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Swim time lost due to poor navigation!

David FlintDavid Flint
in Racing Forum 🏎

 Hi folks - received this link from the SwimSmooth team ( I bought one of their DVD's once) - links to a post on their blog that reveals the hugh amount of time that can be lost during an IM swim due to poor navigation, 10 mins in one of their examples!

http://www.feelforthewater.com/2010...nutes.html

 

Some other links too on there too incl video analysis of Jodie Swallow & Scott Neyedli technique.

 

 

Comments

  • Peter CarrollPeter Carroll
    Wow. thats really interesting. I am very inexperienced in open water swimming. I could easily see the same thing (or worse) happening to me by zig zagging through the course. Thanks for the link.
  • carpej30carpej30
    That is pretty much me the first race of the season, usually because its the first time ive been in open water. I usually gain 5 or 10 minutes on a half im by end of summer. I think its partially if not mostly due to getting more open water practice.
  • Al TruscottAl Truscott

    In an Ironman swim (2000+ competitors), I don't see how you can have "navigation issues" unless you are (a) off the front, (b) far off to one side of the pack, (c) a 2 hour+ swimmer. Anybody trying to follow his/her own path in that melee will quickly get pounded into submission, so that everyone pretty much goes where the pack goes, which is usually just about the shortest and fastest way to go, given the massive draft you get witgh hundreds of swimmer in front of you.

    I doubt that "Dan's" wanderings off a straight line were anything he had control over, unless they swim much farther apart down under than we do in North America.

  • carpej30carpej30
    (b) far off to one side of the pack <------------ That usually does it for me, i like to start to the left or right of my wave if only to avoid an elbow to the face.
  • carpej30carpej30
    I'd also be curious to do that on all swimmers in a tri, i bet a lot of people who think they are going in a straight line aren't as straight as they think they are
  • mgraffeomgraffeo

    I definitely had a few 90 degree turns at Timberman last year.  Got so far off track at one point, I sighted, then stopped, treaded water, and had to scan 360 degrees to figure out where the heck I was!

     

  • Chris GChris G

     I am not great at navigation in the OW.  It is pretty obvious as I do it fairly often in the summer and find myself swimming a search pattern even in a lake I know very well..  As Al said an IM is about the easiest place to ever stay straight as within a few minutes you are swimming in the middle of a ton of people all going the same way at the same speed, no faster or slower people from other waves to deal with.  In smaller races lately I just pick a set of feet and stay on them letting the leader do the work.  Sometimes I get lucky and pick someone who is going the right speed and straight, sometimes not so much.  Removes a bunch of the anxiety of it for me.  I might give up a little time but I usually just try and relax and wait for the swim to be over.

  • Tony StockerTony Stocker
    Posted By Al Truscott on 14 May 2010 01:45 PM

    In an Ironman swim (2000+ competitors), I don't see how you can have "navigation issues" unless you are .... (c) a 2 hour+ swimmer.

     

    Hmmm....I'm consistently a 1:40-1:45 IM swimmer and I can tell you that by about 1/3 to 1/2 (at the latest) part of the swim I'm basically alone except for a handful of others within sight.  This is especially true in single loop swims, but still valid in multi loop swims.

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