Does pool training really work
427
Member
353 days
Sully800 posted 19 weeks ago.
Ocean swimming is tough, but I do love it. It's really hard when doing a full tri, because you inevitably swallow some salt water and then you may feel kind of ill and very thirsty on the beginning of the bike.
Entering the water in an ocean swim takes some practice. You need to know when to step with high knees, when to dive forward stand up and dive again, and when to actually begin swimming. Even as you begin swimming you will have to duck underwater to avoid waves crashing on you.
Once you are beyond the waves and swimming parallel to shore, it is very helpful if you can breathe on the shore side of your body. This is one of the best reasons to learn bilateral breathing, because it can solve the problem of getting smacked in the face by a wave every breath. Despite that, swimming in rough water and big swells will always be more difficult than a pool swim. The best part of an ocean swim is the exit. If you are practiced at all in body surfing, you can time your efforts appropriately and surf past dozens of people to get to the transition area quickly.
31
Member
775 days
jugg3rnaut posted 18 weeks ago.
swim training is swim training
the fact that you were swimming in the ocean in less than ideal conditions is why you were disappointed, for events like that it is almost impossible to compare your time with your pool training because of all of the additional factors. waves and current will always affect your swim and they just aren't there in the pool.
650
Member
1067 days
deepbluex posted 18 weeks ago.
The pool teaches you fundamentals such as proper form. Once you learn proper form in calm pool water, you are more likely to use proper form in choppy open water conditions.
Getting through the breakers involves finding the path of least resistance. Dive under the waves before they break on top of you and you'll glide under and through the wave. Once you get through that zone where waves are breaking, you should find calmer waters. If you experience chop or swells, just swim as you are used to - you may have to twist your body more than in the pool to reach air but on the other hand, a nice buoyant wetsuit and the salt water will keep you afloat higher.
Your times will vary wildly in open waters due to shifting currents. I've done a half mile in 12 minutes because I was basically just riding a current. I've also done the same distance in 44 minutes because I was fighting them.
OK, I learned a hard lesson in my first Tri about the difference between open water swimming and swimming laps in a pool. Today I learned another tough lesson with regards to open water swimming in the ocean.
I have been steadily improving my swim in the pool over the past 6 weeks and felt good going into todays sprint. Actually it was just a swim for me because it was a relay and I got to do the swim portion. Anyway, me and one of my team mates were driving to the Site this morning and I could see the thunder boomers over the ocean that woke me up around midnight still rumbling in the distance in the pre-dawn light and I thought I may be in trouble. We setup in the transition area and I said my farewells as I started walking to the beach. You can't see the ocean from the transition area because of the sand dunes, but as I walked over them, I could see the 3-5 foot swells breaking about 100 yards from the shoreline. Now 3-5 feet probably isn't that big for some, but.... It was a beach start and I was spent trying to get past the breakers to the first bouy. After the turn, it was a parallel to the beach swim. Needless to say, I could never get into any rythem and it was a long 30 minutes in an angry ocean for .6 miles.
I was very dissapointed, because I was hoping to break 20 minutes over .6 miles and I swear I couldn't tell that I had done any swim training at all. On the bright side I finished but I have to ask if there are any tips for handling waves like that? Everytime I would roll for air I felt I was getting smacked in the face by a wave.
Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines – Brian Tracy
2008 Sprint Tri A race goals
S: 500m in 10:00 – FS Stroke only
B: 22mph avg over course
R: 5K <= 25:00
Place top 50% for my age group