If swimming in the open water was a magic show, superfish
and Surf Ironman Champion Guy Leech would have more tricks than David
Copperfield. Leech pulls some out of his swimming cap here and treats us
to the best.
A few years ago, I competed in a team at the Mooloolaba
triathlon event. The days leading up to the race had pumping surf and I
thought, “great, I’ll feel right at home out there and hopefully give
our team a head start”.
That hopeful head start was quickly reeled in when “too dangerous”
was the call made by the team at USM Events. They pulled the pin on a
surf swim, opting to line up competitors along one of the local canals,
effectively making it a flat water swim. Fair enough, the majority of
age group triathletes probably come from non-swimming backgrounds, let
alone surf swimming.
Here are some tips to make your next open water swim a little
more proficient. After all, there’s a big difference between being
capable in the swimming pool compared to carving up the ocean.
Experience is invaluable
Before entering an event, build up your experience by doing
some ocean swims. Having been in the open water beforehand, you’re less
likely to freak out when there are 100 other sets of arms and legs being
thrown around you in the heat of battle and argy-bargy of a race.
Get together with a few friends, head down to the beach or
local dam, pick a point in the distance and swim to it. Swimming in a
group will give you a little extra confidence should you get into
trouble. Once you’re out in the open water you can’t really swim to the
side and hang onto a wall like you can in a pool. Simply knowing others
are around can be reassuring for the novice open water swimmer.
Learn bilateral breathing
Bilateral breathing
means you are able to breathe on either side of your body. Firstly, this
helps to balance your stroke as you get a chance to watch what both
arms are doing under the water in training. In a race situation, it
helps if the chop is coming in from one side, which may be your usual
breathing side and you’re able to turn to the other to get a breath.
There’s nothing worse than repeatedly turning to one side for a breath
and getting a mouthful of water rather than air.
Particularly given most triathlons in Australia start bright
and early in the morning, if you can only breathe to one side and the
sun happens to be rising on that side, it’s a pain in the proverbial to
be almost blinded every time you go to take a breath. So, breathing
bilaterally is a great skill to develop for a variety of reasons.
Take advantage of drafting
Unlike competitive open water swims such as those of the
Olympic Games, drafting during the swim portion of a triathlon is legal.
Simply put, you’re nuts if you’re not taking advantage of this. You can
cut minutes off your swim time if you get this right.
Aim to position yourself in a pack of swimmers of similar
experience and speed. There are two ways you can draft off another
swimmer – both can be very effective in an open water swim. One way is
to swim directly behind a lead swimmer and the other is to swim in the
wake of a lead swimmer – just like Duncan Armstrong did to win his
Olympic gold medal.
When you’re swimming directly behind a swimmer and close to
their feet, the result is a ‘pulling’ effect similar to that created by
an outboard motor on a speedboat.
When you’re swimming on another swimmer’s hip and taking
advantage of their wake, the effect is similar to body surfing – you
just keep pulling yourself over the little wave the other swimmer’s wake
creates. This is a much tougher skill to master, but the effects are
considerable. My only word of caution with drafting is to not rely 100
per cent on the swimmer you’re drafting off. If they swim a little off
course, any advantage you’re getting from their drag will be undone by
the extra distance you’re swimming, so make sure you keep an eye on
sighting for yourself.
Check the conditions
Have you ever watched the start of a Surf Ironman race? All the
competitors and their coaches are at the water’s edge looking at the
water – they aren’t just enjoying the scenery! When the gun goes off,
the competitors often run in different directions before entering the
water. Any idea why? It is because the rips and bars, created by the
movement of the waves coming into shore, can provide a huge advantage in
races by sweeping you out much faster than swimming in still water or
more importantly, against the rip in dead water.
Before you start the race, always check the edge of the beach
before running in for the swim. Potholes and uneven surfaces are fairly
normal at beaches. A walk out from where you’re starting on the line
could save your ankles and the embarrassment from falling over.
Learning how to read water movement isn’t something I can give
you in a couple of paragraphs here. My suggestion is to (i) be aware of
the potential advantages by learning this skill, and (ii) spend some
time talking to, and learning from, those who are experienced in ocean
swimming. For example, a number of years ago, I went to Hawaii and
watched the Ironman. All those in the know stuck close to the pier at
the start of the swim. The flow of the ocean at the pier washed swimmers
out to sea from the start line much faster than 100 metres to the left
of the start line and away from the pier. Experience counts, so
fast-track your own by learning from those who know. It will save you
making avoidable and costly mistakes.
To wetty or not to wetty?
If the water is cold, a wetsuit will keep you warm and can
improve your performance by 10-to-20 percent with it’s buoyancy effect.
This is particularly the case for less accomplished swimmers.
A couple of things to remember with wetsuits: (i) above all,
make sure it fits you well, and (ii) practice in the suit if you intend
to be wearing it on race day as it changes your position in the water.
If it is a long sleeved suit, you need to condition your arms to turn
over with rubber around your shoulders.
Sighting
You’ve probably already noticed you don’t have a thick black
line running along the bottom of the ocean to help guide you. You have
to learn to lift your head and sight in order to stay on track. If you
are out for a training swim, look for various land markers. It may be a
tall tree or the top of a building, something you can see each time you
lift your head to look forward. This gives you the skill during races as
you sight marker buoys.
Remember, don’t put yourself in a dangerous situation if your
skill level isn’t up to it. The ocean is something that deserves
respect! All the best with your next race.article courtesy of G. Leech
