Meulen's 'Let's tri this Thing!' beginner mentor group-CLOSED (Page 20)

Congratulations!  Have you ever done this distance before?

thanks!
Nope! It will be my first at the HIM distance.

Ok, how do I not drown?

After my swim practice last Friday I've come to accept it's a distinct possibility. 

LOL.......


Tips on not drowning
1. If you're not comfortable getting into the mix of what is basically a contact sport in the water, don't be afraid to start behind everyone else. It also helps to line up to one side.

2. Before you enter the water find a landmark in the distance that will guide you to your destination. Something that will be visible from the water.

3. If possible, find someone slighly faster than you and swim just along side or just behind then to draft.

4. VERY IMPORTANT!!!! if you need to, roll on your back and float!! Don't wait till you are so exhausted you can't hold yourself up. Take a rest if you need to. Roll on your back, do a couple of backstrokes or go to your default stroke if you need to. If I know I'm getting really tired I'll go to breast stroke for a bit.

5. Go a little wide around the bouy's. There will be pile ups at the bouy's, to avoid them go a little wide.

6. The time you spend in the pool is going to be priceless here. You will adapt to the merky cold water and people around you. Just focus on the stroke you've practiced in the pool and lay it down!

7. Sighting. Learn to sight before you get to the open water. First, in the pool, close your eyes and kick off the wall and swim. Count how many strokes it takes till you hit a lane line. This count minus 1 will be your sighting stroke. If you hit the wall in 5, you'll want to sight every 4 strokes. Awesome open water swimming article and sighting video found here: http://www.swimsmooth.com/triathlon.html sighting at this stroke count will keep you swimming straight and avoid going off course swimming way more distance than you need to.

8. Lastly, RELAX!!!! If you put the time in the pool you are going to be comfortable and do just fine.


You're going to want to try and get out and do an OWS before your tri. It would really help for you to get comfortable before your race. I'm sure Anne could tell you how she felt last year at Chicago and Evergreen. It's really helpful to get comfortable with this. Practice makes perfect.!

Edited by Meulen 2011-02-15 1:35 PM

I did the Pgh Tri 2 years ago, and everybody was wearing a wetsuit. I had a full-sleeve suit that I wore (it was a rental).  I was quite comfortable in the water, temperature-wise!  The year before that, believe it or not, the water was actually too warm and wetsuits were not allowed.

Oh, and after the race was over, my husband was nice enough to tell me that just before my wave started, a dead rat floated by the entry point!!!  He decided to wait to tell me until after I was done.  Nice, huh?!

Brian, congrats on signing up for the HIM!!

And if I may add my own tip for not drowning during OW swimming - do whatever stroke you need to.  If you are tired, just float.  If your arms are tired, do breast stroke.  If you are panicking because you can't see, do backstroke.  Believe me, you will see people doing all types of strokes - even ones you have never seen before!!  And it is all okay!   And, if you ever swim with friends,  have everybody start in the same lane for a lap.  Or invite some strangers to do this if you want to make some new friends!  We practiced this at a Boot Camp that I went to, and it really did feel like the start of a race!  Just relax and have fun!

My OW swim question:  How far do you run into the water before you start swimming, and how do you know when to stand up and run at the end?  After one of my races, my husband said he didn't think I was ever going to stand up.  I usually go until I can feel the sand at the bottom, but does anyone have a better way?

Karen

Karen, you just reminded me about another great way to try wetsuits before you buy them. Rent one!! thanks!!

Stand up: You're going to here a few answers here and it somewhat depends on the conditions. I'm certainly no expert in the ocean but standing up and dolphin entries are another game I've never had to implement. In a lake, I run in knees high till about waste deep, or I can't keep my knees coming above the waterline. Then swim. Coming in I believe the preferred method is to swim until you can grab a handful of the bottom. Then pull yourself up. I did have one circumstance that I ran about chest deep. It was when there was a big pile up of people who couldn't swim right near the start. I ran until I found a clear path to swim through and then started swimming. Worked out great keeping my head above water to navigate the pile up.

If you guys have more questions about OWS'ing don't hesitate to ask. It is pretty different from swimming in a pool and I'd like to see all of you have a pleasant and successful swim come race day.

Really?

uh-oh!!!

LOL! I learn things when I actually sign in! Good Luck honey!

bah!!! You knew I was going to!! I just made it official. Thanks!!!

Open water swimming - How much time do you really need training in the open water?  I know that it must be important, but it is much more difficult to get that time in.  Also, are there restrictions to where you can swim?  That may sound strange, but can you just start swimming in any given lake or river?  I know that question sounds stupid, but the waterways around us are quite busy and it seems like it would be difficult to swim.  Just some random thoughts....

I had the same question! And for some reason last night I had a dream that I was practicing swimming in the river with my wetsuit and everything and someone kicked me in the face and I swallowed a bunch of water and started choking and then I woke up with a start gasping for air! It was really scary! My race isn't even until June, it's too early to be having these kind of nightmares! Haha.

I have a question about swimming in general...this might be dumb but can you wear a Heart Rate Monitor while you swim? I have a Polar HRM and it says that it is water resistant...I'm just wondering if it gives an accurate reading. I'm just really curious what my average HR is when I swim.

Just enough time to be comfortable. Not much time at all. I think you can go for an hour one time before your race to get adjusted. Then get in the water before your race to warm up if you can. After that, diong it your races may even be enough. Obviously, the more time the better. But most people spend 95% of the time in the pool IMO. They only do OWS'ing to stay comfortable with it. It really doesn't take much to adjust, but it's definitely worth doing. The most common mistake is sighting. If you're not adapt to OWS'ing you tend to sight poorly and end up going off path, which means you're swimming a lot more distance than you have to.

Always check your local laws as far as where you can swim. I don't think I'd want to swim in a busy waterway anyhow. It's hard for boats to see you!! It's not esy to find a place, that's for sure. You may want to hit up your local forums on BT here and see if anyone else knows a place that is safe and legal to swim at.

Edited by Meulen 2011-02-16 11:39 AM

Polar has info on their website about water resistance of their products.

http://www.polar.fi/en/support/product_support?product=276&category...

Looks like, basically if your product is rated 30/50 meters it should work in the water. I'm not sure how accurate it will be. I've never tried this.

I used my polar hrm in 2 of my triathlons last year. If I remember right, it worked just fine in the water. I have had no problems with it since swimming with it either.

I'd be kind of curious to try yours but I think I'd look a little silly wearing a pink watch!! LOL

Brian,  Congradulations on entering your Iron Man.  That sounds about as impossible as it gets for me. So, I was wondering a few things.  When you get tired during the race and flip over to rest, should you try to move out of the path of swimmers first.  I imagine they will be unhappy to have to swim around me.  Also,  do they let you wear wetsuit booties or caps?  Are there normaly time limits to the swim or is that just Iron Man?  And, do you know of a way to change out of swimsuit without flashing the world before the bike ride.  I am wondering how sucky it is to bike in wet shorts. 

Dale - I can answer a couple of your questions. As for the swim suits, I bought a great pair of tri shorts last year and they are great.  They dry relatively quickly and they have a bit of padding for the bike.  As for the swim caps, I know that they sell neoprene caps, but you still have to put the race cap on top of whatever you wear.  In my sprint last year (it was in a pool), there was a swim cut-off time so they could keep on time with the heats.  Hope this helps....

Dale

By the time you get tired things will thin out. It won't be hard to stay out of the way of people coming toward you. Most races are going to require you wear their cap, but I'm pretty sure you can wear that cap over a neoprene cap. You could also just double up on caps. Wearing earplugs helps keep you warm too. I'm going to have to double check usat rules but I believe the booties can't be worn. Michaels got you covered with the tri shorts. I actully wear a one piece trisuit under my wetsuit usually. There won't be a place to change unless you are doing an ironman. The sprints go so quick you're not going to have time for a full change. Your going to want to keep those transitions simple. As for time limits, they are usually race specific. Shorter races are pretty relaxed on these limits. You'll find that there is usually plenty of time. Besides, we are going to make sure you are all ready enough that you're not going to need to worry about cut off times!

Edited by Meulen 2011-02-16 9:38 PM

I did some checking on the booties rule. USAT considers them floatation/propulsion deviced and considers them illegal. However, Race directors have been known to and have authority to allow them. It's been said that under 60 degree water temps RD's will make them legal.

As for sighting, how often do you recommend?  I have only had one open water swim and it was my first.  Nerves were one thing but I struggled with goggles fogging making sighting more difficult. 

Do that blind swim test in the pool I put in the tips to determine how often to site.

Karen,
   When you did the pittsburgh tri, which race did you do (sprint or international)?  How was the bike course?  I keep wondering about it because half of it is uphill.  I drive the course almost everyday, but I can't decide if the hill is gradual, or if its going to completely kick my butt.  Thanks  for the info...

Where can I find this test?  Thanks....