Banishing Sea Monsters

Two weeks ago after my first practice open water swim I knew I needed new goggles. My current goggles are tinted green and fog horribly. When we swam the triangle at Lake Windermere, I knew I was in trouble. I couldn't site the buoys let alone any landmarks behind them. After asking some of the other T3 members, they agreed some wider vision goggles might be helpful.

Aqua Sphere Seal XP

I came home right away and started googling OWS goggles. I found Aqua Sphere Seal XP goggles on Amazon.com and ordered them right away. Initially the order information said the goggles would be here on Friday right before the Gateway Triathlon. Unfortunately, they came Saturday after I had already left for the weekend. Grrrrrrr


So on Sunday, I met the T3 gang out at Lake Windermere for an open water swim. I felt a little bit nervous about how the dark, murky water was going to affect me, but I did have my mile swim in the pool to help bolster my confidence. 


The Aqua Sphere goggles have a wide lens which enables the swimmer to have a larger view of the water. The seal around the nose is critical for these goggles. I spent the first few minutes checking the seal and adjusting the goggles around my face making sure they were nice and tight.


Slowly, I decided to face my fears. I set my Garmin 910XT and set off for my first lap. Amazingly, I felt completely at ease. The water was not nearly as dark and murky as I remembered. I counted strokes and relaxed in the water. I loved turning my head to the side and being able to completely see a wide view of everything going on around me without fog! My first lap was took me 13 minutes probably because I swam extremely crooked, but I made it through. 


Back at the beach, my Inner Triathlete goddess did a little happy dance. I felt relieved to know that I could swim in the open water. I took off for another lap and my time came down by a full two minutes! I could properly site the landmarks and buoys and felt completely relaxed. Two more laps - time reduced each time and I felt awesome.


Believe it or not, I banished the sea monsters to the bottom of the lake. I only wish I had the goggles a little bit earlier and maybe it would have made a difference. Of course, when I mentioned my goggles came after I had left for the weekend, someone mentioned I could have bought some at Dick's Sporting Goods in town. Say what??? Grrrrrrr.