non wetsuit swims

Rumpole

I am what you would call a vertical swimmer.  My best OW time is 38:00, in which I got out of the water feeling good--warmed up, but not tired at all.  In every tri I've done, I have had a wetsuit.  In the mid atlantic this summer, though, I think it's pretty likely that there will be no wetsuit legal races.  (My A races are in the fall, and sometimes they're legal, and sometimes not).   

As anyone who's looked @ the feed knows, I have what might be called a plethora of limiters.  Thanks to the OS, though, I've (a) dropped 15, (b) been able to run consistently and faster, and (c) maintained my cycling fitness (oddly enough, my pure numbers were higher last year but I could not and did not run).  I'm liking the bike and run focus, as it's getting weight off of me (goal weight has dropped to sub 160, by which point I should (?) be able to get well over 3w/kg @ ftp; currently @ 169.  The swim, though, remains a concern for me and is something that I'm going to work on over the summer, trying to get the times down to 2:00 per 100 or better.  

So here is the question: at what point do people feel comfortable with a 1500m open water swim without a wetsuit?  The last race I did I did little more than "show up", and felt like I'd been in a prizefight when I got out of the water.  I had nothing on the bike.  Is there a key workout?  What were your benchmarks?  The thought of a no wetsuit swim makes me nervous, even though I know I can do the distance.

Jonathan Brown

Practice!!! try to get into the open water without a wetsuit. I have found a few local lakes that i sneak into to get some swims in without a wetsuit just so i can know what it feels like. This should help you.

Satish Punna

I am not a great swimmer, so take everything below with a grain of salt.  Last summer I had to do an oly swim without a wetsuit and managed about 2:00/100 or so.  I think the saying goes 'you can't win a triathlon in the swim but you can lose one in the swim'.  So my approach in execution of that swim was (and is) to try to find some clean water and swim at a comfortable pace that wouldn't leave me gassed.  

Brick/RR workouts that would help develop a sense of pace/RPE in the water are helpful in this regard.  Open water swim training sessions without a wetsuit may be helpful as well. 

I spend a lot of time trying to attain and maintain a hips up horizontal body position in the pool, and I think that  helped me for the non-wetsuit swim. Bottom line, if your technique is good it shouldn't matter too much whether you have a wetsuit on or not, so spend some time on body position technique!

One other race execution point.  Wear your tri top/suit for the swim.  Trying to put clothes on while wet is an exercise in frustration.

Swanie

Number one idea to improve your non wetsuit swims is to improve your horizontal position in the water. All of your swim practices need to include concentrated effort to get those legs within your swim "shadow". Tips to help this include dropping your head as you swim (like your swimming downhill) very little of the back of your head should be out of the water. Not lifting your head when you breath, think one goggle out. One kick for every stroke, when the left hand enters the water your right leg should give a kick. Right hand enters the water left leg kicks. These things will improve your horizontal position and you will swim faster with less physical output.

I was forced to swim Ironman Canada last summer with out a wetsuit and only using one arm (bike accident). But because I had good body position it worked out OK and only lost about 12 minutes.

russG

@Steve - did you say you swam IM-CA without a wetsuit using one arm?? ok - that's a lot of time to do one arm drills... wonder what it felt like for the guy in the wetsuit with two arms who finished behind you...

@Chris - it sounds like you've made some remarkable progress in the OS and since then. I did my first 1.5k swim at an oly where the water temp was too warm. On the one hand, I wasn't prepared. On the other hand, I did what the race called for - stroke stroke stroke breathe stroke stroke stroke breathe ... repeat until done. Interestingly, I set an oly PR that still stands... perhaps because that remains my only oly... but let me leave you with this thought:

If you know you can do the distance, then the only questions are how fast you can do the distance and at what metabolic cost. Like running, it's a function of how well you pace; difference is that when you're in the water it's all RPE - there is no feedback. Solution is to go do it - map out a repeatable out and back course that is close to 1.5k and swim it a few times. First time, swim to finish and note your time. Second time, pick up your pace a little on the way back in and see what happens - how much faster, how much more spent. It will probably take you a few times before you begin to develop a real feel for your pacing...

Rumpole

I was thinking more of a key pool workout. In other words, 10x150 on :30 rest hard? you'll make it. That kind of thing. UNfortunately, between work and family demands, OW opportunities are pretty sparse.

russG

Hear you on balancing demands... if you're working on fitness, then I believe EN workouts as specified will take you everywhere you need to go.  If you're working on pacing, then you need to do the long swim, like the test 1k.  Long swims aren't bad for your fitness, of course, but the primary goal is to dial in your pacing, in which case the same principles apply.  Time every 50 or every 100, and look to achieve even splits.  In a race, pacing-skills will be as important as swim-skills and fitness.

Satish Punna

A key workout suggestion:  

first, test to determine your TT pace with a 1000m TT or 200/400 or whatever that is repeatable.  

Then work up to 15x100 at your TT pace with 10s rest between 100s.