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Practicing the start?
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 2008-09-10 1:37 PM |
Expert  834    Medina, MN |  Subject: Practicing the start?I swim with a group in the mornings at a local health club pool two days a week. A significant portion of the other folks in the pool are training for triathlons, as I can tell by their caps, water bottles, jammers, etc. Anyway, the facility at the club includes two separate pools, one traditional lap pool, and one more recreational pool that has a "zero depth entry", meaning there is a gradual slope of the bottom of the pool and you can just walk in. On Monday morning, two people (had to be triathletes) were practicing their triathlon starts, running into the zero depth entry pool. They did this about ten times each with much discussion after each time. Have you all actually practiced your starts, running down a beach or zero depth entry pool to hone your skills? I had never even considered that.... |
| 2008-09-10 1:38 PM in reply to: #1664670 |
Master 1320 Chilliwack, BC | Subject: RE: Practicing the start? Only when it involved clif bars and people with clubs! |
| 2008-09-10 1:39 PM in reply to: #1664682 |
Expert 834 Medina, MN | Subject: RE: Practicing the start? Crazypop - 2008-09-10 1:38 PM Only when it involved clif bars and people with clubs! Ahhhhh, so that was you.....  |
| 2008-09-10 1:44 PM in reply to: #1664670 |
Master 1529 Living in the past | Subject: RE: Practicing the start? Don't know about you, but as a first year triathlete, the running and swimming thing has become mostly intuitive for me Most kidding aside, I'm sure you've seen/been part of a race where the water depth is shallow for a fair distance from the beach/start. Practicing the 'running into the water' part at a zero depth pool seems a bit comical to me, but there might be some merit in practicing dolphin kicks (I think that's what they are called) to address the shallow water. Ask 'em next time you see 'em. |
| 2008-09-10 1:52 PM in reply to: #1664670 |
Champion 5782 Northridge, California | Subject: RE: Practicing the start? Can't imagine they are really getting much more than confidence building from that sort of limited training in a pool. That being said, for ocean (or large lake...like Great Lakes) starts, practice is extremely valuable. "Dolphining" (diving under breakers) is the most efficient way to clear the surf zone and is a fairly easy skill to acquire with relatively limited practice. Getting used to when to stop running/dolphining and start swimming isn't a bad thing to try a few times. And exiting the water has its own set of techniques (at least in the surf)...including the short run out after you stand up. |
| 2008-09-10 1:53 PM in reply to: #1664670 |
| Subject: RE: Practicing the start? What tcovert said. Out here we call them "ins and outs," and it's great practice for getting thru surf. |
| 2008-09-10 1:59 PM in reply to: #1664670 |
Extreme Veteran 552 Minnetonka Beach, MN | Subject: RE: Practicing the start? Were you at Plymouth Lifetime? |
| 2008-09-10 2:01 PM in reply to: #1664787 |
Expert 834 Medina, MN | Subject: RE: Practicing the start? ball6135 - 2008-09-10 1:59 PM Were you at Plymouth Lifetime? Yes................. was that you? |
| 2008-09-10 2:02 PM in reply to: #1664670 |
Extreme Veteran 552 Minnetonka Beach, MN | Subject: RE: Practicing the start? I do try to get to the race venues prior to the race day (if allowed) to check out the starts... for Lifetime Tri (for example), I work out how far I will run, how many dives I will do and then off to swimming... (Lifetime is a very shallow start for quite a while) I am taller so it give me an advantage of about 4-5 steps then 3 "dolphin" dives and I was out in front by 10 yds by the time I was swimming. Without that "Practice", I wouldn't have known, nor would I have the confidence to run that hard or dive 3 times... |
| 2008-09-10 2:03 PM in reply to: #1664798 |
Extreme Veteran 552 Minnetonka Beach, MN | Subject: RE: Practicing the start? MLJ - 2008-09-10 2:01 PM ball6135 - 2008-09-10 1:59 PM Yes................. was that you?Were you at Plymouth Lifetime? Yep, it was me... stop over next time. I was infact working with a friend that has a confidence issue with her starts... she is swimming comfortably 1:40's (100's) and panics at the start. So we started with working on it there... GREAT confidence builder for starts... we moved on to a Beach in Minnetonka a few days later to work on the added "natural" factor |
| 2008-09-10 2:09 PM in reply to: #1664670 |
Expert 834 Medina, MN | Subject: RE: Practicing the start? WOW! What an amazingly small world. We actually find the person within the first 37 views and in about 10 minutes..... I'll stop by if you tell me how to figure out which one is you. I'm there Mondays and Wednesdays, and you can find me as I have a red water bottle at the end of my lane (deep end of the pool) and wear red goggles. I don't know how fast you swim, but our group typically does about 3000 yards, with different people doing 100s on intervals of about 1:15 and 1:25. Please join us if that's a fit for you, the more the merrier. Also, it suddenly makes sense if it's freaking someone out. I was thinking you/they were trying to shave a second by honing the technique. -Matt Edited by MLJ 2008-09-10 2:11 PM |
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