Open water swimming when all you know is the pool

Pool fitness doesn’t translate directly to open water. You can swim 750 meters continuously in a pool and still feel overwhelmed the first time you’re in a murky lake with no lane lines, no visible bottom, and other swimmers bumping into you. The pool and open water share a sport the way a treadmill and a mountain trail share an activity. Open water requires its own skill set.

No walls, no lines, no bottom

Pool swimming gives you three things you don’t realize you depend on: a black line to keep you straight, walls every 25 yards to rest and reset, and clear water to see through. Open water takes all three away simultaneously.

The straightness problem is the most immediately obvious one. Without a line on the bottom, most swimmers veer significantly to one side. Some people drift left, some drift right. It depends on stroke asymmetries you might not even know you have. In a pool this doesn’t matter because the lane rope corrects you every few strokes. In open water, you can swim 20% farther than the actual course distance just from zigzagging. I’ve seen GPS tracks from my triathlon watch that look like a drunk line compared to the straight shot between buoys.

The wall thing matters too, but not the way you’d expect. It’s not that you need the rest (though you might). It’s that walls give you a rhythmic structure. You swim 25 yards, turn, swim 25 yards, turn. Your brain chunks the effort into manageable pieces. Open water is just… continuous. There’s no structure. You have to create your own rhythm, and that takes some getting used to.

Sighting: the skill that matters most

Sighting is looking up to see where you’re going. In a pool you never need to do this. In open water, it’s the single most important skill you can develop.

The basic technique: every six to eight strokes, lift your head forward just enough to get your eyes above the water line. You’re not lifting your whole head out of the water. Think of it more like a crocodile peek. Eyes barely clear the surface, grab a quick look at your target, then drop your face back down and breathe to the side on your next stroke. The whole thing should take less than a second.

What you sight off matters. Buoys are the obvious answer, but they’re often hard to see from water level, especially with any chop. Look for bigger landmarks behind the buoys: a tall tree, a building, a lifeguard tower. Anything large and stationary that lines up with your course. In my races I’ll pick out the landmark during the pre-race briefing and use that as my primary target.

Bilateral breathing helps a lot with sighting in open water. If you only breathe to one side, you’re blind to half the course and half the other swimmers. If you’re a one-side breather, it’s worth spending a month or so practicing the other side in the pool. It feels awkward at first but pays off in open water.

One common sighting mistake: lifting your head too high. When you crane your neck up, your hips and legs drop. You lose speed and waste energy fighting that body position change. You also tend to start kicking harder to compensate, which burns through energy fast. Keep the lift minimal. You just need your goggles above the surface, not your whole face.

Murky water, weeds, and things that touch your feet

I know this sounds silly, but the psychological aspect of not seeing the bottom is real. Pool water is clear. You can see the tiles, the lane lines, other swimmers. Lake and ocean water can have visibility measured in inches. You’re swimming through brown or green water and you can feel things but can’t see them.

Weeds are the worst offender. They brush against your hands, arms, legs, and feet, and every single time your brain says “something is grabbing me.” I’ve watched experienced swimmers flinch at seaweed. The only real solution is exposure. The more you swim in these conditions, the more your brain files weeds under “annoying but harmless” instead of “possible threat.”

Waves and current add another layer. In a pool, the water is flat. In open water, you might be swimming into a headwind chop that slaps water into your face every time you breathe. Breathing toward the waves instead of away from them is a guaranteed way to inhale water. Pay attention to which direction the chop is coming from and try to breathe away from it when possible.

Current is sneaky because you often can’t feel it while you’re swimming. You just end up way off course and wonder why. If you’re swimming in a river or tidal area, get information about the current direction and strength before you start.

The panic response

At some point during your first few open water swims, you’ll probably experience a moment of panic. Your breathing gets fast and shallow, your chest tightens, and your brain starts screaming that something is wrong even though nothing actually is. This is really common. It happens to strong swimmers. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad swimmer or that you’re in danger.

The most reliable fix I’ve found: flip onto your back. Just roll over, float, look at the sky, and breathe. You don’t have to go anywhere. You don’t have to do anything. Just float and breathe until your heart rate comes down and your breathing slows. This works in races too. Nobody will judge you for floating on your back for thirty seconds. In fact, race volunteers on kayaks and paddleboards are there specifically for this situation.

Switching to breaststroke is another good option because your face stays above water and you can see where you’re going. A lot of triathletes use breaststroke as their “reset stroke” when things get overwhelming.

The panic usually comes from one of two triggers: feeling like you can’t breathe (usually from bad timing, wave chop, or exertion) or feeling disoriented (can’t see the bottom, can’t see the buoys, surrounded by other swimmers). Knowing what triggers it helps you manage it before it escalates.

Wetsuit buoyancy changes everything

If your triathlon allows wetsuits, wearing one changes your body position more than you’d expect. A triathlon wetsuit adds buoyancy, especially in the legs and hips, which lifts your lower body closer to the surface. For most people, this is a good thing. Your body sits higher and more horizontal in the water, which reduces drag and makes swimming easier.

But it feels weird the first time. Your kick feels different because your legs are floating higher than usual. Your range of motion in the shoulders might be slightly restricted. The neck seal can feel tight and create a sense of constriction that feeds into the panic response I mentioned above.

Practice in your wetsuit before race day. I can’t stress this enough. Put it on, get in a pool or calm open water spot, and swim for at least fifteen to twenty minutes. Get used to the feel, the buoyancy change, and the neck restriction. Figure out how much Body Glide you need on your neck to prevent chafing. Do this at least two or three times before your race, not the morning of.

Drafting

Drafting in swimming works similarly to drafting on a bike. Swimming directly behind another swimmer’s feet saves roughly 20-25% of the energy cost at the same speed. Swimming beside their hip saves around 10%. That’s a meaningful difference over a race distance.

The trick is staying close enough to benefit without kicking the person in front of you or getting kicked yourself. About two to three feet behind their feet is the sweet spot. You can sight less frequently because you’re following their feet instead of looking up for buoys. But make sure they’re actually swimming the right direction. Drafting someone who’s drifting off course just means you both end up swimming extra distance.

How to practice open water skills in a pool

You can train a lot of this in a pool before you ever get to a lake.

Sight every six to eight strokes during your regular sets. Yes, it will slow you down. That’s fine. You’re training a race skill. Pick a target on the pool deck wall and practice the crocodile peek technique until it becomes automatic.

Swim with your eyes closed for four to six strokes at a time to build comfort with limited visibility. This simulates the sensory deprivation of murky water. You’ll also quickly discover which direction you naturally drift.

Practice treading water and flipping between freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke. In open water you need to be comfortable switching strokes without stopping. Start a length in freestyle, flip to backstroke mid-length, then switch to breaststroke, all without touching the wall or standing up.

If your pool allows it, swim without goggles for a few laps occasionally. The blurry, slightly uncomfortable feeling is a mild version of what murky open water feels like. It builds tolerance for discomfort.

What I wish I’d known

The single biggest thing I wish someone had told me before my first open water swim: it’s a different skill set than pool swimming. Fitness transfers. Stroke technique mostly transfers. But navigation, orientation, comfort in uncontrolled water, dealing with other swimmers, and managing your own stress response are all separate skills that require separate practice.

Start with calm, shallow open water where you can stand up if you need to. Swim parallel to shore rather than straight out. Go with a buddy or in a supervised group. Build up gradually.

And when the panic hits, because it probably will at least once, just roll onto your back and breathe. The water isn’t going anywhere. Neither are you.