when do you make an effort to bridge up to a group in front of you during the swim? any particular benefits?
i did a race on saturday and found myself completely in no man’s land. the lead group of 5-6 was about 20 seconds in front, then me rolling solo, then about 10-20 seconds to the next group. i was with the lead group at the turn, but then they lifted on the inbound leg. i am relatively sure i could have bridged the gap and hung on, just not sure it would have been worth it. i know there would be the benefit of drafting off a faster swimmer, but what else? this race was an aquathon–600 m/6k swim-run–so i was pretty much going to be redlining the entire time.
so anyways, when do you all try to bridge and what are you thinking when you do?
I guess from a tactical perspective a short race like that is all about speed. In an environment like that I don;t see an advantage to waiting for the chase pack in the water, and I don’t see the sense in sitting out there yourself, especially if you feel you can catch the lead group.
I’d say get up to the leaders as quickly as possible.
“Sometimes a good plan executed with speed and violence is better than a perfect plan executed latter” -General George S. Patton.
Truer words were never spoken. When in doubt, bridge.
Stay where you are and expend extra energy because you’re not drafting;
Sprint up to the lead pack, draft, and gain (only) 20 seconds;
Fall back, draft and lose (only 10) seconds.
We’re talking a net gain/loss max of 30 seconds. Will flooring it in order to catch the lead group tire you enough to cost you more than 30 seconds on your run (very possible), or will falling back and drafting of the slower group allow you to exit the water very fresh and able to make up 30 seconds on your run (also very possible)? Personally, I’d fall back. The race isn’t over at the end of the swim and (at least for me) it’s far easier to make up 30 seconds on the run than on the swim.
My thought would be Oly distance race or shorter, stay with the fastest pack you can possibly swim with, by any means necessary. 1/2 IM or longer, the aerobic/cardio cost of redlining to bridge up to another group could quite possibly outweigh the benefits in the long run. It’s kinda like redlining on the bike in a long course race to climb a hill or pass someone, every time you do it, you’re making a withdrawl from the Cardio Bank, and you will certainly pay for it later in the form of a slower run.