Training Tips for Open Water

Just as in the pool, you will want to use a intermittent head-up freestyle every few strokes or every 10-15 seconds. Make sure that you don't just end up blindly following the person in front of you (they may not have read these tips!).

Practice "sighting" on the horizon or wherever you are swimming towards. Triathlons will have buoys in the water but this is not enough to sight on. See #2 above…you must have two objects to sight on (ie. the buoy and a tree on the horizon).

Practice drafting technique in the open water. If you have an opportunity to do a competitive swim prior to your triathlon season, this is a great chance to get the feel for the congestion of an open water event. Find someone ideally who is slightly faster than you to follow. If you feel like you are going too slow, it may be time to move on and look for your next draft. Remember, this is part of the strategy in triathlon swimming so don't be annoyed if you happen to have a "drafter" on your toes!

Finally, if you are not comfortable swimming the entire distance freestyle, practice your "back-up" stroke in your regular workouts. If you are a beginning triathlete, and are not a strong swimmer, I recommend you are comfortable and familiar with backstroke. This is a good "panic" stroke to go to if you are feeling overwhelmed, out of breath, or just need to rest. Although it is not efficient from a speed standpoint and you definitely can't see where you are going, it is good for a brief rest to refocus.