Tip No. 4: Drafting
Drafting on the bike is illegal in most triathlons. In the water, however, it's impossible to enforce. Hundreds of bodies all swimming the same direction at the same time equals plenty of chances to slip in on someone's feet and go for a ride.
Drafting in the water follows the same principals as drafting on the bike. You tuck in behind someone else and they create a slipstream of water you can follow. They break the slow water and as it flows around them it will flow around you too, meaning the person in front is doing a little more work and you are doing a little less.
Some triathlons are so full that you can't help but draft. You want to be a few inches off your unwitting engine's feet. Note: Touching someone's feet for 1.5K may result in you getting punched in the face. Nothing is more annoying than tap, tap, tap, tap, tap while you are trying to swim. So be there, but give them some space.
More: Key Principles of Open Water Drafting
Tip No. 5: Sighting
Open-water swimming sometimes means getting lost. There might be a point where you pop your head up, look around, and wonder how you got halfway to Hawaii. A good drill to do during workouts, every once in a while, is heads-up swimming. Ocean lifeguards use this technique a lot. You swim normally, but every five or six strokes pop your head up just a little during your breath and try to look at the same spot on the wall. In a triathlon swim you're looking for a giant orange or yellow shape. You don't have to have a clear view, just a fuzzy idea of where you should be going.
Some races are so busy you will barely have to sight at all. Those become a case of, "I hope the people I'm following aren't lost."
More: Learn to Sight Like a Professional Swimmer
Tip No. 6: Positive Self-Talk
Don't get down on yourself during the swim. If you are not a strong swimmer, it's too easy to notice how many people are ahead of you and how many more have passed you and how much further there is still to go. If you become mired in those thoughts, the swim will become an adventure in pain and self-pity. Once you begin to go down that road, off ramps are few and far between. That mindset can follow you right out of the water and it'll hop onto your bike with you.
Stay positive. The best way to do that is with constant stroke check-ins. Move through your body. How are your hands entering the water? How is your reach? Are you finishing past your hip? Is your elbow high on the recovery? Do you have a powerful thrust forward on the reach? A good catch? The more you think about the basics of smooth swimming, the better your swim will go.
Sinking into a rhythm helps too. Use the first three "S"s and repeat them over and over like a mantra. "Smooth, Strong, Sustainable, Smooth, Strong, Sustainable." Self-talk that often helps is to remind yourself to calm down and settle in, especially after something unexpected that might spike your heart rate, like catching a wave in the face or accidentally bumping into another swimmer. "Settle in," reminds you to, like the British say, "Keep calm and carry on."
More: 7 Ways to Avoid Mental Self-Destruction
Following the Four Ss—Smooth, Strong, Sustainable, Smart—and it will help you become a faster triathlon swimmer. But don't expect immediate changes. Many of the drills in the smooth section do not work overnight. And ignoring the smooth drills and focusing on the strong section will not help either. You will just drive bad habits deeper into your muscles.
The Major Key to being a better swimmer is technique. Swimming is harder to master than cycling or running. There are so many moving pieces, and each of those pieces has tiny adjustments that can be made. If possible, have someone look at your stroke for a more focused evaluation. A good, smooth, pretty stroke will make a world of difference.
One last thing: Enjoy the water; love the swim. All good things love water. Water holds you up when you're feeling down and massages your muscles when you're hurting. Swimming is how we started. It's the most natural thing in the world. You can't win a triathlon on the swim, but who cares? You're swimming!
READ THIS NEXT: 10 Steps to Improving Your Triathlon Swim
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