You are lined up on the beach next
to 100 of your closest triathlon friends. The horn sounds and the pack
charges the water, turning the once calm lake into a sea of rage. Those who you
thought were your friends, are attempting to swim over you while you try to
weave through a fury of flailing arms and pounding legs in search of orange
buoys and that long lost breath! Does this sound enticing to you?
The truth is it can be that bad, but
luckily it doesn’t have to be. There are many sensible approaches to the
open water swim.
Whenever I instruct an open water swim clinic I
always begin with this monologue:
“We are about to work on an efficient and competitive open
water swim start. This strategy is meant for competitive and experienced
athletes who are looking to get out in front or shave precious seconds off of
their swim time.
Please do not fret. If you are new to triathlon, a
novice swimmer, or a strong swimmer who gets freaked out by lake swims, there
is still hope. Follow these steps to help ease your anxiety: 1)
Stand still and relaxed on the outside of the crowd as the gun goes off.
2) Wait 10 seconds for all the thrashers to clear. 3) Walk casually
forward until the water is waist deep. 4) Gently float into the water and
begin with smooth and efficient swim strokes. That’s all there is too it.
Gaining Comfort in the Open Water
First get comfortable swimming in
the open water on your own while under the supervision of a lifeguard or a
capable boat escort. Stay near the shore or in shallow water until you
feel totally fine with the open water. Swim with other people. Once you
are comfortable by yourself, have a few friends join you in the same safe,
monitored environment. Practice swimming right next to each other; grab
each other’s feet and even try swimming over your friends! Swimming in
crowds can also be practiced in a pool by having 4 or more people swim side by
side in the same lane. Practice sighting. The shortest distance between two points is a
straight line. Swimming a straight line can be extremely difficult when
goggles are fogged up, waves are moving you up and down, and the sun is glaring
off of the water that is splashing all around your eyes. The tendency for
beginners is to swim extremely inefficient like Tarzan, with their heads held
high out of the water in order to see where they are going. However,
sighting is best done by looking forward right before you take your breath to
the side. Ideally your head lifts just high enough to find a buoy or a land-
mark that represents the line you want to swim. I suggest sighting
every 10-12 strokes. Practice swimming anxious.
Get yourself all worked up and out of breath and then
learn to use your smooth swim stroke to help you relax. Try a super fast
run right into 10 strokes freestyle sprinting in order to get your Heart Rate
up and out of breath. Immediately follow your sprint with some smooth
swimming focusing on glide and effortless floating that will bring your HR down
and help you relax. This will simulate a feeling of anxiety that so many
get when starting a triathlon. Learning how to come out of this state and
swim comfortably is a very valuable skill! Do this in shallow water and
under the supervision of a lifeguard. Start slow. The best way to avoid the “I can’t breathe”
anxiety is to start slow and relaxed until you gain more experience swimming in
the open water or in mass starts.Starting slow and building into a strong swim can often yield better
results than starting to fast and tiring prematurely or stopping to catch your
breath. Work on technique in the open water.
So many of us let our strokes go once we lose that
black line at the bottom of the pool and the security of swimming from wall to
wall. In the open water, try one drill for 50 stokes and then
switch. One useful and fun technique test is to swim towards a designated
target without sighting for 30 strokes. Some swimmers end up facing in
the complete opposite direction! If this is the case, either learn how to
swim backwards, or work on areas that may need to be corrected. Possible
technique issues could be unequal body rotation, crossing your arms over the
center of your body at entry or during the pull, or poor bilateral
timing. Consulting a swim coach may be the best way to effectively make
corrections.
You are not alone.
There are lots of swimmers out there that share the same anxieties and
concerns that you do.They will bump
into you, stop in front of you and maybe even accidentally swim over you. Most
of us including myself would much rather swim in the open water with other
people than by ourselves.Enjoy their
company along with the lifeguards who are patrolling the swim on surfboards,
kayaks, and boats who are always there in case you need any help.If you need to stop and seek help from a
lifeguard for any reason weather to re-adjust your goggles or just gain
composure, you can continue on with your swim as long as they didn’t help you
travel in further along the course.
