How to perfect your transitions!

Open water swimming can be daunting, even for a seasoned competitor, but the weather is starting to warm up and you know it’s time to get out in the bay. (Plus we are less than 2 weeks until the first Gatorade & Brooks Fun Tri Races!)

Don’t worry, there’s no need to fear. With helpful tips from us and a little practise, we’ll help you learn the skills and gain that confidence to have you ready to race come race day!

So here are some great tips to help you get started:

TRAINING

Safety

• Never, ever swim alone! Seriously, just don’t do it, it’s as simple as that. Know your skill level and don’t go too far out of your depth.
• Learn to feel comfortable to float on your back. If you get into trouble, you can simply flip onto your back with your feet to the shore (this stops the waves hitting your face). Wait until you catch your breath and feel comfortable enough to make your way back to shore.

Entering the water

• Practise entering the water. You want to run off the beach into the water with knees high and legs kicking outwards to avoid resistance from the water on your way in. When your legs start to resist against the water (usually mid thigh - no deeper!), you then need to start ‘porpoising’.
• Porpoising involves diving down to the bottom with your arms extended and head tucked in. Grab the sand as you hit the bottom and ‘pull’ yourself through and back up to the surface. Dive again and repeat until the water is chest height. Then commence swimming towards the first buoy.
• If the water is chopping, try to time your porpoising so you dive under the white ‘broken’ waves - you can go over rolling green waves.
• Use high elbows when you begin to swim to get you over the waves or rough water that forms close to the shore.

Breathing

• You want to practise and learn to breathe both sides. This will assist in races where you might be swimming in different directions and waves could be coming from either side.
• So if it is chopping make sure you breathe away from the waves!

Sighting and navigation

• Sighting is one of the most important parts of open water swimming. If you are not good at sighting, then you will find yourself swimming a lot further than you have to!
• So practice sighting. Look up every 5-10 strokes to make sure you’re going in the right direction.
• Sighting should not slow you down or break your stroke. Simply lift your head so your eyes just come above the water. Have a quick glance to make sure you are on the right track and then turn your head to its normal position.
• You don’t want to hold your head up for too long as doing so will drop your lower body in the water, which creates unnecessary and will therefore slow you down.
• Sighting buoys can sometimes be difficult as you cannot see them above other swimmers and or waves. So before you start, pick out a landmark that is in line with the buoy. This could be a distinctive house, tree of pole in the distance. Use this are your marker to sight and navigate.

Navigating around buoys

• There are a few things to remember when coming to a buoy. You may not want to head straight for it if you are in a pack. Swimmers tend to bottle neck trying to get around the buoy as they try and turn around it as close as possible. Save yourself the trouble and swim a little wider. This will stop you from getting stuck in the traffic and having to slow your stroke down.
• When you approach, make sure you have the buoy in your sight. As you approach pull your inside arm (arm closest to the buoy) under your body as your round the buoy. This will get your around faster.

Drafting

• In the swim drafting is legal! And you can save a lot of energy (and time) by swimming behind someone who is a little faster than you.
• Once you are comfortable in the swim, try and find someone in front or alongside you who is swimming a little faster. Surge to catch them if they are in front, or keep swimming and wait for them to pass you. Once then do, swim as close to them as possible - literally nearly touching their feet. You will gain an advantage by getting ‘pulled’ along in their wake.
• You can practise this technique in the pool with your training partner/s or squad and notice how much easier it is to swim.

Exiting the water

• The biggest mistake competitors make is trying to stand up to early. You only want to stop swimming and stand up when your hands touch the sand as you stroke. This means the water will be about waist height.
• Stand up quickly and porpoise in until you can easily run above the water. Do not try and start running if the water is still above mid thigh.
• Depending on the race, you may need to run in soft sand. If so, run on the balls of your feet to avoid sinking too much into the sand.

 

RACEDAY!

• Check the swim course map at the registration area. Check the first and last 50-100m of the swim, looking for rocks, steps, gutters or sand banks, and where the waves are breaking. Whilst in the water sight a flag or tree or building that is in line with last buoy and the finishing shoot, so you can swim at it when you turn the last buoy.
• Use a plastic bag over your feet to get your wet suit on it makes it easier to slide on, pull the bag out once it's on.
• Place Vaseline, baby oil or other lubricant on your lower leg and lower arms inside and outside your wetsuit to allow it to slide off easily, some people use conditioner. Applying Vaseline around your shoulders make it easier to move your arms around.
• Wet your goggles and the spit in them (yes spit!) to ‘antifog’ them. Rinse them well and you will have a fog free race!
• Place your self at the front of the pack if you are a fast swimmer; however, if you are a fairly weak swimmer just go towards the back of the pack for an uninterrupted swim.
• During your swim remember to:

o Sight/navigate

o Try to draft off another swimmer

o Stay relaxed and try not to turn your arms over too quickly.

• As soon as you are running out of the swim undo your wetsuit and begin to pull it down to your waist, take off your cap and goggles, whilst looking for your bike and bright towel in transition.
• When you reach your bike, pull your wetsuit down to your ankles and use your feet to step on it to get it over your feet. Don’t sit down to try and get it off!

To improve your open water swimming, you want to train in the bay at least once a week. This will allow you to train in different conditions, gain confidence and practise the skills taught. Tri Alliance holds sessions at Elwood Lifesaving Club on Thursday evenings and Saturday Mornings, Contact Us to find out more!

Tri Alliance offer a specially designed 6 week TRY-the-TRI Program aimed at getting you ready to complete your first Gatorade Triathlon or Brooks Fun Tri, you will gain the skills and confidence you need to get you to the finish line! To find out more, Click Here.

For further information or enquires, please contact info@tri-alliance.com.au