Triathlon / Aquathon Swim Etiquette

Dowee

Sorry for the poor thread title, it was meant to say "Triathlon / Aquathon Swim Etiquette" but there was a mix up which I won't go into. Mods - If this can be changed please feel free to do so.

I'm looking for some opinions here.

I've done a number of triathlons and aquathons and it never ceases to amaze me how stupid people can be on the swim legs. I'm a medium to slow swimmer so I always hang back at the start of races but invariably some idiot will come from behind me and constantly slap my feet, legs, arms with their swim stroke. I have no problem getting banged around at the start of a race, this isn't what I'm talking about, I'm refering to a good few hundred metres in, when things have spread out a bit. Last night took the biscuit, I was doing the Wicklow Tri Aquathon and about 300 metres into the race some assclown comes from behind me slowly starts swimming into me, to the point where he is onto top of me, belting me in the head with his stroke and kicking me. I eventually stopped and lashed out and hit him and let him go on. He then swam off in the wrong direction away from the buoy. There was plenty of open water around us and he could easily have swam around me. I'm not proud of the fact that I hit him but I was incredibly frustrated at what he did.

Anyway my question is, am I stupid to believe that it is the responsibilty of the person coming from behind to avoid some in front of them, as opposed to the person in front having to get out of the way? This incident really annoyed and put me completely off for the rest of the swim. I can understand jostling for places at the top of the swim group or at the start, but this was a good bit into the swim when things were settled.

Anyway, rant over, opinions please.

hunnymonster

Dowee, I can fully sympathise with you! I am terrified of open water, even now with a lot of experience, I am convinced I am going to die every time I get beyond shoulder depth and swimming is by far my worst discipline.

Open water swimming, is however a contact sport. A persons only obligation is to get to the finish as fast as possible. If this means swimming over someone else, then so be it. If you don't like it then I'm afraid you're going to have to move out of the way, even if this makes your swim longer.

If the guy from last night was at the back, chances are he is not a great swimmer and might not have good control of his stroke and orientation in the water. It may or may not have been deliberate.

Canis Lupus

I've only done one triathlon and to be honest I swam into people and had people swimming into me for the entire swim. I thought it was all part of the fun on the day and still fondly remember the swim part even if it wasn't like anything I'd imagined it to be or had trained for.

My mindset at the time was * MUST KEEP GOING MUST KEEP GOING BREATHE BREATHE BREATHE*. I'd no time to really consider the feelings of other swimmers and was fine taking knocks from other people who inevitably had the same things running through their heads.

Seres

Canis Lupus wrote: »

I swam into people and had people swimming into me for the entire swim.
I'd no time to really consider the feelings of other swimmers and was fine taking knocks from other people who inevitably had the same things running through their heads.

I have my first tri in two weeks , and am very nervous about the swim , dont really fancy people swimming over my head and the like :eek:

hunnymonster

Then stay at the very back and take a wide route around any buoys. It will take you longer but you won't have much contact.

Dowee

Thanks for the replies.

I've no problem taking knocks and giving knocks into other swimmers. But what drives me nuts is when the same person is consistently hitting you in open water. If I bump into someone from behind I make sure adjust so that I'm not going to keep doing it. Whereas what I've experienced is people who'll swim into and then happily swim along for a minute or so continually belting you. As I've said before I've not refering to the crowded parts of the swims when all hell breaks loose I'm talking about when things have settled and it is very easy to avoid people.

Maybe I'm just too sensistive and I'm taking it all to heart too much. For my next swim maybe I'll just have thump everyone in sight just for the hell of it

hunnymonster

Dowee, you might just have to. American OW swims are horrendous for this. they really do go out to get you! Someone has died in the swim at IM florida the last two years.

cfitz

hunnymonster wrote: »

Someone has died in the swim at IM florida the last two years.

:eek:

liamo

I have two triathlons under my belt this year and between them experienced most of the trials mentioned in the previous posts.

It wasn't entirely unexpected as I had read up on it but, even so, the actual experience still shook me a bit. I kept my line when I could, I moved over when I had to and, at one point, when I was getting slapped from both sides, I slowed right down for a moment to let them away and then carried on.

I think it helped that I sort-of knew what to expect and had thought it through. I would be wearing a wetsuit and knew I couldn't sink. The worst that could happen would be that I had to stop and backstoke or breaststroke for a while. It never came to that but the knowledge that my life wasn't in any danger meant that the slaps and kicks and swim-overs were an annoyance that could be tolerated rather than something that caused a panic attack.

Regards,

Liam

messed_up

If Grant Hackett has trouble with OW swimming, God help the rest of us!


http://www.theage.com.au/news/beijing2008/hackett-fails-in-open-water/2008/05/04/1209839454865.html

Canis Lupus

Seres wrote: »

I have my first tri in two weeks , and am very nervous about the swim , dont really fancy people swimming over my head and the like :eek:

Remember the chances of actually drowning (like Liamo said) are fairly low. Just keep your head about you and yeah. Just enjoy it. Or try to. I found I couldn't stop talking about the swim I thought it was so much fun.

I even swam into a bridge on mine (which hurt)and got one eye of my goggles kicked off near the end never mind drinking a substantial amount of strangely coloured water!

If you get into trouble roll onto your back and take it easy. If you're not used to swimming in your wetsuit then get in some quality time with it. It will give you heaps of confidence particularly once you realise that you can float with no effort and therefore would have to work pretty hard at drowning yourself. Open water training is pretty much essential as well if you haven't done any.

Seres

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Remember the chances of actually drowning (like Liamo said) are fairly low.

I even swam into a bridge on mine (which hurt)and got one eye of my goggles kicked off near the end never mind drinking a substantial amount of strangely coloured water!

If you get into trouble roll onto your back and take it easy. If you're not used to swimming in your wetsuit then get in some quality time with it. It will give you heaps of confidence particularly once you realise that you can float with no effort and therefore would have to work pretty hard at drowning yourself. Open water training is pretty much essential as well if you haven't done any.

I know i wont drown but i dont want a bad swim to rattle me and ruin the rest of the tri.
I do admire the positive attitude you have from your experience, also , thanks for the advice

hunnymonster

Seres, I know how nerve wrecking it can be. If you think it would help, pm me your number and I'll give you a call to try and answer any worries?

interested

Seres wrote: »

I know i wont drown but i dont want a bad swim to rattle me and ruin the rest of the tri.
I do admire the positive attitude you have from your experience, also , thanks for the advice

First of all, fair play to you for tackling this - doing something a little scary aint a bad thing and theres really no such thing as a bad swim imho when getting through a triathlon (whatever distance) for the first time - sure you've got a nice long cycle and a run to hammer those swimmer types Slowly slowly on the swim, catchy swim-monkey ...

In addition to HM's (as usual) sound advice - I wanted to offer a swimmers perspective to this - in an attempt hopefully ease your worries and clarify a few things ...

As was mentioned earlier - the swimming leg has become a contact sport.
Its almost glamourised at this stage which bugs the hell out of me since alot of people doing triathlons have a weak swim or less experience in open water than the other two disciplines.

My thoughts anyhow :
Mass swim starts are not something most have experienced since pool swimmers take dip off the blocks and people doing sea swims (in leinster at least) have to adhere to the handicap system whereby groups (never seen 10/15 bodies at a time) start together. As a result it can be mayhem.
Also, sighting - navigation - getting from the start to the bouy and around etc are not skills most people practice ... as a result people go tight on bouys ... arms, elbows, tempers .. it all can go off but its waste of time, energy.

In my humble opinion - depending on the type of swim you're doing
For a River
a) get in the water early (but not too early to start feeling numb or the like ), try to adjust to the temperature, relax your breathing and thread water ... nice slow skulls to relax and try to think of something really bad you had to do or experienced before and put in context what you're about to take on.

b) your objective is to get some clear water and get into some space to get your stroke going. Unfortunately its the same for everyone else in there. If you're uncomfortable or stressed then let the start go, doggy paddle, breastroke - but move forward - and when you have some space get into your stroke. Stopping if you get contact is not always a great idea since inevitably someone behind will swim into you - switch to breastroke for a few strokes until you're happy again and then get back into your stroke.

c) whilst threading water before the swim starts - use the time to get some sighting aid - in a river its normally pretty easy - up the river or down the river to state the obvious - but there are bends to aim for - are you going for the middle of the river downstream ? then bear in mind that most people are thinking the same and your decision will be based on how comfortable you are in the water with people about the place. Sighting in a river is hard - if like in the Dublin triathlon its up and down the river there'll be a dividing bouy between - going straight or somewhat straight might be achieved by judging how far to the right or left the bouy is and keeping it relatively consistent

d) getting around a bouy or in athy the arch of a bridge can be a little dodgy - if theres no one near you take the line you're happy with - bear in mind bouys have to be anchored so you might hit a rope, chain under the water which never fails to freak me out - if there is a group then go wide - you might have to take 5/6 more strokes than the group but you'll be back into your stroke quicker and not gasping after a hand or elbow or foot or whatever else makes contact.

For a sea swim:
a) start will depend on the event - a beach start - people sprint, run, jog, saunter into the water at different points along the beach and head out for some distance to a bouy - its unlikely the field will get thinned out before the first turn so my advice would be to stay wide. Swim a little more for your own comfort and positive state of mind. Its about getting clear water to ensure you can put to good use all the practise and drills you did in the pool.

b) sight on a landmark that isnt gonna move - Ive heard of people sighting of kayaks which seems like a great idea at the time of the race briefing where the race director tells you they wont move from the first turn or the like ... inevitably they move - guys get cold, bored or both and paddle about. Typically I look for something colourful that is stationary - a group of houses on the shoreline, a mountain is even better - just something to keep you in the general direction.

c) Ive never actually had a triathlon swim in the sea where the weather has been rough ... but it can happen - my advice is pace yourself accordingly - its gonna be alot tougher than the pool. Again, ive never had the pleasure of this scenario in a triathlon.
Anyhow try not to get stressed if you have to slow down to take a few breastroke pulls to regain a sight that you lost in a swell ... best to take the slower stroke to ensure you're not heading away in the wrong direction.


Sorry - way too much caffeine this morning - the very best of luck with your swimming, and if anyones reading this taking part in any event - lads/ladies ... take it handy in the water and leave the handbags for the pub - throwing punches whether someone has hit you accidentally or otherwise is not clever

Seres

interested , some really sound advice there , i will definitely take it on board , thanks
Also HM thanks for the advise yesterday ,
Actually while im at it i would like to thank everyone for all their advise ( i might feel differently after the race ,;) )

911sc

2007 was the year i started long distance running, 2008 is the year i started duathlon, and 2009 was to be the year i started triathlon...until i read this thread!!

Dowee

Did the Dublin City Triathlon today and am glad to say it was a pleasure to swim (from a not getting thumped, swam on etc perspective). Granted I was in Wave 5 so it was probably a bit more relaxed but I was at the top of it. A number of times I was hit from behind but as I would expect it happened no more than twice from the same person, ie. they realised they were hitting me and had the decency to adjust themselves as opposed to continually doing it!!

My faith in people's common sense has been somewhat restored

Bambaata

was in wave 5 myself. swam went fine apart from 2 mins before getting in the river my goggles broke!!! twas a nightmare. managed to tie them in a knot but they weren't so great, had to flip on my back now and then to empty them of water! swim still went well, was in the first 4 or 5 out of the wave but cud have been more comfortable only for that.

Dowee

Bambaata wrote: »

was in wave 5 myself. swam went fine apart from 2 mins before getting in the river my goggles broke!!! twas a nightmare. managed to tie them in a knot but they weren't so great, had to flip on my back now and then to empty them of water! swim still went well, was in the first 4 or 5 out of the wave but cud have been more comfortable only for that.

I think you were standing right in front of me. If not the same thing happened someone else. Did you get them yesterday? I remember that being said.

Bambaata

yup that was me :pac: got them at the cyclesupersotre stand outside registration yesterday as my seal xp's weren't keeping water out any longer. i still enjoyed the swim though. longest i've done to date so was happy in was well able for it as i hadn't even hit that distance in the pool