SnappingT wrote:
These would the issues that stick out for me:
- Like Jason said, your taper is playing a big role in your feeling on race morning. Also, you probably don’t have to taper much at all since you aren’t swimming much. There’s really not a lot to taper off of.
- Your low training volume is another issue. Consistency is king in swimming, so you can be more consistent on race day. An inconsistent result on race day isn’t surprising on 5-6km for most of the year.
- With the lower volume, you haven’t had enough time to work on technique and fitness. So you probably don’t have the speed to get out at the start with the faster swimmers. Your drafting with slower swimmers. If you aren’t in the race from the start, you aren’t in the race.
- I would avoid time goals. It’s the worst metric for open water swimming. FYI...there aren’t any world records for time in the 10k Open water swim in the Olympics. Conditions can vary. Courses aren’t measure accurately, etc.
- You aren’t warming up enough. Some athletes need more warm up for the swim, especially in the morning. Bring some stretch cords and a medicine ball with you next time.
- You are more focused on outcome than process. Stay present. Stay focused and take it one stroke at a time.
If you have any other questions, please let me know. Hope this helps.
Tim
Thanks for taking the time to detail a reply - much appreciated..
My comments:
1) Yep - I figured as much about the taper, hence significantly reducing it this year. Felt better for it.
2) I basically doubled the training & averaged exactly 10k per week last year. Unfortunately I have general shoulder issues & suffered an issue with my right shoulder in late OCT, and it set me back somewhat. By Jan 1st, I'd gotten myself back to where I was at before I got injured, but hoped to be a fair bit faster by race day. Them's the breaks.. This year, I am hoping to replicate (at a minimum) last year's training - hopefully with a bit more threshold work. Gradual build, gradual build...
3) Yeah my speed isn't bad, but definitely isn't great - I'd probably go ~ 37 with a dive start for 50LCM at the moment, but the good guys leave me for dead
4) I definitely don't have time goals in my open water races - it's all about trying to be somewhere near to the guys that I have raced against for years... e.g I did ~16 minutes for this race this year, did under 14 a couple of years ago, over 17 last year... the distance is the same (the buoys are set up with permanent chains), but the tide makes a MASSIVE difference...
5) I felt a lot better this year with a bit longer warm up, but it's definitely a work in progress. I am hoping to do 3-4 more races in the next month so will do some experimenting.
6) Yeah - good advice... I try to not get ahead of myself, but sometimes it can be a challenge...
Probably the best thing to come out of the race was that it's the first time I've actually felt 'good' in a race for some time. I got kicked (hard) in the eye at the start (still hurts a week later), and I had to stop, fix my goggles & start again. Funnily enough, I reckon it calmed me down..
Just with my shoulders... I really think I could benefit from some paddle work, but every time I start using them, I inevitably get sore & have to back off... and this is being really conservative - i.e. starting with 2-300m & building very slowly. Ever heard of similar stories? If so - what did the people do to help avoid the issues coming back?
Thanks again.