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Coach Watson: Five Tips For Open Water Swimmingby Lance Watson The swim portion of a triathlon can be broken down in to 5 specific skills to be developed. Think of these as tips, but also as different kinds of workouts for separate open water swimming occasions: Starts are an easy way to gain time and get away from the competition. You need to be competent and comfortable with all types of starts (deep water, knee or waist deep, beach start, or dive). For deep water starts, practice floating in place, and then using a whip kick to start your acceleration for a 25m sprint. For knee or waist deep starts, focus on getting a good jump and dive into the water while using a whip kick to power off. Then immediately start kicking hard and accelerate to sprint speed for 25m. For beach starts you should run until the water is knee high, then do a dolphin dive, and then swim hard for 25m. Dive starts can be practiced in the pool, but remember to look up and sight after 5 to 10 strokes to practice sighting. Return to the beach doing easy back or breaststroke and get ready for the next start. Practice 3 to 5 starts with a group and focus on increasing your stroke rate and kick for the first 25 to 100m. Eventually, work towards race simulation starts with a hard first 100m and maintain the pace for another 300m. Developing the ability to find your rhythm This skill is geared more toward keeping yourself in check during the race and not loosing your pace or falling off faster feet. After you have started off the race hard with a good acceleration and sprint, work on finding your open water rhythm. Practice going out hard like in a race and then settling into race pace for 400 to 800m. As you do this, focus on keeping your stroke long and loose. This means maintaining your stroke efficiency by entering the water far forward and finishing strong at the back. Also, maintain body rotation as you speed along, especially in a wetsuit as the tendency is to remain flat and rely on the buoyancy. You can work on doing 2 to 4 repeats of 400 to 800m at race pace with 3min easy swimming in between. Eventually, throw in buoys and simulate a race course while swimming at pace. Training your drafting and sighting skills As drafting in the swim portion of a triathlon is legal, take advantage of this to swim faster while expending less energy. Learn to swim in the bubbles behind other athletes without hitting their toes or falling off to far back and loosing the draft. Ideally, the best place to position yourself is to the side of the swimmer in front of you so that your hand is entering the water next to their knee. Periodically look up and sight as you draft to make sure that the person you are following is swimming in the appropriate direction. To practice this in training, form a pace line with 2 to 5 swimmers, rotating the lead position as you swim for 200 to 1000m. Swimming in a straight line is one of the easiest ways to swim faster in the open water. Since oceans and lakes don't have lane lines, developing the ability to sight well is key to swimming the right distance in a race. This skill comes from constant practice, and swimming with an even stroke on both sides. One practice drill is to set up two small buoys (milk jugs with an attached weight works well) 50 to 100m apart. Develop a rhythm where you look up to sight the buoy every 5 to 10 strokes in conjunction with taking a breath. Swimming in close quarters and rounding buoys Contact in the swim is inevitable! There are people all around you and the occasional elbow will hit you in the back of the head. Naturally, contact of any kind will slow you down as your efficiency is compromised. If the action is getting too rough it may be better to get to the outside and swim in clear water even if it is a bit farther. If you get nervous and anxious swimming in close proximity to other swimmers in the open water, doing some short repeats of 50 to 100m out and around a buoy, with 3 to 4 other swimmers will get you used to the bumping and jostling of the swim start. This will also give you practice turning buoys with other swimmers, and will make you much more comfortable dealing with bodies around you. When working on rounding a buoy, it is best to approach it directly, swimming on the inside of the pack. Going around buoys is often the roughest part of the swim, and the best place to be is on the far inside edge (shortest distance to next buoy) or the far outside edge (longer distance to next buoy but much less fighting). Swim as close as possible to the buoy, and then as you come up next to it use your outside arm to push out from the midline of your body (pushing your upper body in the opposite direction), and do a whip kick with your outside leg (to orient your lower body in the new direction you want to go). Take a few short sprint strokes and with the aid of some extra kicking and re-establish your rhythm. Finishing hard and exiting fast As the end of the swim approaches, many people have a tendency to relax and slow down. However, this is yet another area where valuable seconds can be gained towards a clear run to transition, and creating or closing a gap between you and a competitor. Picking up the pace and finishing off the swim strongly will lead you into a fast transition. Keep in mind swimming in the open water is a fundamental part of training for triathlon. As you head to the lakes and oceans this summer, be conscious of your safety and that of others you train with. You should never swim alone in open water for obvious reasons. Getting a small group together for swim sessions is a good option, as well as having a canoe or kayak escort. If you have no other option than to swim in open water alone, then stay close to the shore, swimming parallel to it, rather than out from it, for added safety. |