Photo: Women's race at World Triathlon Championships, Vancouver B.C., June 2008.
First of all Sarah has never been beaten in a triathlon swim. This is astonishing because there are some very good swimmers in the sport. She has gone to the Olympics or been very close in pool swimming. She is nationally recognized as a swim coach and is active in USA Swimming.
Photo: Intense swim in COLD water.
I am going to share a few of her swim tips for the next few weeks. The first advice she gives is that before you do open water swimming, you should get as good as possible in the pool. If you are not working with a swim coach this is a mistake. One of my biggest regrets of my triathlon career is that I went so many years without having a coach really tear apart my swim stroke.
DRAFT SETS
One way that you can prepare for open water swimming during pool swims is to do draft sets. To do this you need someone who is close to your speed for swimming. It works best with either 2 or 3 swimmers. You swim a long steady set (e.g., 800-2000+) and you alternate leading and drafting.
When you are drafting, work on staying as close as possible behind the swimmer in front of you. You should even widen your hand entry so as to avoid touching the feet of the swimmer in front of you. You want them swimming as fast as possible, not distracted by you. Remember, stay as close as possible, use a circle-swim configuration, and be sure to have quick turns at the wall and surge to stay closely behind them.
Photo: Pros have to exit and re-enter in an ITU race.
Alternate drafting with your 1-2 partners. Take turns leading for 200 yards, then pull off to the side at the wall and let your buddy "pull through." This long, steady set will actually be more like a tempo/fartlek session, because when you are in the front you are breaking through still water. When you are drafting behind you get a huge energy savings of around 30%. But the key is to benefit you must learn to RELAX. The continuous swimming also makes you get used to not stopping at the wall and forces you to concentrate.
When I was a green-behind-the-ears 24 year old triathlete I noticed all the bubbles and turblence when I swam behind another triathlete in a race. Little did I realize that swimming in those bubbles is exactly where you want to be. I have done this draft set for years since then. Not only is it a great way to become comfortable with drafting, it is also a great way to bang out a ton of yards quickly.
Photo: Mclarty on the run at Worlds.
Sarah Mclarty's website [link here.]
No comments:
Post a Comment