How much swimming is enough?

If you are a triathlete, you might be wondering, How much swimming do I need? Well here are some guidelines:

Recommended 1-2 times per week with technique coach or organized swim training group; 1-3 times per week by yourself to concentrate on technique and/or easy recovery.

Beginners: Minimum 1-2 swims per week.
Intermediate: 2-4 swims per week, of which 1-2 are intensity.
Advanced: 3-6 swims per week, 2-3 intensity.

1) Hire a coach. If you are new to fitness swimming and triathlon, seek coaching for swim technique. This is one of my biggest regrets from my own triathlon career. Like many people, I read books and magazine articles, looked at on-line clips, and asked other swimmers for tips. Though helpful, none of these will compare to having an experienced coach instruct you.

Receive technique coaching at least once every two weeks, and no more than two times per week. Any more than that will be information overload, and less than that is not enough to instigate change in your stroke.


Video: Frank and Richard doing windshield wiper sculling drill.

2) Swim by yourself. Between coaching session, go to the pool on your own and practice what you have been taught. It can be much easier to concentrate when you are not receiving feedback every lap. This gives you a chance to focus internally and implement the necessary changes.


Video: Mindy demonstrating excellent kick w/kickboard.

3) Structured group workouts 1-2 times per week. This kind of training is traditionally called "Masters Swim," but you don't have to have swimming mastered to do it. Fortunately there are group training options for triathletes who are new to the sport. These sessions tend to be fairly intense, with structured drills and sets.

I specifically recommend 1-2 times per week because structured group workouts tend to push you to a high intensity level. As a triathlete you need to balance intensity ("speedwork") sessions with endurance ("long") and recovery ("short-easy") sessions. If you go to 3-5 masters swims per week you are spending too much energy on swimming. Do 1-2 group swims, and then 1-2 swims on your own each week.


Photo: Robert and Eugene before a triathlon.

4) Open water. If you are training for open water triathlon races (and most are in open water) then you need to practice open water swimming skills in the pool. Then go out outdoors and practice actual open water swimming. It is nice to get outdoors and swim in nature; you will be much better prepared for your next race if you do.

5) Off-season. If swimming is a component that frustrates and holds you back, then plan to emphasize pool workin the off-season. October-Feb is a perfect time to swim 4-6 times per week, when you are not also trying to balance your cycling and running to prepare for impending races.

Creating a Triathlon TEAM

I have been coaching athletes for 10 years now and I love the fact that--just like racing--I get better at it each year. Last year I set a goal for myself, that I wanted something more than just a training group. I wanted to create a TEAM. Coaching age-group athletes is challenging enough, because everyone has different goals, ability levels, and schedules. I knew what would be the tipping point....so I set the goal to acquire for my athletes the most awesome uniforms in the city of Nashville, maybe anywhere.


Photo: Team Gibbs Construction New Orleans-Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance Coached by STtrainer

As you can see in the picture above, the goal has been achieved. In this post I want to elaborate a little on the process and thank those who facilitated that goal. First I knew that in order to have a well-outfitted team, it would be necessary to have sponsors.

I knew this would be possible because this group consists of wonderful people and great ambassadors of the sport. It was just a matter of finding the right fit with sponsors. What I didn't count on is the economy taking the worst hit since the great depression. It took every bit of six months to get the necessary sponsorship to create these uniforms.


Photo: The main advertisement for my business, which is conveniently covered by the jersey top most of the time. Ha!

I'm not going to lie here...there were some tough times. I thought I was going to fail at this goal. The turning point was when I was ready to give up, and I told the athletes that I coach that the team kits were going to be much smaller than expected. The response was overwhelming. Everyone started hustling to contribute to the project and within weeks we had confirmed 3 times as much sponsorship as I originally sought! It was awesome.



Photo: The night that everyone got their Team Kits....trying them on for the first time.


Photo: They turned out amazingly well. For the most part everything fit great and functioned perfectly.

I won't go into the gory details of what it takes to get team kits designed and ordered. Rest assured I have spent more hours tweaking the jersey design, getting logos, trying on fit kits, and generally just keeping the whole project moving along. I will say that two key factors got it done. The first is my friend Mike Denehey who conceived the design, and Champion Systems who polished the design and produced the kits.




Photo: Stylin!

What I am very interested to see now is the effects of the new uniforms on the team. I have already seen the first clues. This past weekend a group of 8 athletes and myself went out for a long ride and open water swim. Everyone was sporting the team kits. I can tell you it felt great to be part of a big group that looks consistent and distinctive. Now we are not a group of individuals, but a team that trains together and races together.


Photo: Marlena in her first triathlon.

Due to the sponsorship support we received, we were able to get "full" team kits. Cycling jerseys and shorts; tri tops, shorts, and 1-piece suits; jackets, arm warmers, and gloves. Now I know what it feels like to be part of a team just like the pros, and I hope the athletes I coach feel the same way.




Photo: Alex kicking it in to finish his first triathlon.


Photo: STtrainer athletes after the JCC triathlon this past weekend.

See the official TEAM GIBBS-TOA page here.

What exactly to do on race day

NIGHT BEFORE:

• Go to packet pick-up the night before if at all possible. This will save a lot of time in the morning of the race.


• Review the race information in your packet. Understand the layout of the transition area and race course. Identify where to park in the morning and where the bathrooms are.


• When you get home, apply numbers to bike, helmet, race belt, etc. Have your bags completely packed for race morning so everything is well organized for the morning. Pack your things in a bag that will organize and carry everything, such as a bicycle courier bag or a triathlon transition bag.


• Eat dinner a little earlier then normal. Eat mostly carbs, but don't stuff yourself. Drink extra water, and avoid coffee and alcohol. Go to bed early if possible.

AT HOME MORNING OF THE RACE:

• Set two alarms so you don't over-sleep. You will need to be up early on race morning.


• Take a warm shower upon rising. Apply sunscreen to your whole body, and friction reducer to your taint. Put on your race apparel, and warm-ups over that.


• Eat a breakfast that you have utilized during training so you know it works. A good example is 1/2 a bagel with peanut butter and jelly, a banana, and a cup of coffee or juice.


• Do a little stretching at home before you go, because it generally is easier to do at home than at the race site.

AT THE RACE SITE:

• Plan to arrive at the race site with plenty of time. 90 minutes before race start is recommended.


• Pump your bike tires up at the car. You MUST pump up the tires on race morning because they lose air over time, and if you do this at the car then you don't have to carry the pump to the tranisiton race.


• Take everything you will need for the race in your bag. Be sure to include casual clothes and sandals to wear after the race. If you ride your bike to transition you must have a helmet on.


• You should take care of the following in this order: 1) Get your body marked, 2) find your spot in transition area and set your things there, 3) get your timing chip, 4) go to the bathroom, 5) set up your transition spot. These are essential tasks.


• Doing a short warm-up and stretch will help you feel much better during the race. Try to do 5-10 minutes of each sport plus stretching before the race starts. You will need to be organized to fit this in.


• Sip water during the morning, but stop drinking anything about 45 minutes before the race starts. This way you will have the chance to urinate before race time and you won't have to go during the race.

DURING THE RACE

• For a time trial race you will line up in the queue in order of your number. In a wave start you will start with your age gropu, so be sure to find out when it starts. Try to stay warmed up by jogging in place and stretching while you are standing in line. Take a few deep breathes to stay relaxed.


• You can wear anything you want during the triathlon. Comfort, peformance, and style are factors in apparel selection. The best option is to select triathlon-specific apparel so you don't have to take off or put on anything during the race.

Swimming in the Cumberland

Big news in Nashville Triathlon: The Music City Triathlon is going to be held in downtown Nashville. This race course is going to be absolutely spectacular, with a closed course bike leg and a run around downtown Nashville.

The only complaint that I have heard is that some are wary of swimming in the Cumberland River. The Cumberland is not exactly a pristine, spring-fed lake...but it is safe for swimming.

In fact, I have swam in the Cumberland river at least 25 times in the last year and a half. It is my favorite place around Nashville to open-water swim. First of all it is a totally convenient location. Moreover, it is lined with beautiful green. And the water quality is not perfect, but it is about on par for what you can expect in a triathlon swim.


Photo: Air Forces Special Forces recruits training in the Cumberland.

In fact, I have my triathletes swimming in the Cumberland every 1-2 weeks for open water swimming, all summer long. Last summer I had two young men training for Air Force Pararescue school, and we did LONG swims in the Cumberland.

That is not all. Nashville Metro Council wants you to know that the Cumberland River is improved in terms of water quality. In the picture below, six members of the council and 18 others are swimming across the body of water to demonstrate that it is safe. You can read the full article [link here.]


Photo: Metro Council swimming in the Cumberland.

If you are not physically prepared for the Music City Triathlon in downtown Nashville, contact me and I will coach you to be ready. A new training block begins June 1 [link here.] But if you are worried about the water quality, don't be. The Cumberland is fine for a triathlon.

Tapering

As you approach an A-race you need to think about tapering. For B-races a two day, easy day recovery is sufficient. But for more important and longer races, you need to execute a bona-fide taper.

Up until 10 days out you can still train hard. If you are still "gaining" fitness, you should thrash yourself M-W this week.

After 10 days out you can gain no new fitness. At that point your goal is to gain full recovery and at the same time 1) keep your muscle memory good, and 2) keep your body chemistry balance correct. Many of you have gained your excellent fitness by either training a lot, or training hard. You may never have thought about how to keep your fitness while scaling back. In fact, many hardcore athletes are terrified of tapering because they think they will lose fitness...read this, think about it, and master it. Tapering is the final portion of training how you will bring out your best performance on race day.

Muscle Memory: You maintain muscle memory through frequent albeit short workouts. If you train 12 times per week, you should still do 8-10 workouts during your taper week. But if you normally train for 1-2 hours, during taper week your sessions should be 20-40 minutes. The closer to race day, the shorter. It is amazing how little training you can get by with and keep your muscle memory feeling good.
Body Chemistry: This refers to your body's ability to handle hard work and lactic acid. When you take a week off (sedentary) your body goes into rebuild and repair mode, but loses its ability to process lactic acid. The way to manage this during taper week is to do just a few minutes of race pace effort in each of your short workouts. If you are doing a half, it is Zone 3. If you are doing a competitive olympic distance, this is high 3-zone 4. The point is to do a few SHORT SPURTS, just enough to remind your body what it feels like to hurt.

Another component of body chemistry is the glycogen storage, hydration, and body fat composition. During taper week you are exercising less, so you should also reduce total calorie intake during this week. Eat the same number of meals, just scale back portion size. Up until 2 days before, it is okay to actually reduce carbs, again, because you are exercising less. Then on the two days before the race you should eat a high percentage of carbs. This means you continue to eat normal sized meals (or a little bigger) but you should be eating pasta, rice, and bread. This will top off your glycogen stores. Stay away from fat, and on the last day stay away from high fiber. You want your food to be processed and pass through quickly.

The reason I mention this is because many people become very distressed during taper week with the perception they are getting fat. This is not the case. You are storing extra water and glycogen, while at the same time sweating and exercising less. This is normal and it means you are prepared for race day. You want all your fuel sources for the race to be fully topped off on race morning, and this will feel different than during a normal day. You may feel slugging all week and even race morning. Don't worry about that. It is normal. It doesn't matter if you feel sluggish at the start of the race as long as you feel good in the middle and especially the end.