GET STARTED IN OPEN-WATER
Thinking about taking the plunge? Here’s how to find out more and try your first outdoor swim.
Close your eyes and picture the scene for a moment. It’s a warm, sunny day. You’re swimming through water that is just cool enough against the skin on your face to make you feel tingly and alive. There are no restrictive lane ropes, no slow swimmers ahead of you getting in your way. Every time you turn to breathe, you see trees and sky; every time you turn your face back into the water, you see nothing but the bubbles you make as you exhale. Welcome to openwater swimming.
Okay, we’re being a bit indulgent here. But many new triathletes are nervous about open-water swimming so it’s important to emphasise that, with a little experience, open-water swimming can become the most magical part of your triathlon training (and let’s be honest, it’s the bit that makes you look tough to all your nontriathlete friends, too!). So much so that you’ll curse the day temperatures start to drop and your tri club moves training sessions back into the chlorine-tinged, fluorescent-lit, local pool.
YOUR FIRST SWIM
Triathlon comes with some unique challenges, but perhaps the biggest for pool swimmers is making the transition to open water. So how to get started? Well, there’s a lot you can do in advance to prepare yourself. General open-water skills such as bilateral breathing, sighting and turning can all be practised in the pool so by the time you arrive in open water they feel like second nature – plus you can even practise race day skills such as drafting in the pool. See our feature on page 8.
For your first time in open water, do your research into local venues (you can find a full list at nowca. org) and ask local triathlon clubs or open-water swim groups if you can join them in one of their training sessions. Open-water swim venues will often have times when lifeguards are on duty, who will be in kayaks on the water looking out for you. It’s also always good advice to have a swim buddy with you whenever you swim in open water. This would preferably be someone else in the water swimming with you or if not, a friend on the bank or shore watching you as you swim. Wearing a brightly coloured tow float (an inflatable that ties around your waist) is a good idea, too. For more advice on keeping safe in open water and the sea, the Outdoor Swimming Society (outdoorswimmingsociety.com) and the RNLI (rnli.org) are both good resources.
While some swim venues are open all-year round and cold-water swimming is growing in popularity, many triathletes won’t start to swim outdoors until about May, when temperatures are a little warmer but there are still a few weeks left before race season starts.
CHOOSING YOUR RACE
The type of water you decide to swim in is another consideration (see right), but this will depend on two things: what you have access to locally and what kind of race you have entered. If you’re new to open-water swimming, it may be wise to think about what type of water you can train in, as familiarity with the environment is a big factor “With a little experience, open-water swimming can become the most magical part of your triathlon training” in race day confidence. So if there is a lake a short drive away then maybe enter a lake triathlon, but if you live on the coast and love the sea, enter a sea triathlon. It’s worth bearing in mind, however, that in bigger lakes (such as in the Lake District), windy conditions can create some decent chop, so don’t assume that every lake triathlon will give you millpond-like conditions!
Lidos can be useful if you want to acclimatise to cooler water or swim outdoors in your wetsuit in controlled conditions. As expert sea swimmer Ross Edgley tells us on page 14, it’s all about baby steps.
The rest of this guide will hopefully show you how to gain the skills and confidence you need. So find your local venue, grab your wetsuit, dive in and enjoy!