TEND TO DRIFT TO THE RIGHT
Q: “Whenever I swim in open water, I tend to drift to the right. Why does this happen and what can I do to swim straighter?”
-Anonymous
A: Your struggles are not unique, as many people tend to not swim in a straight line in open water. Uneven stroke characteristics are magnified in open water when there are no lane lines to keep you on track. There could be many things causing you to swim off course, or it could be one small little fix. The best thing to do would be to get a swim coach to look at your stroke, but there are some other things you can try that could help.
Try experimenting with different breathing patterns. People that tend to breath off only one side tend to have a harder time swimming straight. Bilateral breathing (breathing off both your right and left side) is ideal for staying in a straight line since your stroked remains even.
When you swim at the pool, try to close your eyes and practice sighting. Take four-to-six strokes with your eyes closed, then take a peek above the water to make sure you are staying straight. Try to increase the number of strokes you take before you sight. Having lane lines is nice, but it is not a convenience you will have in an open water race. Why give yourself extra comforts you will not enjoy on race day? This is best to do when you have the lane to yourself. Don’t try it while sharing a lane; you might go headfirst into a fellow swimmer.
Practice open water swimming. The ability to efficiently sight, and sight less often, can only be attained by lots of practice in actual open water. Start with a low number of strokes in between your sighting, then work your way up until you can take 10-12 strokes between sightings while sill remaining straight.
Hope this helps, keep the questions coming athletes!
MEASURING SUCCESS
I had a potential client come in this past week to grill me about my coaching techniques. Naturally, every coach has a different style so I explained mine to him.
I’m hoping that one thing he realized is that he needs to measure his success with his own yardstick, not mine, or anyone else’s.
I try to make this point whenever I work with an athlete because I want their involvement in triathlon to be rewarding for them, no matter what their ideas of success are.
As you can tell, over the years my goals have changed. Initially it was about staying in shape. These days it’s all about punching my ticket to Kona. Those are my goals. I might state the obvious here that I’m not alone in the dream to reach that particular goal.
This gentleman has been working with another coach for several months and was hoping to better his time from last year at the Ironman California 70.3. He didn’t and was disappointed. Disappointed in his coach, and himself.
Believe me, I’ve had many disappointments in this sport as well. I’ve hoped to do well at races and fallen short of my goals. I may not have been fit enough or had a technical problem or even been over trained. Guess what? That’s life!
Before I work with an athlete I interview them and find out where they’ve been and where they’d like to go. I assess their performance and look at their race results. Only then do I give them what I think is a realistic idea of where they can go in the short-term. If you set the bar too high you’ll never reach it and always be disappointed. Set it too low and you’ll never know how great you can be.
How do you measure success? Completing your first triathlon? Completing your first Ironman? Winning the world championship? I work with athletes at all levels and help them achieve their goals.
So I say again “How do YOU measure success?”
TRI FRIENDS
I have truly been blessed to have so many great friends in my lifetime. Some I’ve managed to keep since childhood and some are brand new. I’ve got all kinds of friends but none inspire me more than my triathlon friends.
My first triathlon friend wasn’t even interested in the sport. Greg Fitts just knew I was pretty athletic so he inspired me to enter a local triathlon in Des Moines, Iowa. I borrowed a bike from another friend, Rich Freeman, and completed my first triathlon in 1983.
When I moved to California in 1984 I was inspired to keep the triathlon thing going by Les Sterrett. Les was a great triathlete and hooked me up with some other triathletes to complete a team to compete in the OC Triathlon (the original). After being part of a team for a couple years I ventured out on my own.
After that I was a regular at the local California triathlons but always mid-packer. I used my triathlons as a means to keep me motivated to workout. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. Any excuse you can have to stay fit.
In more recent years my tri buddies have included Mark Arenal and Vince Tjelmeland. Not only do I consider these guys my tri buddies but also my auto racing buddies. We ride, race and hang out a lot. Tonight we’re celebrating Vince’s recent nuptials.
It really wasn’t until 2006 that I started to get competitive in my age group. At that time I was in the M50-54 age group. I found I had more time, more money and more motivation to train . . . so I did.
I started having some good results and would occasionally find the podium but it wasn’t until I met a new group of friends that I started to see some really good results.
While a relative “newbie” to the sport, my good friend Larry (Lar Dog) Davidson has embraced the sport like no one else I know. He studies it and not only has all of the tech toys but knows how to use them too! He’s not only given me great advice but also kept me motivated to do better.
Another great friend is Russ Jones. Russ has been at this even longer than me. He’s extremely fit now and has dropped over 10 pounds and has his eye set on the world sprint championship. I have no doubt that if he’s on his game he’ll win. Russ always makes time to talk tri and also has tons of great advice.
Chris Johnson is my Ironman mentor. He has qualified, and competed in the Ironman World Championships 15 consecutive times. I enjoy his advice but I can only stand riding with him a couple times a year because he always kicks my butt!
One of my newer friends, Stuart Lowndes, is another relative newbie to the sport but has taken it by storm. We rode just this morning . . . or should I say I drafted off of him this morning. He’s gunning for another win at the Ironman 70.3 Texas. He’s trying to qualify for the world 70.3 championship in Clearwater. They can just hand him the spot right now as far as I’m concerned.
It’s been great having so many good friends in the sport. I certainly wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much, or done as well, without them. Perhaps you’ve found the same.
Cheers!
