In Australia the open water swimming season is drawing to a close. The southern states are becoming cooler and there are only a handful of events left on the calendar. Sunday 5th April could be your last chance to post your best swim of the season. Are you hoping for a personal best at the Australian Ironman? … a good day out at Pier to Pub in Hervey Bay? … or perhaps nervous about your first swim in Sydney Harbor at the BRW? Either way I’d like to help you. Here are my top 5 tips for a great swim:

 

 

1. Write a Plan!

 

It could be as simple as a single quality focus or you could have an aim for each set of 10 strokes. Whatever you feel will be most useful. Many things on race day will be beyond your control and that is all part of the experience (the unexpected will provide your best material for post race yarns anyway) but I’m talking about the things you can influence. When you have a plan you cannot fail. It’s just not possible! At each moment you are either doing what you had planned or you decide to do something different. Your plan might run like clockwork or you might modify as you go. Either way your focus will be on something constructive at each point during the race. If you evaluate afterwards you can decide what worked well and refine your plan for next time. I bet you wouldn’t rock up to a race without your togs (hopefully not!) so don’t go without a plan! Point made? OK now on to specifics…

 

2. Process vs Outcome

 

Swimming 55 minutes for the 3.8km is an outcome. Swimming more effectively than the person next to you is part of the process. Thinking ‘I really want to swim a PB’ the whole way round the course probably won’t make each stroke as effective as possible. However if you aim to glide 1cm further than the person next to you each stroke you will end up with a faster time. So your plan should be all about process – what you are going to focus on in each moment.

 

This is where sensory awareness and focal points come into their own. Feeling your body moving through the water, listening to your hand entry, seeing how far you are from the shore or being aware of you breath / emotional state fall into the first category.

 

Focal points could include ‘traveling along a (straight) laser line’, ‘driving from your hips to send your energy forward’ of ‘feeling your hand parting molecules of water’ (one of Terry’s favorites). I like the sequence: 1.Quiet Exit, 2.Flowing Recovery, 3.Relaxed Forearm, 4.Entry Timing, 5.Hip Squeeze, 6.Glide Long, 7.Hold Water, 8. Swim Past Hand, 9. Rhythm, 10.Enjoy – for 10 strokes each. Its a great way to use 100 strokes in a race!

 

If you do set a goal time or something else linked to outcome then you can try a range. This is a great way to set yourself up for unconditional success. Try something like: ‘I’d be happy with X, stoked with Y and over the moon with Z.’ My favorite outcome aim is to finish the swim feeling good and knowing that I have used my energy wisely.

 

3. Where am I Going?

 

How many laps? … which way around each buoy? … is there a rope alongside? Does the buoy line up with Centrepoint Tower? Does the position of the sun’s glare help? Is there any current? If at all possible try to watch previous heats to see if there is any ‘drift’ and to pick a good spot on the line for your own start. Plan how often you will lift your head to sight and don’t forget to get information by looking to the sides too. Its best to swim with your head in the water rather than out for as much of the time as possible.

 

4. Negative Split

This is when you swim the second half faster than the first half. Many swimmers go hard off the start, hang in there for the middle part and pick it up at the end. Mostly its a painfest. I like to use the first part to move with easy speed and then settle into a rhythm that feels light not heavy. The warm up and first part of a swim is my chance to establish a good stroke pattern so that when I so squeeze on some effort it will translate to more speed through the water. It feels great to be hitting a sweet rhythm when others around you are fading after their initial spurt. Negative splitting is a great way to go when you aren’t sure of your fitness level. At the half way point you can either maintain the same pace or move up if you’re feeling good. Which leads me onto my final point for tonight…

 

5. Contingency

 

Don’t fall into the trap of just planning your ‘dream scenario’. If your ‘best case’ is all you have it is a big gamble. Only one thing needs to ‘go wrong’ and the rest of your plan could be meaningless. You may have planned to score a free ride by drafting a slightly faster swimmer for the first part of the race and end up next to some dude who tries to kick you if you get too close! If there is something you can prepare for then do so. Prepare for the unexpected – if you are ready to be surprised then you will accept the fact that you are feeling panicked / going off course / stuck next to the world’s most aggressive swimmer and do what needs to be done rather than thinking ‘Oh no! I wish this wasn’t happening to me…’ One of my most satisfying swims was the Forster Half Ironman in 2004. I lost my goggles at the start, ended up ‘feeling my way along the course’ and was overjoyed to finish with both contact lenses in place. Nowadays I’m quite happy in the ocean without goggles and / or contact lenses but at the time it was a big achievement. Now you know about that scenario you can prepare for it! Each time something new happens you can deal with it and add it to your repertoire of ‘What to do if…’ situations.

 

 

So now its up to you: write it on a bit of paper, share it with your training partner, email it to me and above all try it out! April 5th or any other day… and at the end of the swim…? Whether your next move is 222km of Port Macquarie undulations, A cool beer at the Torquay Hotel or tagging your helmeted team mate by Mrs Maquarie’s Chair makes no difference. Either way I’d like you to stand up feeling great about your swim and ready for whatever is in store.

 

I’d love to hear about your experiences so email me!

 

Dunstan