Swim stroke in chops/waves
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CAcyclingFAN posted 2 years ago.
I am sure a more experienced swimmer will chime in here but the thing I have learned in the choppy water that works well for me is to breathe every two strokes. I do this because I seem to take in a little more water and a little less oxygen during each breathing opportunity when the water is really rough. Also, I don't breathe when I am sighting in heavy chop because with your mouth facing forward and large chop it is really easy to gulp down a wave of water.
When it's time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived. - Thoreau
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Shaved_Wookie posted 2 years ago.
I live in Hawaii so I am lucky in that all of my swim training can be done in open water. I am not an expert but I have learned a few things about swimming in chop.
1) When you breath you will usually need to bring your head higher out of the water than you would normally be accustom to when swimming in a pool.
2) Current can pull you off course. Check your direction of travel and your destination landmark often to make sure you're not being pulled off your line. Depending on how strong the current you may need to swim slightly left or right of your target in order to take the most direct route. It is also a good idea to talk to local lifeguards or local atheletes to find out and information you can on the general direction of the current or if there are any rips you need to be aware of.
3) If there is wind and chop it is a good idea to breath on the side away from the wind. If you breath facing the wind it is much more likely you will get water instead of air.
4) When you are about to breath, pay attentiion to the water directly around you. Sometimes you can see a small whitecap form right in front of you. It probably would be a good idea to wait until that little devil passes before you inhale.
5) If there are swells you will need to sight your destination marker while you are on top of a swell. If you are trying to look for a landmark while you are in the trough of a swell you probably won't see much. This takes a little timing.
6) When swimming in chop and swells it often doesn't feel like you are getting anywhere. Keep at it and stay pointed in the right direction and you'll eventually hit T1.
The choppier the conditions the more the above aspects are amplified. Very rough water can be very discouraging. Don't lose hope. You'll get there but it may take a little more effort than you're use to.
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Scout posted 2 years ago.
Thanks guys! Great tips...I'm printing them out to refresh my memory as I get closer to my race.
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knauert89 posted 2 years ago.
Shaved_Wookie had some great pointers. Active.com has a couple of articles on open water swimming, some of which deal with the things you've brought up:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=8736&category=triathlon
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12144&category=triathlon
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=11951&category=triathlon
And Slowtwitch.com has a bunch of open water articles in this section:
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/swimcenter/swim.html
BTW, did you ever see the Clif Bar commercial of the guy praticing for the triathlon swim ("Train the way you race")? It's hilarious: http://cmac.smugmug.com/gallery/739/1/23569
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Scout posted 2 years ago.
Thanks k-89! The articles were really helpful! And that ad?? OMG! I had seen that one a while ago and forgot about it...Hilarious! (But oh so true!) :D
Anyway, I thought about some of the info I read in the posts when I was doing my long (pool) swim this morning...It really helped!
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996 days
Shaved_Wookie posted 2 years ago.
lol... I hadn't seen that video before! Thx for posting it. It's hilarious! :D
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KenMierke posted 2 years ago.
My company, Fitness Concepts, will be offering several weekend camps in Cambridge in preparation for the 2006 Eagleman. If interested, write me at and I'll send details.
Good pointers above. In choppy water, you also need to hold a higher turnover with a less exaggerated glide between strokes. The key to increasing turnover and keeping your timing correct is a very quick arm recovery. Even as you increase turnover, you don't want to start windmilling. Be sure to keep your "catch-up" timing, but with a quicker rhythm.
Ken
Ken Mierke Ken@Fitness-Concepts.com
Fitness Concepts Fitness-Concepts.com
Author, The Triathlete's Guide to Run Training
www.EvolutionRunning.com
Hey! I am doing the Eagleman Half IM in June. The swim in the Choptank River is known to be choppy with a current. I have been learning the freestyle for the past several months. I resorted to the sidestroke as needed in the sprint and 2 olys I did this past season.
Anyway, I do OW swims when the climate here allows (norhtheast PA). But it's a relatively calm lake. I get a little experience when boats go by...
I am wondering if anyone can explain to me how I need to adapt my freestyle to deal with powering through chops while attempting to breathe :rolleyes: Do you try to "ride" them or power through them or what??
I have an excellent swim coach, but she is mainly a competitive swimmer and doesn't have tri experience...
Thanks!