Maybe your wetsuit starts to feel tight around your
chest as the race director counts down to the start. Or being unable to see the
bottom sends your heart racing a bit – along with the belief that, any minute
now, someone’s going to clock you in the head and knock your goggles off.
Perhaps that feeling of being inside the world’s biggest washing machine has you
swearing you’ll do a duathlon next time. I’m no elite swimmer. I wouldn’t even
really call myself a good swimmer. Let’s just file me somewhere around
“probably not going to drown”. But what I am is motivated – to learn whatever I
can that will make me more efficient and effective in the water, getting me out
of there sooner and hopefully in a good position in the pack. Maybe you can
relate? If so, read on.
Tips for staying calm and getting the best out of
your swim in a race:
1. Warm
up
Why the heck should
you waste energy doing more swimming than you have to before the race even
starts? Well, I discovered I feel better after swimming an hour than I do for
the first 15 minutes. Particularly if you’re new to swimming in a wetsuit, a
short warm up might be just the ticket to easing pre-race nerves and getting
the blood flowing.
2. Swim through it
If you’re like me,
when you get in the water and get at ‘er, you might experience initial feelings
of “I can't find a rhythm,” “I can't hold my body position,” “I can't catch my
breath." I suggest trying this in the pool as an experiment, where you know
you’re safe. Start out quick enough that you’re uncomfortable. Then, instead of
stopping and grabbing the wall to catch your breath, try swimming through it.
There are lots of things you can do to calm yourself and find that settled,
easy rhythm without having to stop. Such as…
3. Focus on one thing at a time
For the sake of
argument, let’s start with breathing. If you’re having a big problem with this,
it’s going to be difficult to focus on anything else. Maybe it’s windy and
there’s a lot of chop. Or you’re in a dense, ambitious crowd, and you feel like
all you get when you turn to breathe is a mouthful of whitewater. Resist the
urge to raise your head up and forward out of the water, which will make your
legs sink and slow you down. Instead, relax your neck and allow your head to
find a level position. Let your head follow your body roll to the side to
breathe.
Other attention
points might be straight-leg kick, body roll, good catch. Just concentrate on
one at a time – it’ll give you something clear to think about without being
overwhelming. Every so often let that all be and focus on how the water feels.
Can you feel pressure through your pull? Is there a dead spot in your stroke?
Somewhere you're losing momentum? Sometimes I’ll switch up my breathing or
increase my stroke rate temporarily, to see if I can find better fluidity. If
you're a novice like me, you might not be able to hold it very long. But if you
can get the feeling even for 10 strokes, it gives something to work for. And
hey, by the time you get through that checklist, you’ll probably see the buoys
on the beach and it’ll be time to get on the bike!
4. Eye on the sky
I’ve done quite a
bit of “emergency backstroke” in my time – but I discovered the other day that
you can gain some of the same benefits without breaking out of your freestyle
stroke. When you turn your head to the side to breathe, rotate a little extra
so your mouth clears the choppy water surface (again, unless you’re sighting, make
sure this motion is to the side and not forward). At the same time, turn just
your eyes a little further in the same direction. Guess what? If you’ve done
this right, you’ll get a glimpse of the calm, beautiful sky – where there is no
race going on, and certainly nobody about to kick you in the head with an
M-dot-emblazoned leg.
5. Under the sea
Maybe it’s not all
the action at the surface, but rather what’s beneath that has you stressed. Plenty
of folks are skeeved out by a dark, deep, or weedy expanse of water. If this is
your worry point, I highly recommend watching the swim portion in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gge7Ag__Pm8.
In
it, you’ll see probably the craziest swim start of any race on earth – the
world championship Ironman in Kona. What you will also see is some blissfully
quiet, serene shots of what is going on just a few feet below all the insanity
on the surface. Remember that the water is not out to get you. Relax into it.
Think of the calm below you rather than the thrashing at the surface.
6. Don’t avoid crowded pools
Know when you show
up for a lunch time swim and you’re sharing the lane with 6 other people?
Bummer, right? Wrong. This is a perfect opportunity to practice following feet,
handling some splashing in your face, and experiencing a little chaos. It is
also a good chance to practice holding your ground, a good skill during a
crowded open water swim. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t follow lane rules – on
the contrary, it’s important to choose an appropriate lane and follow etiquette.
What I’m talking about is not letting people intimidate you. For example, at
the end of a long swim that started with about 5 of us in the lane, only I and one
other fellow remained. This fellow came straight down the middle of the black
line – and I made sure to brush his leg on my way by to let him know I wasn’t
going to be shoved to the side, or into another lane. Which leads me to…
7. Get used to incidental body contact
One of my favourite
pre-race moments occurred on Mooney’s Bay beach, where I stood as one of many
nervous new triathletes listening to Geordie McConnell’s athlete briefing.
“Everyone, raise your hand in the air. Now lower it to shoulder level. Yep,
you’re touching someone. And now you’re over it – you’re good to go!” If
physical contact with others is a stressor for you on the swim, practice with a
couple of friends. Brush against each other, if you’re feeling cheeky and are
pretty confident your friend won’t kick your teeth in, grab an ankle now and
then.
Finally, as with most things you're uncomfortable with, the surest way to get comfortable is to get out and do more of it! Again, these are not the words of an elite swimmer – but rather things
that have helped me progress as a novice. Much of it learned through the Ottawa
Triathlon Club swim program. I hope it will help you too. Happy swimming!
