10 / /Open-Water Swim Special 2019
SWIM SPECIAL
07
Deep-waterstarts
Manytriathlonsstart
ina treadingwaterposition.
Topractise,gotothedeepend,
movea metreortwoaway
fromtheendandfloatonyour
frontwithyourheadupand
armsoutinfrontofyou.Do
thisfora fewseconds,imagine
thegungoesoffandaccelerate
asquicklyuptospeedasyou
candownthelength.Use
shortstrokesanda powerful
kick to accelerate.08
Swim 10 strokeswith
youreyesclosed
Theultimatetestofyour
abilitytoswimstraightis to
closeyoureyes,pushoffand
seehowstraightyoucanswim
withyoureyesclosed!Doyou
veerofftotheleftorright?
Thiswillbethesamewhen
yougetintheopenwaterso
workonstraighteningupas
muchaspossibletoswim
straight.Definitelyoneto
practise in an empty lane!10
Trytoswimwitha
higherstrokerate
Inopenwateryouneeda good
strokerhythmtohelpyou
punchthroughwavesand
chop.A greatdrilltodevelop
thisis head-upwaterpolo.
Swim25mata fastpacewith
yourheadheldupoutofthe
waterlookingforwards.Do
thiswitha fastarmturnover
todevelopthatrhythmand
weara pairoffinsif you
struggle to do 25m at pace.POOL SESSIONS
Open-waterskillssession1 – swimsolo
WARM-UP– EXPERIMENTWITHSTROKERATE
Stroke rateis howfastarmsturnover,greatforopen water.
Forthiswarm-up,swim6 x 100mas:
100mwithyournormalstrokerate.
100mshor teningyourstrokeslightlyandturningyourarms
overslightlyfaster(gettingintothecatcha littlequicker).
100mshorteninga littlemoreanduppingyourcadencemore.
Reduce your kick to facilitate the faster rhythm. Repeat.SKILLS– BREATHINGPATTERN
Swim2 x 200mcontinuouslyat steadypace,practisingyour
sightingforwardsapproxevery 10 strokes.Sightbyliftingyour
eyesupjustabovethesurfaceandthendroptheheadand
immediately breathe to the side in one fluid motion.SKILLS– TURN&ACCELERATE
Swim8 x 5 0 mwith30secsrecoverybetweeneach.Turna
metreorsoshortofthewalland,withouttouchingthewall,
acceleratebackuptospeedat sprinteffort– shortenyour
stroke and kick hard for 10m before going to normal stroke.WARM-DOWN– BREATHINGVERSATILITY
Swim200mat steadypace,breathingin a 2-3-2pattern(twice
in a row tooneside,threestrokes,twicetotheother side).
Take 2-3mins recovery easy swim.COOL-DOWN
5-10minsswim easy. Backstroke to stretch chest/shoulders.
Open-waterskillssession2 – swimwith friends
WARM-UP– IN-LINEDRAFTING
Swim600mwith1-4friendsdraftingin a line.Swapleader
every 100m and notice how much easier it is drafting!SKILLS– SWIMMINGCLOSE
In pairs,swimsidebysidedownthepool,breathingin towards
yourpartnertojudgethedistancetothem.Matchtheirstroke
timingtoavoidclashingarmsandedgecloser.Swimfor
around 200m, one length at a time with a short rest between.SKILLS– ARROWHEADDRAFTING
Picka leaderandhavetwoswimmersontheirhipbreathingin
towardstheirbellybutton.If youhavefourswimmers,slotone
in behindtheleadersoyouareswimmingin a diamond. Do
300m, rotatingpositions every length.SKILLS– DEEP-WATERSTARTS
Movewithyourfriendsintothemiddleofthepool,andtread
water.Halfthegroupracestooneendofthepoolandbackto
thecentre,theotherhalftotheotherendandback!Racethis
fourtimeswitharounda minuterecoveryeachtime.Then
repeat another four times, but with a deep-water turn.WARM-DOWN– 10STROKESWITHYOUREYESCLOSED
Setoffdownanemptylaneoneat a time,swimmingwithyour
eyesclosed.Seehowstraightyoucanswimfor 10 strokes
beforeopeningyoureyes.It’shilarioustowatch!If youveer to
the left or right, work on straightening up.09
In-linedrafting
Themostcommonway
todraftis toswimdirectly
behindanotherswimmer.
Practisethiswithfriendsof
a similarspeed,swimminga
fewlapswithoneperson
leadingandtherestofyouas
closebehindasyoucan
withouttouchingtheirtoes.
Thekeyskillhereis toquickly
adjustyourpacewhenneeded,
surgingtostayontheirfeetor
backing off to avoid crashing.