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Warm up Perkins may swim on after Sydney Olympics
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Chatuge Mountain Inn, Hayesville NC. Located just 5 minutes from the starting line. Good rates for racers. Call 828-389-9340 for reservations. WORKOUTS FOR INTERMEDIATE |
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| You're not going to get eaten by sharks - we promise |
By Steve Tarpiniantraining |
| Gary Newkirk/AllsportOpen water frenzy at the Hawaii Ironman For many, diving into the ocean or lake brings about feelings of uncertainty and a lack of control. Fortunately, in most cases these fears can be overcome fairly easily. In fact, there are ways to use the ever-safe pool to make you more efficient and confident in open water. In general, swimmers have two major concerns about open water: 1) Am I a good enough swimmer to be in water over my head, to navigate and to complete the distance? 2) What about those creatures lurking out there? The first step toward confidence in the open water is to be capable of treading water. Surprisingly, many have trouble with this basic water skill, adding to their sense of uneasiness, as they are unable to stop during an open-water swim. With deep-water starts (i.e., the Hawaii Ironman) treading water is a very important way to relax and ready yourself for the start. I am always amazed to see so many swimmers struggling to stay afloat (i.e., wasting energy) while waiting for the gun. Having efficient technique and being fit are also key - not only for performance, but for comfort and confidence, as well. And lastly, navigation is crucial in open water since there are no lane lines to guide you (and the last thing any of us triathletes wants is to swim more than we have to in a race). Following are some training tips that address these target areas. Practice these, and when you take the plunge into that "big outdoor pool," you'll be ready! 1. Treading water. Tread water for five minutes and use a heart rate monitor to track how low you can maintain your heart rate. The lower the heart rate, the more efficient you are. The technique of treading water is to use an eggbeater kick and do a sculling motion with your arms and hands. Do not be afraid to experiment with different speeds and angles of movement to achieve the most efficient style of treading. 2. Efficient technique and being fit.A discussion of efficient technique and sound training is beyond the scope of this article. For the purposes of this piece, we've provided a sample workout that will help you prepare for open-water swimming. Warm up with 10 minutes of easy swimming and five minutes of treading water. Drills: 50 fist drill 50 kick on side drill 50 catch-up drill 50 sighting drill (see below) 50 breaststroke 50 backstroke 50 catch-up drill Main set: 3 x 500s with 30 to 45 seconds rest as follows: First 500, negative split Second 500, take the first 100 out very fast (to simulate a race) then settle into an 85-percent pace Third 500, negative split Cool down 10 to 15 minutes with a few drills of your choice. 3. Navigation.There are two ways to navigate in the open water: Either keep your head down and pray that you are swimming straight, or actually look. As the saying goes, God helps those who help themselves; which, in this context, means look and look often. Watch many of the top triathlete swimmers and you will see them looking very often, sometimes more than 50 percent of the swim. The key is to do it efficiently. Most swimmers sight by stop switching to either a breaststroke or water-polo stroke. These stroke changes work but entail a serious reduction in speed. The key is to learn how to incorporate sighting into an efficient freestyle. To do this, lift only your head, not your shoulders, and then immediately roll to the side and lay your head down (just as though you were taking a breath) so you maintain body roll. This takes a little practice and is well worth the investment of time and energy to learn. 4. Back and breast. Although breaststroke is slower than freestyle, it is helpful in extremely choppy conditions. You can get your bearings and still make some forward progress. Backstroke is helpful when the sun is low and front of you - you can look behind to see if the buoys are lining up. Of course, you need to be proficient in these strokes to make them useful. The most common problem with backstroke is that swimmers "sit" in the water and their hips are low. So think of trying to keep your hips up while swimming backstroke, and unless you are sighting behind, keep your head back. In breaststroke you will need to develop a frog kick. Also, avoid pulling too far back since the recovery in breaststroke is underwater. Finally, what about those creatures in the open water? Without question, the most dangerous creatures out there are the other competitors. I still have a scar from the 1993 Hawaii Ironman swim, inflicted by a swimmer who inadvertently (I hope) took a chunk out of my leg while swimming across me. In crowded swims, learn to position yourself away from the masses and learn "defensive" swimming. That involves swimming with a wider arm recovery so that your arms get hit and not your head. As for other creatures - jellyfish, crabs, barracudas, octopus, alligators, sea urchins and sharks - your chances of experiencing any life-threatening encounters are very slim. Having said this, there are many open-water areas where some of these creatures are real threats and it is your responsibility to find out about these threats before you enter the water. Never swim in open water without a buddy or a lifeguard present. The lifeguard is usually your best resource for inquiring about the sea life situation, currents, water temperature, etc. In addition, if you are like me and saw 'Jaws' at a formative age, you may never be able to rid your mind of the movie's theme music as you go deeper and deeper into the open water. I deal with this by being very near other swimmers and lifeguards. For me, it seems to keep the "volume" of dadum, dadum in check. In all seriousness, swimming in open water is one of the most challenging, exhilarating and fun aspects of swim training and racing. So get out there! Steve Tarpinian is the creator of the Swim Power video, author of the Essential Swimmer and coach of triathletes of all levels. For information on swim and triathlon clinics or training: (800) 469-2538, Fax (516) 775-5164 or Email TTtalk@aol.com, wwUse turnover drills to quicken cadence and trim times |
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