Swimmer’s Survival Guide

Sep 15, 2010

As published in Tri Digest.

By Tim Crowley 

When an athlete enters his or her first triathlon the first question is usually, “How many laps is a (fill in the blank or race distance)”. What they fail to realize, is that covering a particular distance in the pool is does not guarantee race day success. This three part series will guide you through your training for your first race. The suggestions drills and workouts will allow the novice as well as experienced athlete’s new ways to improve their open water skills and abilities.
Part one will focus on pool training and skills. Next month, we will tackle open water drills and practice sessions. The third installment will cover race day dynamics and strategies. You will see that accumulating laps in the pool does not translate to a competent race day split.
In my fifteen years as a triathlon coach, I have rarely met a triathlete new to the sport that did not have some swimming “issues”. This can include swim skills and proficiency, fitness /conditioning, or confidence / anxiety when it comes to pool or open water training. The single biggest fear new triathlete usually involves open water swimming.

Many triathletes come to the sport from a running or cycling background. Many take the advice of Dory in the movie Finding Nemo, where she tells the other fish “Just keep swimming”. Although swim frequency is important, just getting in the water and working hard swimming laps will not make you a better or faster swimmer. The runner’s mentality of just working harder in the pool will often lead to frustration. Joining a coached swim squad, or working with a swim coach once or twice a week will allow you to accelerate the learning curve, and see success and enjoyment in the water.

Here are three key elements to concentrate on in your swim training.

1. Body position and alignment – If your legs drop or you are not streamlined, you will not move well in the water. Since the water is so dense, creating less frontal resistance is the first skill to master.
2. Hand entry -if your first arm movement is down it is an ability to compensate for poor body alignment (see above). This downward movement prevents you from exerting force on the water to move you forward.
3. Ineffective catch and pull- the fingers should be pointing to bottom of the pool almost immediately after entering the water. Keeping the elbow higher than the wrist throughout the entry, extension and pull will improve efficiency and reduce shoulder stress..

Drills

Here are some drills that are easy to incorporate into your swim training.

1. Fist swimming- Holding your hand in a loose fist, or using fist gloves require you to swim by using your forearm to pull the water, while maintaining a high elbow. This will help correct dropping the elbow on entry and extension in the water. Opening the hands allow you to get a better feel for the water. Attention to body position is important during this drill.
2. One arm swimming- this drill can be done with the non working arm extended in front of the body, or held at your side. This allows you to concentrate on the stroke of one arm at a time. Other benefits include the ability to learn to breathe on both sides, creating balance between strokes, and building swim specific strength.
3. Zipper drill-Keeping the recovery of your stroke (when the arm is out of the water), close to you body, will help to keep proper body position and alignment in the water, and sets up good hand entry into the water. Zipper drill is performed by keeping your thumb in contact with your body from the mid thigh all the way to your arm pit. This keeps a high elbow recovery and bent elbow.
4. Fins- The use of swim fins during drill sets will allow you focus on proper form and body position. Fins can be used during kick sets to increase ankle flexibility, as well as body position with streamlined kick sets on your back.

Drill sets

Drills sets done as 25 or 50 yard/ meter repeats done at the beginning of the workout will help ingrain proper technique. The goal is to practice smart swimming, and worrying less about total yardage or time. Inserting drills into base intervals sets will allow you to refocus in technique during you endurance work. Some sample sets may include.

Drill sets:

• 12 x 25 ri=20s (rest interval= 20 seconds)
• Or 8x 50 ri= 15 s

Base interval sets with drills:

• 10x 50 ri=15s (25 drill/ 25 swim)
• Or 4x 300 ri=30s [2x (50 drill/ 100 swim)]

Maximizing pool time

Make the most out of your pool time by incorporating the following: Warm up- Create a warm up routine that you can use each workout. This will allow you to mentally prepare for the workout to come. This can be between 200- 500 y/m, and should include easy freestyle as well as alternate strokes. Drill set- Done early in the session while you are fresh. Main set- this is the bulk of the session. Aim to build this set up to 1-1.5 times the races distance you are preparing for. This will build endurance and confidence. Cooldown- a couple hundred yards/ meter of easy swimming, that may include drills will help end your swim session on a good note. Of stroke Here is a sample workout for someone preparing for a half mile swim. Warm up= 3x 100 (swim, breaststroke, backstroke) Drill set= 6x 50 fist swim , ri=20s Main set= 8×100 (25 zipper drill/ 75 swim) ri=30s Cooldown= 200 easy choice
Open water Pool practice

You can use the pool to help you prepare for the open water. Below are some fun ways to spice your pool training.

1. Follow the leader- Take turns following the person in front of you, by drafting right behind their feet. Take turns by trading the leader each interval or within the interval.
2. Monkey in the middle- swim 25’s, with three or four swimmers abreast. Trade off the person in the middle. This will allow you to get accustomed to swimming in close quarters with other swimmers, which often causes anxiety in many triathletes.
3. Buoy practice- By removing a lane line, and placing a swim buoy 6 ft off the wall at each end creates a great open water experience in the pool. This also adds variety to you swimming sessions. Six to eight swimmers can easily circle the course. This creates race specific chaos and chop. This is a good transition to the open water.

Pool training is essential in your swim program. Incorporating drills, swim sets specific to the triathlon swim will build experience and confidence as well as endurance and conditioning. Next month, we will explore open water training and ways you can safely include open water swimming into your training plan.
Part II Open Water Training

I am often surprised at how most triathlete’s approach open water swim training. Some rarely get in the open water, while others just swim long and slow. This article will give you some ideas to make the most out of your open water training time. It will include workouts and race specific skills.
Safety

First and foremost, all open water training needs to be done safely. Group swims, boat escorts and life guarded areas should all be used with the sessions outlined in this article. Most of the training sets can be executed in waist or shoulder deep water which is excellent to build confidence and remove the anxiety of leaving the comfortable confines of the pool. Always wear a bright visible cap, and be aware if boats and jetskis are in the water.

Open water workouts

1. Short shallow intervals-Swimming repeats parallel to the shore in waist to shoulder deep water is a great way to learn how to be comfortable in the open water. You can work on sighting in a safe area wear you can easily put your feet down.
2. Tempo swims- These are similar to tempo run, a 10-20 m in effort at or slightly below race pace. Using a Tempo Trainer during this session will allow you to maintain the same turnover rate throughout the interval. The Tempo Trainer is a small water proof metronome device you slip under your swim cap. You can set the stroke turnover rate you want, and the beeping will help keep your tempo constant. As you fatigue, you will find it harder to keep the same rhythm.
3. Swim fartlek- In the open water, timed intervals can easily be executed by the countdown timer on your watch. Slip the watch under your cap so that it is easy to hear. An example of this type of workout is 2×12 min intervals of 1 minute moderate pace/ 1 minute race pace. Repeat for the duration of the interval. This workout will build endurance and confidence that you can change pace mid race, and settle back into your normal pace. 4. Muscle endurance- Open water swimming often required more strength and muscular endurance then pool swimming. Incorporating paddle sets into your swims will build valuable strength and power. A workout may include 5x 400m or 5 minutes with the even intervals being done with small hand paddles.
4. Body surfing- If you will be racing in the ocean, learning how to work with the waves can be beneficial on race day. Take the time to play in the surf. Learn how to dive under waves wearing a buoyant wetsuit. Body surf your way in by using the waves. Do some intervals by sprinting out thru the waves until past the break, then turn and sprint riding the waves in. take a short rest and repeat.
5. SRI (short race intervals)- create a short triangle or rectangle course of 2-8 minutes in length. Race the clock or group of friends around the course. Rest 3-5 min between sets. Simulates all aspects of open water racing. To better simulate the effects of race day, go hard for the first 50-100m, then settle into your pace. This will better allow you to handle the fast start on race day.

During the warm months, including one to two open water swims per week will give you a break from the pool, and provide you with race specific training. This will build your confidence and lessen the anxiety that is often present on the beach on race morning. Keep workouts safe and specific. Next month, I will provide race day planning and strategies for racing.

Part III Race Day Preparation

If you have followed the advice in the previous two articles, you hopefully have improved your swim stroke and efficiency through group swim training and have paid attention to drills and technique . You may have also included 1-2 open water swim sessions weekly, one with the local tri club, the other on your own at a local beach. Race day is here, time to put the finishing touches on your swim. Below, I will walk you through the process of getting ready to race.

1. Arrive at the beach 20 minutes before the start. Make sure you have your timing chip on, and your bike and run transitions are all set up. Avoid getting stressed by rushing to the start. This will only add to your anxiety in the water. Do not rush getting your wetsuit on, as this is the easiest way to poke a hole in it.
2. Warm up- use the same warm up routine you used in your open water sessions. This helps relax you and prepare the mind and body for the race ahead. This is the time to check out the swim start and exit for debris and obstacles. Check to see if the sun will be in your eyes making buoys hard to see. If this is the case, use other land marks, such as trees, Buildings etc to help you navigate.
3. Start position- make sure to seed your self accurately. This will lessen the chance that you will be swam over, or that you will find yourself boxed in by slower swimmers. By positioning yourself on the outside of the pack, you can easily get into clear water and get into your pace sooner.
4. Pacing- It is common to go harder in the first few minutes of the race. This will allow you to establish your position and draft off other swimmers. Be careful not to go so hard that your pace has to dramatically slow to recover. After the initial surge, relax and settle into your pace for the middle portion of the race. If you paced well, you should be able to gradually build speed over the last third of the swim, passing those who did not pace well.
5. Swim exit- swim until you feel you hands hit the sand. This will allow you to stand up and run. Move toward the transition area smooth and relaxed. Pull your wetsuit to the waist as you move. Be careful as you run, you can easily get disoriented from quickly moving from a horizontal to vertical position. Once at your bike, drop your goggles, cap, and remove the rest of the wetsuit.

Make sure to get to the swim start hydrated. Keep drinking before and after your swim warm up. Standing around in the heat in a wetsuit can easily raise core body temperature and cause heat exhaustion early in the race.
Before the race identify two to three thing you want to focus on during the swim. It helps to put them in an affirmation such a Strong, Smooth, Relaxed. Every time you exhale, you repeat this in your head. This will draw your attention to you and keep you mentally focused on the task at hand.

Break the race up into three parts. The start, where you will go a bit faster to establish position in the field, the middle where you will get into a rhythm and stay relaxed and focused, and finally the final push, where over the final 500m you will begin pushing the pace to a strong finish.

The race is rarely won on the swim, but the energy you expend there will greatly influence your mind and body through the rest of the race. After strong confident swim leg, you are now ready to rip up the bike course after navigating the swim course with confidence and a smart race plan, supported by intelligent training plan.