This is a popular racing mantra for triathletes here in Australia. A tribal pre-race acknowledgment and affirmation. Encouragement to ‘give it your all’ out there in the race. And why ever not, I hear you ask? Well the last time I checked I couldn’t find any races where they hand out medals for expending the most energy.

 So what is the alternative? It may seem like an insignificant matter of semantics but for me, the ideas we attach our minds to are pretty important as they influence us in subtle ways…

 Anyone who understands the basic concepts of TI will know that in swimming  harder does not always equate to faster. On a bicycle there is a pretty direct relationship between power output and speed. Output a higher wattage at the cranks and you go faster. It is pretty simple! It is possible to to ride undulating / hilly courses well to optimise momentum but we won’t go into that here…

Water is effectively an energy trap by comparison. It is quite possible for an average skilled swimmer to work twice as hard and go no faster! The vast majority of extra energy input is lost to splash and noise. This is why working HARDER is not enough.

We need to learn to sense our SPEED through the water. That is after all the whole point of what we are trying to achieve with our swimming – shortest time from start to finish. And this really isn’t the same thing as ‘hard work’. Going as FAST as you can on race day is requires a far higher level of skill and concentration than exhausting yourself 100%. 

The best way to learn this is to train side by side with a training partner in open water. Its a bit like an exercise known as ‘2 boat tuning’ in sailing where you use an identical boat as a reference as you adjust you own to squeeze out more speed. The other component of open water racing is of course the tactical one. When Terry and I raced the 2 mile Cable Swim at Lake Placid last August it was the most exciting tactical swim of my life. Neither of us were close to our PBs but I certainly felt as though we pushed each other to the fastest we were capable of on race day.

 

 In each moment while you are racing ask yourself:

a) Can I relax and maintain the same speed?

b) Can I go faster without ‘trying’?

 Ultimately can you ‘relax into speed‘? This is a skill that takes practise but for me is one of the most rewarding aspects of racing triathlon. Next time you are swimming, riding or running side by side with a competitor will be your next chance to practise. Look forward to that day!

 

 Here is MY pre race encouragement for all of you: 

"Race Well!" and "Go Fast!"

 

Dunstan