Open Water Confidence
So now I know why the coaches insisted on me doing at least 1 race before my A race in July...
My first and only race before my July full Vineman in Napa was today and it didn't go so well. I felt relaxed waiting in the cold water before my wave start but as soon as everyone started swimming and thrashing around, my heart rate spiked and remained there for the entire swim. I would be able to only swim for a couple of dozen strokes before being so winded that I had to flip on my back to catch my breath. Repeat that half a dozen times! Arrgghh
But in the pool, I can control my pace and breathe easily. Actually, I've never felt more confident in my swimming ability. The EN drills and workouts have been amazing confidence boosters.
Today's swim proved otherwise. Almost a 1 mile swim (.5 mile out and back) and it felt like I wasn't moving at all.
So being that I am 10 weeks away from Vineman, do you think it wise for someone like me to supplement some of the weekly swim with some OWS at a nearby lake? I'm on the 20 weeks beginner IM plan. The monday swims are either L or M from now on. Maybe hit the lake on those days and just swim and practice sighting (another problem from swimming at the pool for the last 3 months and not needing to sight)?
Oh and one other thing, during the bike and run, my stomach felt very 'gassy' but couldn't release it by burping or farting. It made the run very uncomfortable. So uncomfortable that I couldn't push the pace that I normally easily handle during training. Is this because I was gasping too much air while swimming? Any way to minimize or alleviate this?
Comments
Also if you can practice goggles coming off and putting them back on in deep water - try think of the things that could go wrong and practice repairing them in deep water. Will do wonders if any do happen in a race and also for overall confidence.
Gas does sounds like gasping air while swim to me, or maybe swallowing of water (was it sea of fresh?). I would suggest making sure breathe out underwater while swimming before take a breath. Am sure some fishes on here may have some better advice also.
Hi - I'm 2 weeks out from HIM and 12 from IM with open water swims and I haven't been near a lake yet.
Am I worried err yes and no. Yes as OW is very different from a pool - cold water, cant see bugger all (no line to follow!), sighting etc.. No as I know it will only take 2 swims to get me "comfortable" again
Go OW swimming at least once a week and practice what you expect to get in the race. The key is knowing what to do when it happens to you. Focus on your stroke and how you can maintain it without disruption, keeping your stress levels down.
So some sprints for approx 150m (to simulate the start and jumping round a person to get to my next set of toes), lost cap, goggles falling off , putting them back on, sighting, breathing etc. If its the washing machine you fear, then practice with some mates swimming over you /being very close.
If you can't get over the washing machine start then seed yourself slightly towards the back of the swim start, on the hooter wait 10 secs to let everyone else go and then swim in relatively clear water, breathe one sided and then pick people off in the clearer water.. Also on rounding bouys keep a wide birth and continue with nice easy un-interrupted stroke. Remember the chaos is only short lived.
HTH
As far as the gassy feeling...exactly what did you have for breakfast and then what did you eat on the bike?
A cardinal rule of triathlon (or any) training is to focus on your weaknesses and limiters, to face your fears. Familiarity breeds content. As to which swim session to replace? The Monday sessions are usually shorter intervals, with harder efforts thrown into them. I view this as critical in keeping up your swim fitness as you progress towards race day, same as bike and run hard intervals one day a week. Instead of dropping them for a more "leisurely" OWS, pick one of the other days which has longer, slower intervals as the one you cut out.
The best way for me to relax is to count strokes and to just lose myself. I start to think about my bike, my run, what i am doing next and how i am going to be successful in the bike and run. The last think i think about is the swim. I NEVER think about the swim and what i am doing at that moment, just about the future.
Yes do more open water swims and 2x what Al says about the longer swims. I often do my Friday swims in a lake nearby.
The Vineman swim is a little bit of an odd duck since it's in a river. Because it's in a river you can get over near the shore and walk! I don't recommend that because it's slower and puts more stress on your legs but you can get over to the side and stand up if you need to at least when you're heading up river. I have to walk around the turn around buoy up river because it gets so shallow that my hands hit the river bottom. Most people walk around that so doing a u-turn around the buoy is not something you need to practice. You still need to practice siting though because the water is deeper closer to the buoys and thus faster. There are usually quite a few kayaks between the buoys which makes sighting easier.
I'll be doing Vineman again this year. Let me know if you have any other questions about the course (I've done it 3 times). Hope to see you there.
I'm certainly no expert, but I've done several HIM swims and one IM swim this past weekend. I experienced exactly what you described in my first OWS race, which was only a sprint. Granted, I was not very well "trained" to swim 800m, but was having to go to breastroke frequently and flip over on back a couple of times. Breaststroke at least allows you to continue moving forward some and keep your head straight and sight more easily. But, you don't really want to rely on intermittent breaststroking long-term.
What I found/was taught, was that if you're unable to continue to swim freestyle, it's usually because you're trying to swim too fast/hard and/or you're panicking. The advice of the others below is all great for the latter. But, for me, the problem was not panicking/freaking out (I am not afraid of drowning, can tread water all day, etc.), it was that I was trying to swim too fast and didn't realize that.
In a crowd of people and the constant contact/thrashing/etc., it's hard to "stay calm and just swim". That's where counting strokes (Coach R is a huge proponent of this) helps me. I count strokes in the pool....every lap....every lap...always. In an OWS in lake, just do the same.....the more time you spend swimming, even in the pool, counting strokes, the better you will be able to settle into YOUR rhythm. Try to ignore the contact....it's not "personal" and you are creating some of it too! I try to sight every 10th stroke or so, depending on traffic. Count 10 strokes, head up quickly....find a buoy or an open water spot between two other athletes and head that way....head back down...count another 10....repeat and rinse until you're done.
That's what works for me. I'm not fast, but my last two (HIM and IM) swims I have come out of the water feeling fresher, relaxed, able to actually jog to T1 (instead of sea-legging it slowly up to T1) and had good bike starts.
Hope that helps.
As usually, excellent advice given in this thread. I am a newbie swimmer and am learning / using all the things listed here and they have all helped me. In my Sprint this weekend I went from 'Oh my god, how am I ever going to do a longer swim' to 'It is going to be all right I can do it' just by remembering (forcing myself) to relax and concentrate on my strokes and counts. Remember, you don't have to be first out of the water you can make up time on the bike and run. In my Sprint I beat some people who were out of the water 4 minutes before I was. What was that advice I read some where, 'You can't win the race in the swim, but you sure can loose it'...
Al's recommendation to keep the short intervals WKOs is brilliant. Didn't think of doing the longer sets WKOs in open water but is exactly what I'll be doing in the last 10 weeks.
I've been concentrating so much on form/catch during my swims that I have NOT been counting strokes. Will start counting and train to focus on that instead of everything around me.
Thank you all for the tips on practicing fixing things that could possible go wrong during a race. Out of curiosity, what HAVE you encountered during the swim that I should practice?
As for the gassy bike/run, I had a banana and a gel before the race and a bottle of Perform during the bike. Barely was able to gulp down 2 cups of water on the run. I normally just have a gel and energy drink during the > 1hr training session (although no banana). It's either the banana or me gasping for air that's caused it.
My stomach was so bloated that it was hard to fully expand my lungs or use my diaphragm to help expel air out. This made running fast really hard.
@Jeff, I think you are on something there. On the times when I was on my back, I started to think that I'm trying to swim way, way faster than what I am capable of. This probably goes back to me counting strokes and get into a rhythm that i'm accustomed to in the pool.
@Mark, I will def touch base with you with Vineman specific questions.
Thanks Team!!