Swimming is an integral part of triathlon. For the average swimmer the event portion takes up roughly 20% of the event at the Olympic Distance. Of course the longer the race distance is, swimming becomes much less of a factor and makes up only 10% or even less at the Ironman distance. This becomes a real factor in considering the planning of an athlete’s prospective training schedule.
As discussed in the previous post, the major issue is most triathletes have a limited knowledge and background of the basic fundamentals of swimming. The simply swim because its part of the sport and without doing it, they would never get to the portion that they are good at. I am still do not completely understand why Duathlon (formally Biathlon, when it was acceptable) did not catch on. It must be more empowering to be clad in neoprene and enter the unknown that lurks in the water than do a road race in your lycra.
Proper stroke technique and mechanics can be learned and anyone wiling to spend time to do it like they do in the other two sports will get faster. By becoming a better swimmer you will come out of the water with closer to overall leaders, be faster on the bike because you are biking with better riders and be faster on the run because your minutes more efficient in the water. In the end you will be faster overall and end up with a higher placing and better performance.
Consider doing a quality 1500-2000 meters working that includes your warm up/main set and cool down. Work on proper stroke technique and incorporate the suggestions to improve or maintain your swim performance. Although your stroke may need a complete overhaul, it is not possible to work on more than a few changes at a time. So here are a few more with the previous suggestions below them:
Below you will find two of the more important items to consider while swimming:
NO BICYCLE SWIMMING- Instead use Front Quadrant swimming. I say this because many people swim with one arm then the other like a bicycle crank. In reality, it should be one arm up front and the other one coming to the front and just before it gets to the front area after entering (about shoulder width) the other arm starts its pull.
DON’T GLIDE TOO LONG- Long distance (all triathlons) swimming is done with a long strong, but that does not mean to glide so long that you lose momentum. As soon as the stroke is complete, the other stroke has already started (front quadrant swimming) and there is no real pause in movement. Unlike a team of rowers, where you can see obvious movement, glide, then movement again swimming should appear to be a constant flow of the body moving through water.
HEAD POSITION-Keep the head low and looking at an angle out in front of you, but not too far as to create drag. When you turn your head it should be in tune with your body roll, not a sudden movement to breathe. If you roll properly, the head should roll out of the water in sync with your pull naturally. It is suggested that only one eye be out of the out of the water, mouth open to breathe with an exhale while still under water and upon surfacing looking at a 10 and 2 position. Often times I see people breathing way under their arm pit and looking at 5 and 7 positions.
PREVIOUS SUGGESTIONS from the first post reviewed:
CROSS OVER THE CENTER LINE- (correctly by entering about shoulder width or wider). This allows the arm to enter, drop and then start pulling while your body is rotating. It should almost feel like you are pulling on your side. The wide entry allows you to not cross over as your body begins to roll from side to side. If you enter too close to center and then roll, you will end up zigzagging from one side to the other and not swim in a straight line. This is even more evident in the open water with no black line on the bottom of the pool.
HAND ENTRANCE- The hand should enter relatively flat with fingers, then palm, wrist, forearm and elbow following. It is consider and sometimes encouraged to have your fingers somewhat spread apart to allow for a bigger surface to pull the water with. It also relieves stress on your hand if you have it in a very tight manner. The angle should be downward immediately so that your actual pull starts about 18 inches or so below/and in front of your shoulder. With a slight tilt of the wrist and a loose hand, you start the pull to a point where your hand and fore arm are below the chest area. Eventually your arm is in a 90 degree position at the elbow below your chest. |
