If you don’t come from a strong swim background (this describes a lot of triathletes), open water can be pretty darn scary. Fortunately, the Quintana Roo Pro and Factory teams are full of strong swimmers, and if you hang out with them long enough, you can learn a thing or two about how they approach open water swims. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We asked Haley Chura, one of the fastest swimmers in triathlon, and Matt Hanson, our most seasoned and consistent pro, for their advice. These are their top 5 open water swim tips that will make swimming a much more enjoyable experience on race day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This first tip is painfully obvious, but ultimately, practice is the key to success. If you\u2019re like me, you might skip swim workouts more often than anything else, and you might go into a race having only done five swims in the lead-up. This is a bad habit that I (and I\u2019m sure many others) am often guilty of. The big thing every pro, coach, and successful amateur on our team has emphasized is to get in the pool more often. Ideally, we should all be swimming at least 3 times a week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These don\u2019t all need to be long, grueling workouts. Shorter, focused swims are just as useful in the long run. If you\u2019re time-crunched, knocking out regular short swims throughout the week is better than doing a single long swim session only occasionally. Getting a feel for the water consistently will improve your overall comfort with swimming, especially on race day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, this also means we need to practice more in open water (with a buddy!). Even if you just spend 10 minutes in open water, getting used to being out there and embracing it will greatly improve open water anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Matt Hanson, who has over a decade of experience in the pro ranks, gave us these tips for open water practice: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlways have a purpose when you go in. Don\u2019t just swim willy-nilly just to knock out the yards,\u201d Hanson says. \u201cYou want to use the opportunity in the open water to practice sighting, to practice your turning, to practice trying to swim as straight as you can, or just get more comfortable in the water by practicing self-talk and what you need to do to calm down. Also, practice getting in and out of water on choppy days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having a swimmer in front of you to draft off is great. You can settle into their pace, go on autopilot, and start thinking about T1. It can be calming\u2026 until you look up and realize you\u2019ve followed the feet in front of you 75 yards off course! This can happen when you get caught up with the people around you. Drafting is good, but you also need to plan out your line, visualize it, and try to stick to it as closely as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Haley Chura is one of the strongest swimmers in the pro field and says to rely on sighting and not other swimmers to stay on course: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf the water is calm, I like to do ‘alligator eyes’ and just do quick glances to make sure of where I\u2019m going,\u201d Chura says. \u201cEspecially if it\u2019s choppy, pull your head and chest right out of the water to make sure you\u2019re on track\u2026 then get back to pacing those feet in front of you, provided they\u2019re on the right heading. People love to follow feet, but you need to sight; you don\u2019t want those feet to lead you off course.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For many athletes, one of the toughest challenges on race day is dealing with nerves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s nothing worse than starting a swim already tensed up. A piece of advice that pretty much every one of our Pros has mentioned is just to breathe! At the start of the race, it\u2019s so easy to get so caught up in your own head that you forget to take a step back and breathe. It sounds simple, but focusing on relaxing your breathing can make a huge difference in your nerves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I find huge relief through the \u201cbox breathing\u201d method: breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, breathe out for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, repeat until calm\u2026 Entering the water feeling calm and collected makes a huge difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Matt Hanson incorporates breathing exercises with his pre-race activations and warm-up routine, but he mentioned another related tip: chat up the athletes around you! It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019ve known them for five seconds or five decades; we\u2019re all triathletes, which makes it easy to relate to each other. Crack a joke (maybe ask if they\u2019ve peed in their wetsuit yet!) because laughing will help you relax and ease the tension to make your swim that much better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI always suggest people pay attention to where the sun is going to be when it comes up for race day,\u201d Haley Chura says. \u201cCertain races start in the dark, so you\u2018ll want lighter goggles. Know what goggles you\u2019ll want for any specific race you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Things to consider are: Which side do you breathe to? If racing starts in the morning, will you be looking into the sun? Or does the swim start pre-dawn, in the dark, or on a cloudy morning? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a good idea to take a range of goggles with you, from clear to tinted, to suit the conditions. You don\u2019t want the sun to blind you every time you take a breath, or be unable to see if there\u2019s low light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019ve had your wetsuit stored away for the offseason, and really before any race, we always recommend pre-soaking the inside of the suit. The inner jersey material inside the suit becomes more flexible when it\u2019s been wetted in the ocean, pool, or lake and dried overnight. But even right before a race, Haley Chura wets her suit for another reason: warmth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI always get it wet just before the race starts,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve found that a small layer of water keeps you warm. So get in the water just before the race, or even bring a water bottle and pour a little water in there, to keep you warm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the race gives you a timing chip and strap, be sure to ask the volunteers for a safety pin (or bring one of your own) to pin the strap\u2019s end to itself on your ankle on race morning. (Be careful not to poke yourself in the ankle in the process!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether it\u2019s due to a weak and worn-out Velcro closure, or an overzealous triathlete grabbing your ankle or the strap in the chaos of the opening yards of the swim, the straps can come loose, and your timing chip can end up at the bottom of the lake or ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve lost [my timing chip] enough times that I always pin it up once it\u2019s on,\u201d Chura says. \u201cNothing like not having your splits after the race!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you don’t come from a strong swim background (this describes a lot of triathletes), open water can be pretty darn scary. Fortunately, the Quintana Roo Pro and Factory teams are full of strong swimmers, and if you hang out with them long enough, you can learn a thing or two about how they approach […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":27965,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27964","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n