ELITE ADVICE
Open-Water Swim Special 2019 / / 19Thebigdayis here–
buthowdoyougetthe
edgeinthewater?Swim
Smooth’sAdamYoung
has the answers...q
It’sa deep-waterstart.
I’mnervous.Whereshould
I positionmyselfinthepack?a
Don’tworry– manypeoplein
theracewillbefeelingexactly
thesameasyou!Positioning
yourselftoonesideis a goodidea,
butmakesureyouscoutoutthe
swimcoursebeforethestart–
particularlythepositionofthefirst
buoy– sothatyouhavea goodidea
ofwhereyouareheaded.Evenif
startingtooneside,youstillwant
tomakea goodbeelinetoit,oryou
willswima lotofextradistance.
Oncethegungoesoff,the
numberonethingtothinkaboutis
simplyblowingoutintothewater
asyouswim.Whenyouareanxious
it’sveryeasytoholdyourbreath
underwaterandthatwillcauseCO2
tobuildupinyoursystem– making
youfeelevenmoreanxious.Blow
outwitha steadystreamof bubbles
tocalmyourselfdown.Q
I’ma fastswimmer.Isit best
tomakea breakearly,ordraft
someoneandbreakawaylater?A
Goodquestion!Tobehonest,it’s
difficulttoplanouta firm
strategyinthatwayandyou’re
almostcertainlygoingtohaveto
seehowtheraceunfoldsandmake
a decisiononthefly.Asa good
swimmer,makesureyoulineup
frontandcentre,orclosetoother
fastswimmersif youknowwho
they are. Start the race and“Thebenefitsof drafting are huge,
saving you up to 38% of your energy”
Onceyou’vegot
thoseopen-water
skillsnailedin
training,it’stime
tothinkaboutyour
race day tacticsimmediatelylooktoseeif there’sa
swimmer(orswimmers)ofsimilar
speedwhosefeetyoucanjumpon.
Youcanputina smallsurgetoget
onthosefeetif needbe.It’swell
worthit asthebenefitsofdrafting
arehuge– savingyouupto38%of
yourenergyexpenditure,whichyou
canunleashlaterintherace.
If therearenofastfeetthenyou
mightbeforcedintoswimming
solobutbeveryawarethatyou
mightbedraggingroundsome
otherfastswimmersbehindyou,
whichyoudon’twanttodo.Inthat
situationyoucouldslowdowna
littleandforcethemtocomeround
andsharesomeofthe work at the
front.Goodluck!q
Istherea quickestwaytoturn
aroundthebuoy?a
Yes,butyouneedtopractise!
Approachthebuoy,aimingto
beabout50cmoutsideofit.Swim
sothatasyourinsidearm(theside
nearest the buoy) extends forwardsit slidespastthebuoy.Asyou
extendforwardsunderwater,bring
yourotherarmupandoversoyou
flipontoyourback.Thebuoywill
bebehindyouasyouflipoverso
atthatmomentyoucan’tseeit.
Continuewiththenextstroke
torollbackontoyourfront.Do
thiscorrectlyandyouwillendup
turning 90 degreesona verytight
lineroundthebuoy.Accelerate
outwitha burst to drop everyone
behindyou!Q
HowdoI sightinchoppywater
if I can’tseethebuoys?a
If yousightandcan’tseethe
buoyyouareaimingforthen
staycalm,putyourheadback
down,takeanotherstrokeortwo
andsightagain.Eveningood
conditionsit’sverycommonnot
seethebuoythefirsttimeyou
sight,sodon’tpanic- you’llgeta
glimpseaftertwoorthreegoes,
evenif thechopis verylarge.
Practise sighting in training, too!