Thoughts on the swim

It is very important to understand one important fact for success and enjoyment in the sport of triathlon: you must think of this crazy activity and the racing and training involved as a never ending quest, of one event made up of three interrelated activities。

Just like a smooth running engine with all of its internal components working in synch.
Most of us participating in the sport of triathlon have some history or experience in at least one of the three activities that make up the event.

When training for triathlons, many of us in tend to rely on and consequently put forth all of our energy in our particular specialty, whether it is swim, bike or run.

Unfortunately, this can prove to be detrimental to our overall triathlon performance

So. Remember, you are not a swimmer, a cyclist or a runner you are a triathlete and swimming is where the balance begins.

Unfortunately, the swimming leg is often considered the forgotten・leg of the triathlon, its role can actually be very crucial. Obviously swimming is the first leg of the traditional triathlon, and regardless of ones swimming background, the swim can often be the determining factor of a racers overall triathlon performance.

Go out too fast and you run the risk of BONKING during the bike or run. Go out too slow and you can be left too far back being forced to play catch-up for the remainder of the race. Ironically, it is more often the experienced swimmer who suffers. Unfortunately, such a mistake happens more often than not.

As a swimming coach it was only natural for me to excel during the swim leg of a triathlon, and you would think I had to take advantage of it!  Wrong….  

Being a swimmer, and thinking like a swimmer will get you out of the water first, but will also get you passed during the bike or maybe run if your really fast in the water.

You do not have to come from a swimming background to make the same mistakes. A non-swimmer can also fall victim to this type of scenario simply due to a lack of experience.

A great suggestion・and one in which I believe strongly, but it is not as easy as it would appear.

Most triathletes train for their swimming by joining their local masters swim team and because 　Lap swimmers tend to dominate a masters program, the workouts are designed accordingly - hard, anaerobic and interval based.

If you fit into this category and you have been training like a swimmer, your race performance will be a reflection of your training・and fast.

So simply slowing down in an effort to swim aerobically, may prove more difficult than you had thought. If you are not used to swimming slower, and aerobically, you may find yourself struggling to maintain that low・pace.

Furthermore, the slower you swim, the lower your body position will be in the water. Initially, you may find yourself swallowing water while attempting to breath. But more importantly, the lower you are in the water, the greater the water resistance.

Therefore, in an attempt to maintain a slow and perhaps unfamiliar swim pace, you are actually having to work hard to swim slower. That is not to say that swimming slow or aerobically is bad. In fact it can be extremely beneficial. But, in order to successfully swim aerobically in a race, you must train accordingly.

So remember, when training and racing in the sport of triathlon, each of the three activities, swim, bike and run, must work in harmony to achieve the best possible results.

The best way to achieve this harmony is through an intelligent, dedicated and well balanced training regimen. Therefore, do not overlook the importance of the swim leg.

Successfully integrating the swim with your biking and running will provide the necessary balance for a successful overall triathlon performance.