Ok…so I am a little nervous. I am doing my first Olympic 1.5k swim at Chatt. Waterfront this weekend. Can anybody offer me tips…Please??? I am swimming my 100 meters in a little under 2:00min. which is slow I know. However, I am a little worried even though I will be swimming a straight shot with no triangle format etc. and with the current.I have been doing 1500m to 2000m in the pool.
However, the race is nothing like the pool. This past weekend at a sprint I think I overdid it and got out of my 3 stroke/breathing bilateral format) and was breathing every stroke. I am worried I will run out of air on this one. My body can handle the swim. It is my air?? Do I need to start out real slow? Do I need to try to maintain the bilateral 3 stroke? Do I need to try to draft off somebody or get in a groove on my own? Please somebody calm me and give me some tips. I am also worried about using my legs in the swim too much.
Thanks!!!
You’re not slow, that’s MOP speed. Aim for sub 30mins.
If you’re swimming with the current, try to maximise your distance per stroke. However, currents may vary and change very quickly, so sight regularly. If the current goes against you, stroke more often. If it side-on, sight more.
You’re right OW racing is a bit different to the pool. Try and get some OW before this weekend, preferably with someone so you get more comfortable swimming with people.
Regards breathing, try to relax more. Remember to exhale throughout the stroke, gently but consistently. If breathing bilaterally isn’t working, breathe every 2 strokes. Don’t breathe every stroke, this may develop hyperventilation, which is common in cold water. Concentrate on exhaling in bubbles, letting the air trickle out of your nose.
Yes, I would advise against starting too fast, just swim at your normal speed, and ignore anyone who hits you or swims over you - it happens to us all, just keep swimming. Kick at the rate you are used to. In a wetsuit, your legs will be used less (on the basis of your speed, it complicated to explain but you’ll be mroe bouyant). Chill, concentrate on breathing, relax, stroke with a consistent rhythm and you’ll do great.
2:00 per hundred is fine. My first race i think i was over 3 and had never swam a 1500 before. If you can do 1500-2000 in the pool you’ll be fine.
I breath every other stroke that shouldn’t be a problem if you have to. I have asthma problems and get really short on breath if i start breathing less then every other stroke. Yes you need to start slow. Its the first thing i tell everyone that is starting that i race with. Its a lot easier to pick it up at the end if you have some left then to go out hard and not be able to swim. As far as your legs, get used to using them. You have to swim how you swim and train your body around that. If you use your legs in the swim then you just have to have the endurance to get through the rest of the race. Use your legs though don’t try to rest them or your stroke will get messed up.
Do a warm up before the swim. Start out towards the back and go very easy at the start so you don’t get out of breath right away and have a miserable time. Wear a wetsuit - if you have a wetsuit on, you won’t sink, so if you freak out you can just float for a few seconds. The most important thing is to relax.
The Chattanooga race is a time trial start (you should have submitted an estimated swim time when you registered). One person at a time off a dock about 3 seconds apart. It is the calmest swim start you will ever experience. Nobody should come anywhere near you. The swim is with the current so you should swim about 3 minutes or so faster than a comparable swim in a lake. No wetsuits with this one - too warm. You will love this swim. This is not one to worry about.
I’ll echo Scott’s advice. But one thing is that you can’t get in the water prior to the start. So there is no warm-up period. Because of that, I’d start off a little slower than normal once you get tapped to go. If memory serves me, there are three bridges that we go under before you need to start spotting the dock. So make sure you count the bridges you swim under as you are on the course. Unlike other races, since you aren’t swimming to bouys, you can basically put your head down and motor, and you really only need to sight after you have gone under the third bridge. As far as breathing goes, I would start off trying to breathe every third stoke and keep it calm. After you hit the third bridge you can always try to hammer it home from there. The current is extremely strong here. You could almost flip on your back and let it pull you down.
When you get pulled out of the water on the dock, you will have to go up some fairly steep stairs and across the road to the t-area. Make sure you have good footing here because it can get slippery. In addition, try not to trash your HR on the t-run because the bike course is generally hilly.
My other advice is to make sure you come into t2 with something left for the run because a few hills on the run are brutal and very steep. This is one of the more challenging 10k run courses IMO. So if you trash your legs on the bike (which is easy to do) it will be a sufferfest out there on the run.
This is one of the best races out there at this distance. Great organization and very fun. Enjoy! I can’t wait.
This is something I have grappled with as well. I’m a little better swimmer, but I had a big problem getting out of breath in OW and this stressed me out.
Now, first, I made sure I got a more flexible wetsuit so I didn’t feel like I was pulling against mine and I swam more and harder (I think swimming double race distance per session is probably a good idea). But with your 1500 this weekend those things probably aren’t relevant for you.
What helped me in my last race more than anything else was (i) kicking less and (ii) not feeling like I was falling apart when I needed to go from bilateral breathing every third stroke to breathing on the same side every other stroke now and then.
It is amazing how much less oxygen you use when you don’t really kick (see using a buoy in pool) and the pscyhological effect of being “OK” with breathing every other stroke was important for me.
You should be fine as far as distance is concerned. The point to point will help with the time trial start because, if I recall correctly from another race, it is time seeded within your age group. For instance, last year at the sprint national championships, I was the 1st or 2nd in my AG to start but that meant that I was directly behind the slowest person in the AG ahead of me. I climbed over him in about 10 seconds. It was a kind of triangular swim so there were corners. Since it is point to point, you can spread out a little more and you won’t be climbing over anyone, hopefully.
I’m toting my wetsuit just in case. The area I think has had some decent rainfall north of it and sometimes that will cool the water down just a smidge. Planning for no wetsuit, but just in case…never hurts! I swam in the Ohio last summer and it was wetsuit legal, in July and I was fine as far as the T1 run was concerned.
Whatever you do, don’t just stand around on the beach before the race. Do whatever bike and/or swim warmup is appropriate, and then get in the water. If you get used to the temperature beforehand and do a swim warmup, you’ll start off relaxed, rather than feeling as if you’re running out of air. I always feel like that until I’m 10-15 minutes into a swim or warmup. develop a procedure that works for you, and that will calm you before a race.
Very good advice…thanks!!! If I can just put my head down and swim without worrying about some triangular buoy format like the sprints I have been doing that will help. I will just put it down and breathe every 3rd…thanks a lot!
the advice that helped me most was to slow down, and then go slower. my first OW swim this year was a 1.5 mile swim and with no walls or anything the feeling of time kinda goes away i thought i was in the water forever and it was about 45 minutes which was a decent time. 2 weeks later in my first OLY the swim was much more relaxed because my i was not worried about time as much as just going easy. good luck and relax it will be over soon and you will probably wish you could do it everday
If you are really nervous and feel like a wetsuit will help, you can probably still wear one. But if you wear a wetsuit when it is too warm, you will not be eligible for age group awards. Just check with the race director that it is okay and make sure you won’t overheat too much if you wear one. Or, if you feel secure enough without a wetsuit, skip the wetsuit. Good luck.