Conquering the Swim: Tri made easy (Getting Better)

During pre-race prep or just talking to other triathletes, I've heard various people say things that disparage the venerable sport of swimming, as it relates to being a brother of "Bike" and "Run." As a competitive swimmer, I can't say that swimming is simple, but I can offer some tips to that sub 25 minute 1500 meters. (Take these tips at your own risk)

Here's a strategy:

Step 1. Focus on technique: Just like Master Miyagi from Karate Kid taught Daniel to beat the Cobra Kai by teaching the basics first, most swimmers are taught technique before they learn to be medalists. There are many triathletes out there with poor swimming technique.

First, I think the fastest way to get better, technique-wise (if you're not a swimmer) is to find a swimmer friend or a master's team and get a few in-water freestyle pointers on head position, arm position (pull and recovery), FLIP-TURNS and BI-LATERAL breathing. Then, after getting some pointers (I don't think you need hours of lessons), focus on getting setting up a solid stroke by making it a part of your regular workout. It might slow you down a bit a first but your stroke will be more efficient AND you'll be able to breath on the left (or right) to avoid a mouthful of your nearest competitor's wake.

The aim isn't a perfect technique, it's about improving your stroke until you feel smooth in the water and so you're not thinking about maintaining some stroke count or pace. After you've got freestyle down, then you can challenge yourself with the other strokes.

Tip: Pool time won't always improve your performance. Doing some dry-land and cross training with your upper body with rubber stretch-cords to build up upper body strength and resistance training. I'd use a medium resistance (not too easy). Focus on time, rather than reps, but here's a good link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D37Ye_ADQ30 to get an idea. I'd recommend something like doing five different exercises for one minute each...in a few weeks, you'll start feeling the difference in the water and decrease the risk of injury at the same time.

Step 2. Focus on workout quality: A great 2500 yard/meter workout is better than the lame 4000-5000 workout. I see a lot of triathletes focusing in the pool on swimming lap after lap after lap continuously. By doing this you're focusing on the wrong goal (mindless distance) and not getting better at swimming. You'll gain distance rapidly with good technique and time. I'd suggest that during the tri season, swimming long distances during workouts probably are necessary to make sure you can go the distance and have the pacing down right, but you should be doing that maybe once a week or two. I'm not a big fan of fins, but throwing them into a workout every once in a while to focus on technique while at speed is sometimes beneficial. I'd suggest that if you're going to use fins on a regular basis get a pair of short fins, like these Zoomers. Yes, they're harder to use, but they will improve your kick and make sure you don't cheat the whole main set. For a 2500 freestyle workout (scalable to 1000 or 5000, if you know other strokes well enough work them in) try something like this:

WARM-UP (400-500)
Example:
400 Freestyle (straight and slow, focusing on technique)

Pull/Kick/Drill (400-600) - (essential for technique and muscle memory)
Example:
400-600 Drill/Kick/Pull (something like 10 x 50 or 6 x 75 yards, alternate by workout)

MAIN SET(S) (800-1600)
Examples:
8 x 100 Free or 2 x 400 on challenging intervals
or
6-8 x 125s on interval (trying odd lengths like 125s and 175s can really keep you off guard)
or
2-3x 500 on intervals

WARM DOWN (300-400)
Example:
300-400 warm down (take it slow and focus on technique)

Step 3. Focus on speed: But once you've got your arms, head, and legs moving like you want them, you can start taking your intervals down and doing longer distances.

Step 4. Focus on open water: As a pool swimmer for all my life until last year, open water is new to me. I guess practice is the most important thing here. The same principle applies to a pool swim...swimming as fast as you can without draining yourself for the rest of the race. I think the most advanced things that apply in open water would be learning how to draft and locating buoys. I think swimming in a variety of conditions is also helpful (i.e. clear vs. murky water or placid vs. choppy).

Caveat: I would say throwing yourself right into swimming back and forth in open water isn't going to make you a better swimmer. Crappy techinque in open water endangers not only yourself but others...and competitors who float on the swim are annoying to those who want to get on to the bike :)

I hope these tips spark some ideas.

Thanks for reading.