Hello and welcome to the first of many blogs I hope to publish for you all! This is the first blog of three which will relate to open water swimming. It is my hope that the following blog will be of benefit to anyone looking to participate in your first open water swim, or if you are contemplating doing your first triathlon.
Are you ready? Then lets “dive in”.
So, you have filled in your entry form and now you need to get ready for your first open water/triathlon swim. Your next step is to grab your hat and goggles and hit the pool!
Or is it?
While dusting off your 5-year-old goggles and heading to your nearest pool seems like the next logical step in getting ready for your swim stage, it may not be the most efficient approach to take. Don’t get me wrong, jumping into your nearest pool and thrashing up and down the lane until near exhaustion will get you fitter but this will require a lot of effort for minimal returns in your swim performance. So, here are my 5 Top Tips to approach your first swim:
- Develop a plan
- Find a coach
- Practice in your wetsuit
- Join a group
Develop a plan
This may seem an obvious thing to do prior to your entry but from my experience, people seem to underestimate how difficult performing an open water /triathlon swim. This is a big issue as it could stop people from taking part or completing the event. This is where your plan comes in. To develop your plan, ask the following questions:
- How long do I have to train for this?
- How many times a week can I train?
- What is my starting point (Am I able to only do 1,2,3 lengths…)?
- What do I need to be able to do to finish this?
Once you have answers for all of these, your plan will take shape. My advice for anyone out of swimming for a long time should give themselves 4-5 months of training time of at least 2 sessions a week (3 would be optimal at this point for beginners). This will allow you to build up every aspect of your stroke (more on this in the next point) while ensuring you can handle the distance of your swim.
Find a coach
Ok, this point may not seem necessary especially as it will increase the cost of the event for you but hear me out. While you may not feel the need for a coach, getting in contact with an experienced swim coach can have very positive effects. A coach will be able to assess your swim stroke and provide valuable feedback on areas which may hinder your performance (the 3 main areas in need of improvement in my experience are body position, leg kick and breathing). (S)he will be able to provide corrective exercises and drills to help improve these areas while also being able to assess your training plan for the event.
But please check the credentials of the coach! There are many excellent swim coaches who have minimal experience with triathlon/open water swimming and will be unable to give specific strategies for the race itself but would still be able to improve your swimming technique. So, choose wisely, as you will most certainly have to pay for this service so make sure you are getting exactly what you want.
Practice in your wetsuit
This is a smaller one, but one people often forget to factor into their training. Unless you are swimming of the coast of Dubai or Hawaii, you will more than likely be forced to wear a wetsuit for your event. Therefore, we must practice swimming in it! Without any practice you will not know if a) the wetsuit is a good fit while in the water, b) do you need to adapt your swim stroke due to it and c) what issues you may have (chafed neck from turning your hear to breathe is one example) when its on. If you are doing a triathlon you need to know how difficult it is to get it off as well. These are simple things which can be overlooked and may make your first event an unpleasant experience
Join a group
So, this last one is not really necessary but who says swimming has to be a lonely sport??? I have always found training in a group far more enjoyable than by yourself. If you have gotten the bug of open water/triathlon swimming, I would actively encourage you to find and join a group/club. Group/club training tend to have a coach who has planned out the sessions and season plans for the groups which will help you peak for certain events. You will also find that you are meeting a lot of the same faces at these events, so getting to know some people may not be a bad thing in the long run! A great sense of camaraderie can be found between triathletes and open water swimmers and while the competitions are taken seriously, there is still an element of fun and enjoyment at these events.
My final piece of advice summed in one sentence: Make a realistic plan, find a coach if needed, and practice swimming in your wetsuit!
If you have any questions or you are based in Ireland and looking for a group/club to join, you may email me at coachmulvihill@outlook.ie
Thank you for reading this and I hope it was helpful. A
Alpha Sports Coaching 