Classic swim problems – solved
Here Coach Alan helps you solve your swimming problems. It is time to get rid of any excuses and ‘Just keep swimming!’
It is fair to say that for most triathletes swimming is the least popular of the three disciplines. For good reason too: it’s unsociable (you can only chat in any rest period or before and after the session); it requires commuting to a pool (usually at anti-social hours); there is little-to-no exciting kit to buy and it simply requires turning up and getting it done in order to improve.
But is it really that bad? What about if we choose to reframe our perceived ‘problems’ and look at our session from a different point of view? This article will explore some of the common complaints and look at ways and perspectives to help you embrace and overcome them!
The most important thing is that you have got to the pool in the first place! Let’s assume you managed to get out the door, and find yourself poolside…
The pool is the wrong size, shape, or it has no lanes…
If you can only access a small, or non-training pool whilst away for work or on holiday, do what you can with it. Say for example you find yourself somewhere with only a 15-20m long pool. What can you do? Well if you have to do a speed session that week arrange to do it during the days away or just do a short speed session anyway. A speed session will be achievable and useful regardless of the event you are preparing for presuming you don’t have an injury related reason as to why it might be a bad idea.
Coach Will Munday works with a ‘funny’ shaped pool on our camps in Vilamoura.
A really simple session can look like;
5min Easy swim with push offs
5min of single arm one length swim back. With non-stroking arm at your side. Focus on a change in effort throughout the stroke not just single circular arm strokes.
20x 1 Length accelerations from a race ‘floating’ start, so no push off. 1 length active recovery
5min Easy Swim including some backstroke
Did you swim? Yes! Did you get some speed work done? Yes! Did you immerse yourself in water and familiarise yourself with the water environment so you are more familiar for you next session back home? Yes! Is this super complicated and hard to achieve? No! It also doesn’t matter what shape the pool is or the precise distance of the pool length! Speed is speed!
(If the pool is shorter than 15m you can achieve a similar session by being prepared for your trip and taking a belt and bungee chord with you.)
The lane is too busy or too slow!
You’ve made it to the pool but it is rammed and lifeguard apathy is rife. So what can you do?
Actually as triathletes, we are at a huge advantage compared to ‘swimmers’. We were bred for chaos in the water and a crowded lane is what we specialise in! So first up: embrace it! A crowded lane is an opportunity to practice keeping your head and staying calm. It is all too easy for your ‘chimp’ to take over and for things to get a little aggravated in between the ears. Instead, remember you were made for this: you are a triathlete. Practice changes in pace, sighting and awareness of your surroundings exactly as you will have to on race day in open water. Practice not being a ‘hot head’ and subsequently reacting aggressively to every bump, knock and slight that other swimmers cause you. Stay calm, maintain perspective and stay on task exactly as you will on race day. You’ve got this!
Be the one that politely makes other swimmers aware of space, it is all too easy for your ‘chimp’ to assume that the other swimmer is deliberately aggravating you, are they? All you can do is politely increase their awareness, if they fail to take you up on this offer direct them to the ‘apathetic’ lifeguard.
Above all else don’t be the inconsiderate ‘tool’ who has lost the ability to share reasonably.
Again: did you swim? Yes!
If you can only swim early in the morning when the pool is always busy perhaps try to complete your endurance/aerobic sessions at this time where pushing isn’t so important. Instead do your speed/threshold sessions on a weekend afternoon or early evening when the pool is likely to be quieter and you are also perhaps likely to swim better. Swimming competition finals are in the late afternoon/evening for the precise reason that circadian rhythms predict a better performance.
Pool is too crowded? Remember something like this is what you are preparing for!
I forgot the session!
There is a really simple fix here: ask your coach to write less convoluted sessions! ;) Or if you forget the session between your house and the pool…write it down!
Always remember and know what the ‘aim’ of the session is. This goes without saying for all sessions. This means you can sense check the session against how you are feeling and should you forget the exact session, you can always do something that resembles that purpose. Have you done some Threshold/Endurance/Speed/Strength related efforts? Yes? Well then the aim is achieved.
Engage in your training and take responsibility for being organised ahead of time, rather than two minutes before in the changing room. Athletes who are making progress are always organised, take responsibility for their own training and should be able to tell you what the plan is for at least the next two days.
A vital part of long term consistency is not letting today’s training ruin tomorrow’s.
Failing that, a small piece of laminated paper no bigger than your mobile phone is more than sufficient to write down the session plan. Write down your target and turnaround times so you can be relentless. When the clock hits that turnaround: don’t think – GO!
Swimming doesn’t need to be complicated it is often the really simple sessions that make the significant difference. Three weeks of key main-set swims can look like this;
Week 1 = 20x 100 off 1.45
Week 2 = 25x 100 off 1.45
Week 3 = 15x 100 off 1.40
My goggles are foggy/scratched.
This is really, really simple to fix. Firstly keep them in a rigid box, always. All your other kit will severely damage your goggles over time when tossed in and out of cars etc. if they are out of a protective box. Secondly, never, ever touch the inside of the lens. Goggles have a coating on the inside and it rubs off over time and the fogging gets worse. Rubbing it, not surprisingly, speeds this up! Often at the start of a session they fog up due to temperature difference between the lens and your face, pool environment (which unsurprisingly is very humid!) and the water. Do not touch them!! Just get in the water give them a little rinse which will clear the fog and balance out the temperature and off you go. Have you ever put really cold (sun)glasses on and breathed out? It’s the same thing Fog O’Clock!
Above all, always focus on what you can control and what you can do, not what you can’t. Be relentless: turn up to the pool and apply yourself to the aim of the session. For most people, this is the biggest problem that needs to be overcome and has nothing to do with technique, speed or pacing and everything to do with consistency.
We’re here to help
Tri Training Harder are one of the leading Triathlon coaching providers in the UK, using our wealth of experience to unite scientific and technological research with already well-established and successful best practices, to create a formula for triathlon and endurance coaching that works.
The result is an honest, dynamic, yet simple new way of constructing an athlete’s training to allow them to reach their potential.
If you’re planning your next season, just starting out in the sport or are looking for extra guidance at the very top end of the field, we are here to help, and our coaches would be delighted to hear from you. You can contact us via the website, and one of the team will be in touch.