whiterock

Was fortunate enough to get an invitation to swim with a group in a nearby lake this morning....nothing like experience to reinforce why I've been practicing things...

1. Bilateral breathing...very important....wasn't doing it at first and I couldn't even swim close to a straight line breathing on only one side.

2. Cold water...temp was in the low 60's...I've been swimming in a pool that's 81. With the wetsuit, my body was warm enough, but the cold water on my face really interrupted my rythm. Was kind of a shock and hard to breathe.

I might try earplugs, I think the cold water in my ears made me a little dizzy.

3. Sighting....need to sight more often...found myself swiming out into the middle of the lake instead of along the shoreline with the group....got kinda disoriented.

I have my first open water tri this weekend in Galveston, water should be a little warmer, but at least I have an idea of how my body will react when I get going...

Mukluk

Good that you got to practice and have a great race!!!

rplong

The biggest surprise for me was no black line below me. I know to expect it now and use sighting as a tool to keep me on the right path. Please let us know how your race goes. I wish more people would post about their races, even though I don't really post that much about my races. I like to know the good and the bad things people have done in the past, so I can make my race better. I think it would help everyone out, new people to vet, to improve their strategies. So please, post how the ear plugs work for you and anything else about your race. (I don't care about times or paces or any specifics such as those.) Good luck.

Plainsman

Great advice! I have my first open water in May, and I have not been practicing bilateral breathing. I will now remedy that.

Sighting is probably my biggest concern. I might (emphasize MIGHT) get a chance to swim open water only once before my event. That makes me very nervous. I think someone recommended practicing in the pool, but still, I can't wander very far with lane lines in place even if my sighting stinks. Any other tips to help one mentally get ready?

whiterock

1. I've tried to do a few laps with my eyes closed...only opening them to sight....but I always cheat and peek.
2. I've purposely fogged up my goggles
3. I swim once a week in my wetsuit in the pool
4. Earlier in the season I did one upper-body weight workout per week before swimming, so that I knew I could swim even with my shoulders tired
5. I've thought about asking the ladies doing water aerobics in the pool to slap me as I go by ;-)

Mentally, I just tried to relax, and think about my swim mechanics....and yes, even imagine a lane line painted under me ;-). I did take a couple of breathers, swam breast stroke for awhile, etc.

For me, the biggest challenge was the cold water, which I really haven't been able to simulate any other way.

Fortunately for me, the day before the race, the beach patrol is offering a monitored swim of the course...so I'll get one more chance to prepare myself. If you can possibly do an open water workout with some experienced folks before your race, I would highly recommend it....it will take a lot of the "unknown" out of the equation.

Goku

Do these problems apply to all levels of triathlons for swimming? ie Would I have to be worrying about this for a sprint or even olympic race? I was wondering because I am just getting comfortable doing laps in the pool and now this could possibly give me much to think ponder with regards to the swimming component of a triathlon.

bspurrie

I agree with the bilateral breathing, it will make you swim straighter. It is very important to swim in the open water before race day because it is much different and takes some getting used to. I was a little freaked out the first time I swam in the open water and now it's really no big deal. I use earplugs for all of my swims in the pool or open water. I find the rubber ones to work best. I am prone to getting water stuck in my ears and this eliminates it.

Seamus

I would say yes. I did my first Sprint tri of the season Sunday, and I hadn't swam in open water since my last tri in June of last year. I had forgotten how different OW is to the pool, and I ended up doing most of the swim water polo style with my head out of the water. I plan to do several ocean swims before my next race so I don't come out of the water exhausted. I still had a decent bike and decent (for me) run, but my T1 sucked as I was trying to get my breathing and HR under control while getting ready for the bike.

I would highly recommend a couple of OW swim practices before your event. It can be quite a shock how different the environment is.

Jim

tajsss

whiterock,
I am in Dallas also and am racing in the Oly Playtri race towards the end of April. Do you mind me asking where you swam and about how cold it was? I will be racing without a wetsuit as I swam some last year at the end of April and beginning of May without a wetsuit and was okay. I just want to get a few practice sessions in before and am curious how cold it is still. I've swam a few times at Lake Grapevine at a swim beach they have and it is pretty nice. I've heard Lake Lavon has a swimming beach too but not sure if the lake has opened back up yet or not.

whiterock

I was at Lake Grapevine at Sand Bass Point......temperature was around 60 degrees or so.

The_Mickstar

Good points.

Bi-lateral breathing really helps balance your stroke to swim straighter. Unfortunately, it also greatly increases the risk of getting water in your ears. This is what made you dizzy during your swim (and that water in your ears being cold certainly doesn't help). Ear plugs will definitely help.

I like the "shooting" version from Silencio that are blue rubber plugs with an orange string. Just tuck the string under your goggle straps (or swim cap) and you're good to go. The strap is very convenient for pulling them out while running to your bike, too. They're <$2 from Walmart.

One option for sighting is to do a couple of breaststroke strokes every 20 or so freestyle strokes. You can get a very good sight this way and it's very efficient going from one stroke to the other without losing a lot of momentum if you practice. If someone's drafting you, they won't like the change in kick. But, from where I'm sitting, that's not a bad thing. Find someone else's feet if you don't like it!

Steve

add_rock

Open water swimming is way different than lap swimming in a pool. My biggest challenge is to just relax in the open water and remind myself that I've swam thousands of yards in the pool and I can do it just as well, mechanically, in the open water. Another challenge in the open water is not being able to easily mark your progress. I started checking my watch every 5-10 minutes to just remind myself how far I've come and estimate much longer I have to go.

This is a good thread - good tips from all. When I got into tris last season, the swim was my biggest fear. I have to say now that it is probably my favorite part of the tri. Keep swimming in the open water as much as possible and you'll definitely get more comfortable in it.

whiterock

..ok, so the water in Galveston was about 73 degrees or so. Got a chance to swim around the day before and the swim was great.

No "freak-out" factor...tried ear-plugs, but lost 'em. Water in the ears didn't bother me...I think the cold water the week before was what made me dizzy.

Swam pretty straight and managed to catch a few of the guys in the wave that started before me....was a great race!

I'll post a race report in a separate thread.

rplong

Great, look forward to it, glad you had a good time.

Niskybigcat

The big difference I've found going from the pool to OW is that in the pool I swim at my own pace, but when I get in OW I get easily swept up into the pace of people in my wave, and then I get winded and terrifed I'll drown in the middle of the lake. After the first time this happened, I slowed down the next time so much that while I was not winded at the end, I was probably the last one out of the water in my wave (or close to it so it seemed to me). I've been gradually working getting my pace right by ignoring the other swimmers, and now I'm going to work on building up my upper body to improve my stroke (and time). I don't know about bilateral breathing, this is the first I've heard of it. I like the suggestion of an occasional breast stroke, but I find I am close enough to other swimmers to simply rely on the general group of swimmers to stay in the pack. I have also learned to face my head forward more, and to train myself not to took down (like I use to in the pool), but rather have my face more toward the surface (bud not out of the water. Just some random thoughts, that I hope are helpful.

whiterock

It is important to understand your pace and stick with it. It is easy to get pumped up in a race and swim much harder than you normally would.

I wouldn't recommend facing forward, though...just like in a pool, it causes your legs to drop and you end up working much harder. I raise just my eyes out of the water every few breath cycles to sight so that I maintain as horizontal a body position as possible.

Niskybigcat

Can somebody describe bilateral breathing and how to practice it.

tajsss

Bilateral breathing is just not breathing on the same side every time. A lot of people will breath every 3rd stroke thus breathing to their right and left sides. This tends to lead towards swimming in a straighter line than if you breathe on one side each breath. My neck gets sore also if I breathe on one side for too long. Not much to practice other than just doing it. I get caught up in races and find I can't catch my breath well without breathing on one side every other stroke while I can breathe every 3rd just fine in the pool. I need to work on slowing down a little in races too. I just try to relax more.

Sponge

This is a great thread thanks guys for the advice.

Niskybigcat

So, to continue this dialogue, I am curious about how much energy to put into my swim kick. I understand I should rely mostly on my upper body, to allow my self to save my legs for the bike and run, but I am pretty slow in the water, and I think this is why. In some Tris I've done a trudgeon kick, and that seems like a reaonable compromise. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

whiterock

I don't kick much.....I tried to focus more on trying to maintain a good body position in the water and swim straight. My goal is to swim as efficiently as possible and go faster on the bike and run.

I'm faster in my training swim with a pull buoy (no kicking) in the pool than I am just swimming freestyle....still working on that position.

I beat a guy by 6 minutes in the water on saturday, but he beat me by a few seconds overall.

Maybe some more experienced folks have an opinion?

tajsss

I don't kick much either but you do definitely not want you feet to sink. That will mess your body position up and slow you down greatly. Some people do a 2 or 3 beat kick which is 2 or 3 kicks per arm stroke (I think I got that right). I kick slowly and not hard at all, just enough to keep my feet up. I will sometimes forget and kick even less like I used to, my feet start sinking, and I slow down. I, like whiterock, used to swim faster with a pull buoy till I started kicking more. Now my speeds are close to the same. I appreciate this to simply my feet kicking keeping me more horizontal as when I use a pull buoy. I do try and kick as little as possible though to save the legs.

Try swimming with a pull buoy and see if it feels a lot easier and faster. If so you might try kicking a bit more or harder to keep your body in the more horizontal position the pull buoy provides.

Niskybigcat

Is this kind of tracker for swimming helpful? Anybody know about it?

TysonB

BigCat,

Forget the trudgeon. It's just an interesting diversion for messing around in the pool. In a tri it is a net waste of time and effort. There are (at least) two schools of thought on kicking. School A says kick with a two four or six beat kick with moderate effort. This should result in a noticably faster swim. The benefit in speed outweighs the energy expended.

School B, says kick hardly at all. The kick should be just often enough amd forceful enough to maintain your most efficient horizontal swimming position. Best half-assed kick is when you take your breath and it should alternate. This will result in a good solid swim time with less energy expended. What is lost on top speed is relatively small compared to the energy saved and reserved for later.

I am a bit in the School B circle of thought. A friend of mine swam the English Channel and was the first to swim around Manhatten and he taught me to never ever kick at all. I swam like that for twenty years or more. The past five I have started kicking again. In shorter tris I move up to School A technique. In Oly's or longer, I kick with some enthusiasm only in the last half.

Hope this helps. It is my opinion only. Again, though, forget the trudgeon on race day.

Tyson

rplong

What is this, never heard of it?