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Advice needed on sprint swim
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HI again all ST'ers,
I tried a (borrowed) wetsuit for the first time this evening :-).
The only opportunity I had was at the outside pool.
So, after a little warm up I swam a 750 m to get an idea of my swim "speed" for the sprint distance I intend to do in two weeks.
I'm at 1:30-1:35/100m in a 25m pool. With the wetsuit it's very easy to swim smoothly at that pace, with a little steady kick (for me).
Being optimistic, I think I can try a fast start at the next local event, and keep the front for this distance. The best swimmers are in the 1:40/100m pace for that race ( I know, it's open water, not a pool ;-) !! ).
The water is a large river, with slow current. The course is a rectangle ( one lap of the blue loop for sprint):

There are approx. 100-120 starters in the water. I'm not very comfortable with lots of people, so I prefer to go in front, because the slowest swimmers are very slow, and ... well....I'll lose lots of time. I'm not comfortable either with the idea of swimming behind somebody's feet ( I swam as a kid and ever since I was a kid I hated, and still hate to touch another swimmer in the pool lane, grrr!!!). I know I saw triathletes train together on purpose and swim very close from one another. I'm not there yet.
Should I place at the end of one side to escape the "traffic" ? I imagine every swimmer will want to place where the best line will be, taking the current into account (current from left to right).
There, send your comments, advices, mucho appreciated.

Louis :-)
Last edited by: louisn: Aug 16, 19 17:57
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Re: Advice needed on sprint swim [louisn] [ In reply to ]
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Start wide, strategically based on the course and to what side you breathe

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Re: Advice needed on sprint swim [louisn] [ In reply to ]
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Why do you want to wear a wetsuit?
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Re: Advice needed on sprint swim [ericMPro] [ In reply to ]
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THanks EricM I didn't think about that one. I try to breathe on both sides, but I'm 99% one sided, even more when on the rivet.
@Jimatbeyond, think of it this way: This Tri event must be one of the closest from the north pole you can find ;-). And I asked our local best triathlete, he told me : Whenever the wetsuit is allowed, you use it.

Louis :-)
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Re: Advice needed on sprint swim [louisn] [ In reply to ]
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How long is the swim?

What is the water temperature?
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Re: Advice needed on sprint swim [louisn] [ In reply to ]
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louisn wrote:
HI again all ST'ers,
I tried a (borrowed) wetsuit for the first time this evening :-).
The only opportunity I had was at the outside pool.
So, after a little warm up I swam a 750 m to get an idea of my swim "speed" for the sprint distance I intend to do in two weeks.
I'm at 1:30-1:35/100m in a 25m pool. With the wetsuit it's very easy to swim smoothly at that pace, with a little steady kick (for me).
Being optimistic, I think I can try a fast start at the next local event, and keep the front for this distance. The best swimmers are in the 1:40/100m pace for that race ( I know, it's open water, not a pool ;-) !! ).
The water is a large river, with slow current. The course is a rectangle ( one lap of the blue loop for sprint):

There are approx. 100-120 starters in the water. I'm not very comfortable with lots of people, so I prefer to go in front, because the slowest swimmers are very slow, and ... well....I'll lose lots of time. I'm not comfortable either with the idea of swimming behind somebody's feet ( I swam as a kid and ever since I was a kid I hated, and still hate to touch another swimmer in the pool lane, grrr!!!). I know I saw triathletes train together on purpose and swim very close from one another. I'm not there yet.
Should I place at the end of one side to escape the "traffic" ? I imagine every swimmer will want to place where the best line will be, taking the current into account (current from left to right).
There, send your comments, advices, mucho appreciated.

Louis :-)

I would start in front and on the inside of the turn. Go hard for the first 15 seconds. My friend who’s a running coach always said the first 15 seconds are free. Meaning- your heart rate starts at testing pulse, so you can go hard before your heart rate climbs.

Settle in on your sustainable pace and base your pace on your breathing. If you are breathing steady/ hard, but not out of breathe- you are good.

See if you stay in the front or if people pass you. If you get passed, don’t start in front next time!

Good luck.

Oh, don’t forget to site view every 10 strokes or so. You don’t want to swim off course.
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Re: Advice needed on sprint swim [jimatbeyond] [ In reply to ]
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@Jimatbeyond:12 to 15 minutes swim. I have no idea about water temperature, it's cold. BUt there is no way I would drop the wetsuit. I would think nobody ever raced this without one. It's not a polar bear's swim event ;-). The Lac St-Jean 32 km swim now has the wetsuit mandatory by FINA if water temp is below 18 celsius I think .

LOuis :)
Last edited by: louisn: Aug 16, 19 18:48
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Re: Advice needed on sprint swim [louisn] [ In reply to ]
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I have done many 500 yard to 900 yard swims in a Speedo when the water temperature is below 60 degrees F. It's faster.
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