Are You Ready for the Swim Start?

The Asia Pacific racing season is drawing near with a host of IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 races to beckon athletes. Coach Andrew Mackay makes sure you're swim ready.

With the first Asia Pacific IRONMAN in Western Australia in early December and a number of IRONMAN 70.3 races over the next few months, there's no time like the present to fine-tune your training program. We tapped Andrew Mackay of Auckland-based Boost Coaching, a former top ranked swimmer, professional triathlete and qualified coach, for some beginner's swim-tips.

Read his checklist below and try his favorite stamina-building swim workout.

Don't Forget Technique

Over the winter months, the focus should have been on making sure you’ve tackled any weaknesses you might have with your swim technique—but don’t panic if you’ve still got work to do. Rather than trying to push the mileage in the pool too soon I would recommend you give yourself one session a week or even a part of your swim session over to technique.

If you haven’t already had a swim coach give your stroke the once over, get that done as soon as possible. Efficiency is the key when it comes to getting the most out of your IRONMAN swim; it’s not always about the time.  Money spent on that swim analysis will be a good return on your investment.

Take a Critical Swim Speed Test

Begin keeping an eye on your swim progress over the coming months by carrying out a Critical Swim Speed test at swimsmooth.com/training. The CSS test will give you a  starting point which will help with motivation over the coming months and hopefully give you a realistic idea of how long your IRONMAN swim might take come race day. Complete the test every three or four weeks but don’t panic if you don’t see big improvements in times, it’s more about efficiency on the big day. 

Hit the Open Water

As all IRONMAN swims take place in open water, get out of the pool and into the ocean or a lake to practice your open-water swimming skills at least once a week as soon as you can. The time you spend in the ocean doesn’t have to be long but it’s good to start practicing in a wetsuit if you’ll need one come race day along with entry and exit practice. If you can find an open-water swim session or a chance to swim with more experienced open-water swimmers, then that’s even better.

If you can’t get out into open water there are numerous drills you can practice in the pool such as dolphin dives, water polo drill, drafting, hypoxic breathing and turning 90 degrees as practice for turning at buoys in a race situation.

Dust Off Your Wetsuit

And talking of wet suits: check it out after a winter of being in storage. Make sure it still fits well and is comfortable and if you need to get a new one buy from someone who knows how to fit it properly—it will make all the difference to your swim.

Here’s a sample pool swim session that will help build your stamina whilst still focusing on your technique.

Pool session - 1-1.5hr - varied pace

Warm up

400m choice of stroke

2 x 50m freestyle pull buoy catch up drill with 10 sec rest

2 x 50m freestyle catch up drill with 10 sec rest

2 x 50m freestyle stroke count with 10 sec rest

4 x 50m freestyle descending stroke count 10 sec rest

Main set

3 x (3 x 200m descending with 20 sec rest, 100m hard with 30 sec rest)

Warm down

200m easy choice.

TOTAL = 3200m

Originally from: http://ap.ironman.com/triathlon-news/articles/2013/08/advice-for-the-novice-...-in-the-swim.aspx#ixzz2g0IKjTMg