|
Open Water Conditioning
These brief notes are intended to help athletes training for the triathlon, particularly those competitors susceptible to low water temperatures, and rough surface conditions.
Your swim training program should have two components:
1. swimming fitness
2. cold-water conditioning
Think and plan your preparations in this way, and devote time and effort to each component.
Swimming Fitness
1. Follow a planned and regular interval training program that is tailored to your individual needs and is well integrated with other training demands
2. Early season stroke correction, even for experienced swimmers, is a must. REMEMBER: Shallow strokes under the water, complete push-through, relaxed hands and a dropped head and the key points.
3. Kick-board training can shorten leg muscles and tendons. Deemphasize kicking work, and stretch out the legs after every workout.
4. Breathe on alternate sides for some lengths at every workout. WHY? To balance your stroke, improve oxygen efficiency and prepare you for tight spots in open water.
5. Focus on significant distance work: build to 800 metre efforts or longer, in addition to interval work.
HINT: Keep to freestyle and backstroke unless you are an accomplished and trained in the breaststroke.
6. Finish off all after-training showers with cold water: keep the cold water on until the shock has disappeared! (Recommended after running and cycling too.)
Cold Water Conditioning
Conditioning is founded on a solid training base. Given a measure of swimming fitness, you must then move toward regular distance swims in open water, completing at least two such efforts a week for the six week period prior to your event. As conditioning improves, pool work can be cut back. Your cold water swims should be progressively longer (say by 25%) up to full race distance plus 10%. REMEMBER: Do not swim alone in the open water - train with a friend.
Nutrition:
Carbohydrates in liquid form are ideal as close to the race start as is comfortable. Exercise on top of food takes preparation and practice, but the performance results are outstanding. The cold water swimmer will be burning between 800 to 1,000 calories an hour and an unskilled swimmer even more. Anticipation of the need is better than replacement, but do both.
Equipment:
Goggles and swim caps are essential. Serious body heat loss occurs across the bottom of the rib cage, and from the groin and neck regions. HINT: A lubricant, such as BodyGlide, in those areas may help.
NOTE: If, after a cold water workout, you feel you are not recovering well, get in a bath filled with lukewarm water, and slowly add hot water over a 30 minutes period. In critical cases, elevate your legs out of the bath. WHY? Heat is required in the body core, not the extremities. The effects of hypothermia can be cumulative over a few days. You may not be the best judge of your condition.
Race Day Advice:
A pre-race check should pinpoint potential currents, wind squall spots and rough water. Plan your course accordingly. Be prepared to turn your face and breathe away from the direction of the surface chop and swim through it, not over it.
Approximately 15 minutes before the start of your race, take a brief dip (swim 100
metres), then dry off and suit up. This will trigger the conditioning reflex. NOTE: Competitors with low body fat must try this approach during training.
For straight line courses, take a sight from the shore to a feature on the horizon. (Buoys may mark the course.) Check the course direction every 10 strokes by briefly lifting the head. Do not blindly follow the leader or the crowd.
Either lead the pack or follow it until the crowd breaks up. Occasionally alternate breathing sides in order to view the field.
From an article by Perry Cameron in TRI-FIT Quarterly, published by Steve King.
Steve King relaxing in pool with friends
The water is also great for post-race recovery as Steve (far right) and friends demonstrate here.
|
|
