One of the toughest parts of getting started and progressing in triathlon is becoming a confident and skillful open water swimmer. For most triathletes this is a three-part journey. First become a strong, efficient swimmer capable of swimming 750-1,500 meters for sprint and Olympic distance races. Second overcome any anxiety or fear you have of open water. Finally learning a completely new set of skills including sighting and handling swimmer-to-swimmer contact.
Unless you were a competitive swimmer in school, becoming a strong swimmer is a matter of putting in the workouts and improving your technique. Technique is paramount on the swim so finding a good triathlon or swim coach or a masters swim class should be a priority.
Most new triathletes have anxiety about if not outright fear of open water. Lake, river or ocean swims are both mentally and physically demanding. The water is cold and frequently dark. You have to contend with other swimmers, find your way around the course, plus you’re guaranteed to be in water way over your head. Talk about getting outside your comfort zone. The only part of triathlon more stressful than open water swimming is telling your significant other how much you paid for those carbon wheels.
[bctt tweet=”Talk about getting outside your comfort zone. The only part of triathlon more stressful than open water swimming is telling your significant other how much you paid for those carbon wheels.” username=”swimbikestumble”]
Open water swimming is a sport all by itself. There’s a lot to learn: technique, navigation, turning without a wall, race day strategy. Mastering these skills is also one of the most personally satisfying parts of triathlon.
Get Educated about Open Water Safety
All triathlon training carries some risk. You pick your bike routes and ride times to avoid traffic. You run in areas you consider safe. Open water swims require you to up your safety awareness even more. The gold standard for open water swim training is swimming with a group in a safe venue with kayak or paddle board support.
At a minimum don’t swim alone and use a swim buoy for visibility and emergency floatation. Wear a brightly colored swim cap. Be visible. There are many variables in open water including weather, boat traffic and terrain hazards so find a triathlete group or triathlete to teach you the fundamentals.
U.S. Masters Swimming Safety Tips for Open Water Swimming Link
Find an Open Water Swim Practice
Nothing will make you a better open water swimmer than open water swimming. Somewhere near you triathletes are swimming in open water. Ask local triathletes who you know where they swim. Check for your local triathlon group on Facebook or online. Ask around at the gym. Once you find an open water swim practice, show up early and find out how they operate.
The first open water swim group I found was swimming out to buoys a half mile away and back. I wasn’t up to that challenge and wound up swimming in chest deep water parallel to shore, but it was a start and I wasn’t swimming alone.
Locate a Great Swim Coach
Nothing with improve your swim technique more than finding the right triathlon or swim coach. Ask around, odds are there is an outstanding triathlon/swim coach in your area. You may have to travel to work with him/her. You may have to work remotely using GoPro video footage. Whatever it takes find an awesome coach. It’s the best investment you can make.
Prepare for Open Water in the Pool
There is a lot you can do during your pool workouts to get ready for open water. Practice sighting. Swim 400 yards going out hard on the first 100 then settling into a steady rhythm to mimic what usually happens in a triathlon swim.
Start working on weak side or bilateral breathing. Being able to switch sides can be a big advantage allowing you to avoid wind driven waves or staring directly into the sun. Swim 10 strokes with your eyes closed to see if you hold course or pull to one side. Get some friends and practice drafting and dealing with swimmer-to-swimmer contact. Leverage your pool time toward developing open water skills.
5 Triathlon Swimming Technique Tips For Open Water Swim Training from Triathlon Taren
Plan for Panic
There are a plenty of strategies to prevent panic. Concentrating on sighting and swim for in a regimented manner during the swim is a good idea. It keeps your mind busy so it doesn’t have time to spot nonexistent alligators or make a list of everything that can go wrong. Singing to yourself or humming works for some athletes. I use themes from 70s TV shows because I’m old.
Most triathletes will tell you that they never stop being nervous about open water swimming. Sooner or later everyone has a bad moment if not outright panic while swimming or racing in open water. Plan and practice a recovery strategy. You can roll onto your back and breathe or switch to backstroke or breaststroke. Need more mental/emotional open water survival skills, read Triathlete EQ: A Guide For Emotional Endurance by Dr. Izzy Justice. Fill out and memorize your yellow card and red card. Hey, they work for me.
Some thoughts on overcoming open water swimming fears from Triathlon Taren
Learn to Tread Water
Knowing you can tread water is a tremendous confidence booster and some races have an in-water start requiring you to tread water.
How to Tread Water for Beginning Swimmers
SwimLifePro’s Treading Water video tutorial (Very Detailed)
Learn to Clear Your Googles
This is a handy skill to have when your goggles get knocked off, fill with water or fog up. Also if you wear contacts, consider keeping a spare pair in transition so if your googles get knocked off and you lose your contacts you won’t be at a disadvantage for the rest of the race.
Get Inspired
If you want to make your 750, 1,500 meter, 1.2 or 2.4 mile swim seem manageable, follow an epic swimmer like Amy Hayes, on her journey to swim the Oceans 7. As of this writing she is at the Tsugaru Strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan. Amyswimsseven Facebook Link
Experiment with Ways to Keep Your Googles Fog Free
So to sum up the advice from the video, new googles have an antifog coating so just don’t mess with them until they start to fog up during swims. From that point you can use antifog sprays, saliva (AKA spit) or baby shampoo or toothpaste. Buying a new set of goggles for open water at the beginning of the season, using them a few times to make sure you have the fit dialed in then reserving them for races might be worth a try.
8 Hacks To Prevent Foggy Goggles
Have any open water swim training or race tips you’d like to share? Leave a comment.
Is there a topic you’d like to see covered in a future post? Comment or email me.
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