1983
Ok, so I have a grudge match sprint triathalon coming up the end of August. Bragging rights with a friend are involved.
I did one tri about 10 years ago, 1/2 m ocean swim and swore never to do another. I was last out of the water and threw up while riding the bike. So swimming is not my strong suit.
I am ok on the bike and better at running.
My grudge match combatant is good at all 3 disciplines.
So, I need to figure out how to lose as little time in the water as possible.
I have a pool, so I can use it daily between now and then...I went for a lake swim a week ago and have trouble with the whole breathing thing...can't seem to avoid breathing every stroke on one side. Is this workable? Even breathing every stroke, I was exhausted after not very far...
Do I have time to get comfortable alternating? How do I get comfortable in the water?
What water drills would give me the most bang for the buck between in 4 weeks?
MTA: My log is deceiving... I don't really log my workouts anymore. I have been doing a good bit of biking and running over the last month.
The voice of mile 18
Tri Rule #1 of Triathlon Training/Racing - If Momma ain't happy nobody is happy
Your talking between now and the end of August 2011 right ?
Because there's not much to gain between now and the end of August 2010.
Good Luck.
Haha, I'm not going to ask for help for something over a year away...I could figure it out myself by then. Yes, it is less than a month away. Think of me as an open slate, of course there is gain possible in a month...I just am looking for what to concentrate on to gain the most...or something at all.
Josh
With all due respect.....unless you can not swim, or your piss poor at it there is very little you can gain in a month. I'm assuming you can swim 600 yds in a reasonable amount of time.....say 10 - 12 mins ?
Your talking about fittness and this takes time. If I were to go out and race today, my level of performance is going to depend on the work that I did three weeks ago and going back from there.
There's a saying......"The hay's in the barn". This means the work is done.....all I can do know is bide my time until race day comes. Depending on the race and the level of importance this is usually about 3 weeks out.
You can work on your confidence level. You can work on your form so your more efficient. But to think there are some drills you can do so you can become magically faster in 3 weeks.......well, ain't going to happen.
Ok, Ok, I am piss poor at it....I admit it. I'm not looking to improve my fitness in the next month, although I probably will. I swim 50-100 yds and I am exhausted and out of breath... I know it shouldn't be that hard. It is not that I am in poor fitness. I can bike 20 miles in a hour. I can run a 5K at 6 and change pace. But I can't swim for shit. I have a pool in my yard. I can and will get up every morning between now and then to try and become more proficient at it.
I am just looking for a couple of recommendations on what I should work on....and how. What are the typical things that a really bad swimmer can rectify to improve? Its not like just putting in time is going to do me wonders. Swimming, from what I have heard is all about efficiency. If I go thrash around in the pool for a month, I won't be any better off than when I started.
So for anyone who knows how to impart a little swimming wisdom and phrase it in a way that a non swimmer can understand, that would be helpful.
Telling me that I'm an idiot for signing up for something without training for a year is something I already know and am cool with.
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The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
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stolen from another site:
Open Water Swimming Drills
Sighting Drill: Swim normal freestyle. On every 5th stroke, raise your head straight forward and "sight" on an object off in the distance. You can place a target object or sight something already in place, i.e.: a tree. After sighting the object, lower your head back into normal position. Practice maintaining a balanced stroke rhythm and rotation while clearly seeing the target object.
Blind Swimming: Swim normal freestyle with your eyes completely closed. On every 5th stroke, raise your head straight forward and "sight" on an object off in the distance (above). Make sure you are maintaining a straight path down the pool. You can do this drill swimming side-by-side with your lane mates to reinforce swimming in a straight path.
and two of my favorites:
Catch-Up Drill
As with the Freestyle version, pull with one arm at a time all the way through the stroke. The non-moving arm should be extended out front in a good streamline position. You should not actually touch hands when switching strokes from one side to the other, but allow your arm to complete its recovery through the hand entry before pulling with the opposite arm. Again, this drill is great for working on body position (hips up, full side-to-side rotation).
Fist Swimming
Swimming with hands completely in a fist. No "karate-chop" hands allowed! Concentrate on body position, using your forearm in the catch and optimum elbow bend through the stroke. When you return to swimming with an open palm, your hands will feel as large as kickboards! Have fun and think Distance Per Stroke!
again my .02 don't try to win the swim just focus on being efficient as possible and save your legs for the bike and run. let your friends burn themselves out on the swim if they want and you can run them down w/ the energy you saved. good luck and have fun
Its not like just putting in time is going to do me wonders.
This is where you are wrong.
You can swim 50 -100 yds and then your wiped.......Well, I haven't been in the water since March......Prior to that I was swimming 3000 meter or more 4x a week and feeling refreshed.
Fitness is very specific.......Right now I am in very good fitness for running and extremely good for biking but my swim fitness......well, I would be about in the same shape as you after swimming 100 yds.
Very common for people to think....welll, I'm in excellent fitness.....taking up swimming should be a breeze. Then they're shocked when they swim 25 yds to the other end and they're gasping for air when they get there.
I'm not telling you that your an idiot......I'm telling you.....that if you can swim....but you can't swim for more than 100 yds without being breathless.....then there is very little you can do to improve that in 3 weeks. It's your swim fitness that sucks. And that means you've got to put in the time.
You asked how do I get comfortable in the water.......Put in the time.
How do I get comfortable alternating.....Put in the time.
What drills would give you the most bang for your buck.......Straight up laps. Start with 50 meter repeats with 15 sec rest in between....see how many you can do.
MTA:
There are dozens of good drills out there. My Straihgt up lap recommendations is for your current sistiuation and not to be taken as this is something a normal swimmer should do.
When it comes to form, this is something that a swimmer is always working on. With your sitiuation....either you have got to completely re-learn how to swim or your going to have to work with what you got. And you really don't have time to relearn.
Hands down the single best recommendation is find a really good swimmer or try to hook up with an instructor and explain your sitiuation........Have them watch you and have them give you pointers.
I was swimming 600 yds at the pool in under 12 minutes with ease. I swam a 1/3 mile (580 yd) OWS yesterday in 15:54. There is a huge difference between swimming laps and swimming in the lake/ocean.
If you can't swim 50-100 yards right now with being out of breathe and exhausted, how in the heck do you figure you can make a sprint tri distance OWS?
I hope your buddy points you out to the water safety people so they keep an eye on you. You sound like a fatality waiting to happen.
Good luck, you're gonna need it.
Puttin' on the foil
Buy a good wetsuit. Neoprene can do wonders.
Don't be obsessed with your desires Danny. The Zen philosopher Basha once wrote, 'A flute with no holes, is not a flute. A donut with no hole, is a Danish.'
Thanks for the good advice everyone...I'll be sure to let the safety people know where I am, lol. However, this is a lake swim, I did a tri 10 years ago and it had a 1/2 mile ocean swim...I did a lot of swimming on my back to get thru it, but I am alive and well and not too emotionally scarred.
I will definitely look into a wetsuit, and I have found a bunch of great stuff on you tube, so thanks for that idea. I didn't think of that. Thats why I posted here...to get these type of ideas. I will hopefully hook up with a swimmer friend this weekend for some pointers.
The next month should be interesting, I will let you know how it all turns out...assuming I survive of course.
Slosh
You can rent one too. If you are only doing this one race, call a local tri shop and see what they have. You could probably rent a $500 wetsuit for $50 or so.
Try wetsuitrental.com
Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose; it's how drunk you get. -- Homer Simpson