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Swimming for Tri Beginners
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Good man killian Byrne
Cheers Steve 36:30 in NAC & 32:29 the following day in my local 20m pool.
Ive not posited here or on the IM thread for fear of being called names
, but Thanks Kurt for the work put in over the year. Ive learnt a lot from the drills and way the sessions are set up and look forward to continuing. 0 -
I thought more would post their TriAthy experience here but I'll go ahead and break the silence. And it's getting a bit heated on the Athy thread
Woke up Thursday morning with little legs' cold so dosed up on Lemsip (the one with pseudoephidrine in it. Probably performance enhancing but not so you'd notice)
Made the decision to drive to Athy and see how I felt when I got there. Needless to say I got swept up in the crowds and bike porn and decided to go for it. At best, I might surprise myself, at worst it would be a long training day
Swim: 51 mins
Went off in Wave 9 of the Olympic so Paddy Last.
I have to admit the shock of the cold threw me. I've been in the sea a few times this year but always had the chance to warm up before swimming any distance. My take home from this is to practice starts without a warm up (other than dry land which I did)
Found upstream heavy going and aimed to hug the bank where I'd been told the current would be kinder but it still took a good 400-500m before I found a rhythm, my shoulders ached from the first stroke. My guess is the cold of the water mixed with the cold I brought with me meant it was achy from the off. Found it very hard to find any power in my right side at all. Downstream was a world apart, my stroke was clean and rhythmic and I felt I glided down. Just before the bridge I hit a grate in the water. Completely threw me. My first reaction was to sit on it and climb over. Got to the exit through the reeds which didn't bother me and up the ramp. I felt grand but the lads held me for a few seconds before letting me head to T1. I wasn't last out of the water but not far from it I'd say
T1: about 2 minutes
This is a swimming thread so I'll keep the rest short.
Bounced out of my wetsuit and for a second thought 'what now?' . Came round and grabbed my bike and ran to the exit. Mounted after the line and feet in my shoes quite quickly. Tri shoes were a good investment
Bike: 1:31
Really felt the cold in my chest by now so went easy enough on the bike. Passed a few of the quicker swimmers and made a point of thanking marshalls as I passed. (It's a thankless task for volunteers so they at least deserve a nod).
Dismounted nicely before the line and into T2
T2: about 2:30
Racked my bike, helmet off, runners on and set off. After a bit of confusion due to crowds in transition blocking the run exit, I set off on the run
Run: 46mins
Nice run, took it easy enough but put the hammer down on the 2nd lap.
Overall: about 3:12
I did DCT last year about 20 mins slower so overall I'm happy.
I wasn't too healthy at the start but if I iron out some swim issues by getting in the open water more my races should reflect my effort in training0 -
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Quickish review but in a few words, it's well worth doing the next one. All levels are catered to so long as you can swim in the open water for at least 500 meters. I had thought the beginners part might be a bit of time spent getting wet, putting your face in the water, gentle stuff like that but, after the fact, I'm glad it wasn't.
Distances are estimated, especially the intermediate, but should give you an idea of what to expect if they, hopefully, run it again
Friday - Beginners 800m, Intermediate 1500 - 2000m
Seapoint - Beginners swam as a group from the middle steps out to the rocks and regrouped there. After checking everyone was ok we swam about another 150m towards the West Pier, another rest, back to the rocks, another rest and then back to the main slip. At all times we had two coaches and a couple of kayaks with us so no pressure on anyone to keep up or do anything they weren't comfortable with
Intermediates headed along the 5 buoys
Saturday AM - Intermediate 2000 - 2500m - Beginners A 1200-1400m - Beginners B - 1200m
Seapoint (Changed from Killiney due to e-coli) - Beginners were split according to how they handled the previous night's swim. Most of us went for the B group. Personally I was there to build confidence so wanted to take it slow and learn as much as possible. We went out from the slip to the first buoy, took a rest at the buoy. This was a new experience for me cos I have been terrified of going near these things but we wound up hanging onto each buoy to rest. Nothing to be scared of after all. We proceeded along the buoys and made the decision as a group to keep going to the 4th buoy. Tide was with us so it wasn't too taxing. Coming back though was tougher. The sea was quite choppy and getting back from the 4th to the 3rd buoy was heavy going. Once we had regrouped at the 3rd buoy we made the group decision to head back to the slip as direct as possible. Based on the tide and wind we got some good tips on sighting as swimming straight wasn't going to work out. This was a big confidence builder.
Beginners A took much the same route but may have come back along the buoys rather than cutting in from the 3rd one
Intermediates - I had heard did the 5 buoys and continued on past the 1st one on the way back to add about another 500m to the whole trip
Saturday PM - Intermediate 2000m ish - Beginners A - 1000m ish - Beginners B - 600m ish
Scotsman's Bay - Was billed as the 40ft but we didn't actually go into the actual bathing area but stuck to the bay.
This the the location for Dublin IM 70.3
We swam out to the far buoy and did drills between that and the next one. We learned more about lengthening our stroke to improve rotation and breathing. Fluttered on our side with head skywards again for more demonstration of how easy it can be to breathe. Pressing down on our chest to improve leg elevation, a new pull technique that meant you pulled down your body instead of to your side and then some full swims to incorporate these drills. The sea got pretty wavy and very cold so we were called in as it was getting dark too. Using the drills I was more comfortable and felt quicker.
The other groups headed out to the harbour wall at the east pier so not sure what they were up to
Sunday AM - All levels swam a loop
Bray - 3 buoys were set out in a triangle at the north end of the beach and the idea was to swim around these as often as you were comfortable with. We got some tips on what to expect as once you went past the rocks the wind caught you side on. Anyone breathing only to the left had to compensate going to the first turn. We also got some tips on sighting and turning round buoys. Thankfully for hardcore swimmers the coaches didn't see a problem with stopping to sight if it meant you weren't going off course. No point in doing 'crocodile eyes' if it means you're going in the wrong direction. Down to the 2nd buoy meant you were facing with the waves but seeing the buoy was difficult so sighting on a landmark was encouraged. Turning for the 3rd buoy was a bit easier to see where you were going so using a more streamlined sight was the drill here. I was tired and sore from the previous swims so didn't do too many laps
Sunday PM - Intermediate - 1500m ish - Beginners A - 1000m - Beginners B - 800m
Greystones - We all swam the length of the beach at various distances. This was the final swim so a good chance to incorporate all the lessons learned. The tide and current were very generous so we all bombed down the length of the beach.
Overall this was well worth the money and effort. The coaches are serious swimmers but there was no pressure to do anything you weren't comfortable with. You were constantly told to stay in your comfort zone. They were very approachable and happy to answer any question. Tea, coffee and ever improving biscuits after each swim.
The levels doing the swims were very spread out so you were never feeling paddy last.
The main thing I wanted to get out of it was the confidence to swim in a group and I got that but came out of it a stronger open water swim.
I'm looking forward to the next one
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and still ricky villa wrote: »Quickish review but in a few words, it's well worth doing the next one. All levels are catered to so long as you can swim in the open water for at least 500 meters. I had thought the beginners part might be a bit of time spent getting wet, putting your face in the water, gentle stuff like that but, after the fact, I'm glad it wasn't.
Distances are estimated, especially the intermediate, but should give you an idea of what to expect if they, hopefully, run it again
Sounds good, especially for southsiders - Did yis practice drafting or mass starts?0 -
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viperlogic wrote: »Anyone recommend a good swimming training plan for sprint distance?
This thread is probably as good as you'll anything you'll find from where you are.
Have you read it
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viperlogic wrote: »Yes and have compiled all the weekly posts into a doc now. Starting week 1 this eve
Was thinking of doing the same for September onwards as I swim in a 20m pool and don't like ending a session on an odd number 0 -
Best of luck to those racing the HIM who followed the plan here. The preparation from some of ye has been very impressive- especially those who struggled to swim back in November- so allow yourselves a brief smile in T1;) before ploughing on with the race.
It's your race, you will have prepared for it and will know what you are capable of... the only advice I'm going to give is similar to the first advice on the thread. Breathing is key to swimming. Keep your breathing under control and your swim will be under control. Expect to get knocked at the start, expect scrums around bouys, expect gobfuls of water; so slow down and regroup if you start to hyperventilate. Cruise pace and a comfortable exit is better than threshold pace and gasping in T1...
Go get it! 0 -
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