TRAINING

Swim Strong, Race Strong

It doesn’t seem to matter how many years I spend in this sport, I still regularly cross paths with athletes who believe they simply need to “survive” the swim. I seem to always hear the same excuses: “I’m not worried about the swim.” “I swim fine – every summer with my cousins at the lake.”

“I didn’t start swimming until I was an adult so I’ll never be fast anyway.” “The bike and run are so much more important. I’d rather put my time there.”

In short, the message seems to be: swimming is a necessary evil, and I don’t want to do any more than I have to.

It’s true that in most triathlon races, from sprints right up to the full distance, the time we spend in the water is, proportionately, much less than on the bike or run. But the time in the water, and how it unfolds, is paramount to how the rest of the day goes. If you come out of the water and you’re both discouraged and exhausted, you’re going to find it takes quite a few kilometres on the bike before your mind and body come around. An athlete I worked with some years ago told me it took him 60 km on the bike before he was able to shake off the effects of the swim during an Ironman. That is no way to achieve any kind of a peak performance.

You may not swim well, that is to say, you may not be efficient in the water. Your energy output might be higher than your neighbour’s, even though they’re still in a different time zone before you get your wetsuit off, but you can be fit. Everyone can be swim fit. And, if you’re swim fit, it won’t take you six km to come around on the bike, let alone 60.

Getting fit is a good place to start and, while you’re at it, work on your technique.

Getting fit takes hard work, and improving technique takes smart work. I’ve written thousands of words on how to do both, but let’s look at a shortlist of the basics on both, and hopefully you can find something there to help transition from a someone who just suffers the swim until the “real” race begins, to a proper triathlete.

Swimming twice a week will only secure gains for absolute beginners – and no one is an absolute beginner for long. Three swims a week will secure gains for some, and maintain fitness for others. Four or more times a week and you’re likely making gains. It all comes down to frequency of touch.

• If you can, swim with a club rather than by yourself.

• Work with a good coach as often as you can. You’re not doing what you think you’re doing in the water. Use video assistance if it’s available. If you can do this with a coach, you’re ahead of the game, but most people can see if they’re dropping their elbows or not. Get in lots of aerobic metres where you’re really focusing on good form, but make sure you execute solid, strong sets with regularity. (The kind of sets where vomiting is a real possibility.) Use the warm-up and pre-sets to focus on technique and drills, but endeavour to maintain that form even as the intensity of the main set hits you. This can be a challenge for even the most experienced swimmer – but, the most experienced swimmers know how important it is.