SubscribeI recently joined the Toronto Triathlon Club, tonight they held an openwater swim techniques class that I attended, and I’m so glad that I did.
The class started with some slideware that was really nothing new to me (set measurable goals, be disciplined, etc.), but in the pool I learned so much!
We covered sighting, drafting both directly behind and beside another swimmer, techniques for turning around buoys and did a bunch of drills to get experience swimming in a pack in the water and specifically around buoys.
Sighting, not that hard: every now and then, while maintaining your swim cadence, look forward (or around), by lifting your eyes (but not your nose) out of the water. I.e. stay down, you’re not dog paddling or breast-stroking, you’re continuing to swim freestyle/crawl, and just moving your head slightly differently.
Drafting: it works! It really works! In the foot wash is perhaps a little better than beside, but comes with the risks of getting a foot in the face and the annoyance of seeing little but bubbles. Drafting to the side takes more focus as you need to synchronize your stroke with the leader and get right into their side-wake, but also works pretty effectively.
Turning around buoys: generally something you want to do quickly, as they get choked up with other swimmers. Stay in tight, sprint around the turn. Turn either by pulling hard with one of your arms (I found the outside arm easier, but not everyone had the same experience), or by flipping quickly to back stroke for a beat and then back to freestyle. The latter method really worked well for me. I found I could drive around a buoy quickly, regardless of whether there were other people there or not.
The group swim stuff we did was probably the most useful to me though. Having never swam in a racing group before (around corners) it was interesting to see how physical and assertive you have to be to not completely loose your place, and time, cornering around the buoys. Think full-contact swimming or WWE meets swimming and you’re not far off. I think if the 1st time I’d experienced that were in a race or even in open water, I’d have been taken by such surprise that I would have stalled completely. By the end of today’s session I definitely had the right level of “assertiveness” going around the buoys. 🙂
Tired now. 1.5 hrs on the bike this morning, jobs around the house during the day and 4 hrs swim techniques in the evening. Bedtime 🙂
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