Here are some tips for any triathlete when it comes to training and then racing in the swimming leg for any triathlon competition. The first leg for any triathlon is going to be the wettest one, and yet it should be the one that is the most relaxed and the most enjoyable as well. The swim does not have to be the hardest portion of this event, and yet it is critical that you perform well in order to correctly set yourself up for a productive bike and run.
Your swim should feel like it is a good effort and yet it should also feel relaxed, and this should be able to allow you to move confidently through the water but with the least possible expenditure of energy. The swim has to be fast enough that you can get to the bicycling portion of the race within a reasonable period of time, depending on what your personal goals are for the race at hand. The swim has to be controlled so that you maintain a feeling of confidence all throughout the leg, and you should stay positive, especially during the transition phase between swimming and bicycling.
Swimming efficiently and swimming within your own personal limits should be able to accomplish each and every one of these goals. You should design a personal training plan that allows you to do at least three or four effective swimming workouts every single week. Here are a few things that you are going to want to consider:
- You are going to want to include a warm up period and a cool down period in every one of your work outs.
- You are going to want to include some technique work for swimming in every one of your work outs.
- You are going to want to incorporate easy swimming and good effort swimming levels of exertion in every one of your work outs.
- You are going to want to participate in open water sessions whenever possible so that you can work on improving your navigational techniques in open water.
- If you plan on using a wetsuit, then you are going to want to practice in one as well so that you can experience the differences between wetsuit swimming and swimming without a wetsuit prior to the day of the race.
- You are going to want to make a list of all of the items that you are going to need for the entire swimming portion of the race, including what you need before the race, during the swimming leg of the race and during the transition phase between the swimming leg of the race and the bicycling leg. This will help you prepare for training and for the big race day as well.
Now go swimming!
Photo Credits: KWentin
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The first leg of every triathlon is going to be the wettest, but it really also should be the most relaxed and the most enjoyable leg of the race. If you experience a good swim, then the rest of your race is going to be good as well regardless of your ability. Some triathlons are short while others are long, but any way you look at it, you are going to have to do some swimming. The swimming aspect of your triathlon needs to feel like you put forth a good effort, but it should also be relatively relaxed, and you should be moving through the water while expending as little energy as possible. The swim needs to be fast, but you should not overwhelm yourself because you still have two more legs to get through, and they tend to be significantly more complicated.
