RACE DAY Q&A
The big day is here – but how do you get the edge in the water? Swim Smooth’s Adam Young has the answers…
q It’s a deep-water start. I’m nervous. Where should I position myself in the pack? a Don’t worry – many people in the race will be feeling exactly the same as you! Positioning yourself to one side is a good idea, but make sure you scout out the swim course before the start – particularly the position of the first buoy – so that you have a good idea of where you are headed. Even if starting to one side, you still want to make a good beeline to it, or you will swim a lot of extra distance.
Once the gun goes off, the number one thing to think about is simply blowing out into the water as you swim. When you are anxious it’s very easy to hold your breath underwater and that will cause CO2 to build up in your system – making you feel even more anxious. Blow out with a steady stream of bubbles to calm yourself down.
Q I’m a fast swimmer. Is it best to make a break early, or draft someone and break away later? A Good question! To be honest, it’s difficult to plan out a firm strategy in that way and you’re almost certainly going to have to see how the race unfolds and make a decision on the fly. As a good swimmer, make sure you line up front and centre, or close to other fast swimmers if you know who they are. Start the race and immediately look to see if there’s a swimmer (or swimmers) of similar speed whose feet you can jump on. You can put in a small surge to get on those feet if need be. It’s well worth it as the benefits of drafting are huge – saving you up to 38% of your energy expenditure, which you can unleash later in the race.
If there are no fast feet then you might be forced into swimming solo but be very aware that you might be dragging round some other fast swimmers behind you, which you don’t want to do. In that situation you could slow down a little and force them to come round and share some of the work at the front. Good luck!
q Is there a quickest way to turn around the buoy? a Yes, but you need to practise! Approach the buoy, aiming to be about 50cm outside of it. Swim so that as your inside arm (the side nearest the buoy) extends forwards it slides past the buoy. As you extend forwards underwater, bring your other arm up and over so you flip onto your back. The buoy will be behind you as you flip over so at that moment you can’t see it. Continue with the next stroke to roll back on to your front. Do this correctly and you will end up turning 90 degrees on a very tight line round the buoy. Accelerate out with a burst to drop everyone behind you!
Q How do I sight in choppy water if I can’t see the buoys? a If you sight and can’t see the buoy you are aiming for then stay calm, put your head back down, take another stroke or two and sight again. Even in good conditions it’s very common not see the buoy the first time you sight, so don’t panic - you’ll get a glimpse after two or three goes, even if the chop is very large. Practise sighting in training, too!
“The benefits of drafting are huge, saving you up to 38% of your energy”