For many new triathletes that don’t come from a swim background, the first discipline of the day can often be the most daunting one. Although I personally enjoy the swim and am not particularly worried about the 2.4 mile event, it is definitely my weakest discipline. Having never competed in swimming/having had a swim coach before, my freestyle technique has been a collection of bad habits picked up over many years.
Even while preparing for my half IronMan in 2017 I did not put a lot of time and effort in improving my swim technique, confident I could slog through the 1.3mile (~2280yds) swim course well before the swim cutoff (70 minutes) using my baseline at the time. Though I managed to swim a 40:53 for 2324yds (had some navigational issues), for an average pace of 1:46/100yds, I felt like I could have been more efficient and quiet a bit faster on the swim if I had put in the time to improve my technique.
In preparation for the IronMan in May, I have invested some significant time in doing just that. Thanks to the awesome Bryan Mineo (http://theswimmechanic.com) and my triathlon coach Cliff Scherb (http://www.tristarathlete.com), I have had the opportunity to improve my technique considerably with both pool and open water swim workouts.
A tremendous help for me was to have my technique analyzed on film by Bryan back in November. Shown below are some frames where lack of proper technique is obvious. Frame (1) shows a big bend in the knees as I execute my kick, rather than kicking from the hip to increase power and reduce drag. This frame also shows how flat my hips are at the point in the arm stroke (push phase) where I need perhaps the most pivot. Pivoting the hips/rotating the body as you execute the arm pull will generate more power and result in less fatigue, since you are using your entire body to contribute to the motion rather than just the arms and shoulders. An easy visualization to use is that of a pendulum, you want to continuously pivot your hips in coordination with your stroke, and avoid any static/dead spots in that rotation.
Frame (2) highlights my lack in extending my stroke, as my push/pull phase arm (right) has already executed 50% of the stroke before my recovery arm (left) completes 50% of its stroke. Ideally, you should start the pull phase of your stroke (right arm in this case) when the recovery arm (left in this case) has at least completed 50% of its stroke, if not later. I simply remember this as the 50/50 rule. This extension of the stroke keeps the body streamlined and will help with coordinating the body rotation. Finally, frame (3) shows my elbow-low position through the pull/push phase, which can be detrimental to generate adequate power on each stroke. Maintaining a high elbow “catch” (elbow closer to the water line) will result in more power, less drag, and a faster start to your arm pull.
The biggest benefactor has been the overall increase in total time spent in the water each week, averaging 3 swim workouts per week and around 7000yds. My pool workouts during the week are more circuit based, focusing on proper technique rather than aimlessly slugging away at the yards with sloppy form. Another benefit of living in SoCal is the year-round open water swimming conditions. Open water swimming brings with it a whole set of challenges and learning opportunities you simply wont get in the pool. Getting more experience with weekly open water swims has helped me improve my sighting/navigation, building a strong swim-cardio baseline, and overall comfort in the water.
Im excited to race in the Half-IronMan distance Bayshore 70.4 triathlon this coming Saturday, 10 March, and try out all the new lessons I have learned over the last 5 months of training. Due to travel, a killer T-11 week, and starting my taper for the 70.4mile race this Saturday, numbers for T-10 are a bit down. I did focus more on my running this week, working on bringing my marathon pace down to a low 8:00 min/mile.
Its pretty fun to look at the big picture, and correlating my growth with the numbers since starting training back in October.
