Swimming well in triathlons takes more than just hard, smart training. Tactics play an important part and in this article, the second in a series of five blog posts, Professional Triathlon and Ironman Coach Brendon Downey looks at some key points for athletes to consider on the day of their event. Checkout the triathlon category if you missed Bendon’s first post.
Swim Starts Part 2
Do you take the time to think about the conditions and how they will impact the swim? Sometimes its not as simple as your first thought would indicate, wind can be easy but currents from the tidal movement or from eddies created by river banks, sand or other structures like wharfs or marinas can make tricky conditions.
Its worth knowing what the tide is doing and that can be done by swimming at the venue and taking the time to float and see which way you are carried. One strategy is to do this at the same time in the tide the day before.
The wind and tide will then impact each leg of the swim differently and you will need to adjust as you go. Good open water swimmers with lots of experience with this can do this as they go. So there is huge value in regular open water swim practice and using that to gain experience with this.
Did you know water temperature can also impact your event? Knowing the temperature and how you respond to it might influence your warm-up or even your choice of gear, in really cold conditions you might benefit from an extra swim cap or even a wet-suit cap or it might dictate what you wear under your wet-suit and then onto the bike.
In really warm conditions you might choose not to wear a full triathlon suit but go old school swimmers. The water temp also might affect your warm-up, in really cold conditions you might want to do a complete warmup on land (such as with stretch cords after a jog to lift your core temperature).
The direction of the course might also influence starting positions, for competitive swimmers being on the ‘inside’ is often a big advantage, that said for weekend warriors doing long distance triathlons it can be far less crowded if you start on the outside of the course.
Think about what everyone else is likely to do. Determine if there is a favoured position given the conditions and what most competitors will do. Is there a swimmer that is stronger then everyone else? If so then this is where the race will develop. Knowing this what can you do to make the most of your potential swim performance.
Thats all for today but be sure to subscribe to my blog and receive the rest of the triathlon series, as well as other expert advice and insights that can help you.
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