Open Water Swim Tips

Open Water Swim Tips for Triathlon

Dear Friend,

Last weekend, I participated in the La Jolla Roughwater Swim (1 mile) here in San Diego.

I both proved what I preach, by swimming my own race and getting away from the crowd, and also did not take my own advice and got about 5 hours of poor sleep the night before the race, costing me a lot of energy I could have used!

Yet another learning experience, here’s what I came away with:

1) Always get a good night’s sleep the night before a race, and get as much sleep as possible before midnight. I failed to do this and ran out of energy around the last buoy.

2) DO NOT try to get pole position on that first buoy and fight the masses. Start to the outside, and swim your own race, even if that means adding a little distance. I gave this advice to my friend Stewart Reid, who used it and ended up winning our age group! (why again do I give away my secrets to competitors?)

3) If someone starts overly touching you or grabbing you on the swim, just get away from them. Don’t let yourself get angry or annoyed, it will screw up your race. I had someone swimming on top of me on the final stretch and almost got into a brawl out there! Not good for racing.

To Laughing at the Water,
Kevin

“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one”
-Elbert Hubbard

Workout Of the Month- Taper!

What do you do in the pool when you need to taper for a race? Here’s a good workout that will keep your stroke together and your feel for the water in tact, without breaking you down.