper panic since but in the two OWS races since (Outlaw 2019 an yesterday) I could feel it ‘brewing’. For the first few years of tri I had no where convenient to OWS so only did it at races, didn’t bother my at all. Clear goggles and I hopefully will be back to that.
Im ok when i can see stuff. In Lanza the sea us crystal and before you get to the big shelf its only about 5 meters deep. Seeing everything there is fine.
Its when you CANT see whats there. My mind fills in the blanks with bad shit.
Surprised by a lot of the comments here, my OW swim (lake) pace has always been better than pool pace & just assumed that was a std advantage everyone got from the wetsuit.
I’ve never had a good swim at Outlaw Nottingham though, I always think my swimming has improved enough since the previous year to go with the draft but always struggle in the biff. Water is always choppy as it’s so shallow it kind of chops up & down not like the consistent directional chop you get in wind. 1st time you go to breathe & get water, no big deal. 2nd time, slight alarm. 3rd time, major panic & breaststroke.
I’m another slower in the lake.
Initially suit that was just a bit too tight on chest would be cause for added stress, so higher HR and irregular breathing.
New suit few years ago helped that…but I seem to have a sub conscious fear (or something) about exerting myself in a lake compared to the pool.
So I think I swim conservatively to be “safer”.
Don’t get too complacent you lot.
Some of you May remember back in 2019 I had an ‘incident’ in Semer Water when I was (significantly) bitten on the foot by a pike!
Took me a while to get my confidence back after that.
There’s monsters in them depths!
I did think of you when I recalled my experiences of Market Bosworth 
I’ve never had a problem with a training OW swim.
But in races I often have some high anxiety issues. I just don’t trust the other feckers.
They say talking about things helps.
It’s really good to hear that loads of other people have these feelings, too 
You are absolutely right. That woud really screw me up
50th birthday 50 x 50 off 50 in a 50m pool (I cheated and used paddles)
Pace 1:30/100m
I was 70s long due to taking too long on rest breaks.
Even with paddles it was hard, last 500m took real mental effort
Wouldn’t happen if you used a pace clock instead of a triafleet watch 
But in all seriousness, well done!
Mega confidence boosting OW swim today. Only 1150m, but swiming sub 1:50 pace without pushing, HR 110 bpm. Everything just fell into place.
It’s been going well in the pool over winter, and even though I have seen an improvement in OW swimming, its been no where near my pool pace. I am not sure if it is just me, however, I seem to need lots of OW swimming to unlock the pace I know is there
13-15s slower per 100m in open water today than I was this week in the pool.
Same stroke rate.
Is it that my wetsuit is changing my stroke that much?
Are you sure it is.not your watch? Mine underreads distance in OW, it cuts the corners which is a big deal in my local lake as you swim in triangles.
That isn’t the whole story, I know I treat pool swimming as a series of 25m (or 33m) intervals, however much I try not to. I get into a rhythm of x strokes, turn, big breath, push off, glide, x strokes, repeat. OW there is no reset every few metres, so pace, technique, stroke rate etc just drift.
Push offs, flip turns?
Is your pool pace 1:30/100m by the wall board, or are you pressing LAP just a little bit early?
Or is that with a buoy and/or paddles?
Are you in just Speedo’s or jammers in the pool?
Are you shaved down?
For me, I know a massive part of it is flip turns.
Reckon I’d be 1:35/100m in a pool without these.
If I’m turning at the T, then that’ll be more like 1:37/100m.
I know DL used to allow wetsuits, why not try one morning?
I bet you’d be 1:25/100m in a wettie in the pool 
I’ll go with something similar to this - Would think that’s way too big a difference to be all real unless you’re comparing apples and oranges - of poets list the most obvious would be that you are comparing long steady state swimming without aids?
Can’t imagine push-offs being worth 10s/100m. Know everyones different but for me I’m pretty much identical with wetsuit OW compared to 50m pool without. Going to a 25m pool is only worth 1-2s/100m at aerobic efforts.
What!?!
I am. Legs, chest, stomach.
Gotta be worth something. Right?
#StravaGod