For a lot of triathletes, the swim is just the swim. It’s an hour or so to warm up the race. But, no matter how you slice it, it’s like the beginning of a long baseball game, and a pitcher never wants to struggle in the first inning.
For me, the swim comes down to four goals:
1. Getting over any and all anxiety
2. Keeping good form by staying under control
3. Being refreshed more than exhausted at the end
4. Relax and enjoy
Calming Anxiety
The swim is like the first inning. Nerves are high and you’re thinking about a no-hitter before the game even starts. But you can’t afford to look ahead because a couple early mistakes can put you in a big hole.
Water is intimidating and there is no way to fight it. You have to swim every inch of 2.4 miles, so you might as well do it right.
Finding Form
A lot of times pitchers are so jacked up they over-throw in in the game, but bad form and over-exertion can lead to an avalanche at the start of an Ironman. You go way out of your comfort zone and the next thing you know you’re still breathing hard 10 miles into the bike.
Two things have helped me tremendously: Warming up right and forcing myself to go slow.
I do a lot of arm circles and hip rotation stuff every time I swim (and did a ton of it before Louisville). Expending energy before a race used to sound strange, but now I realize it’s important to get the heart pumping a little before you actually “do” anything.
And I don’t do it “as much” but if my breath is whack at the beginning of a swim, I will purposely breath toward the sky. I assure you this isn’t the proper way to swim fast, but it can help slow you down.
Speaking of Warm Up
I truly think the swim is the only event where you can actually feel better at the end. I feel like I proved it at Louisville and think a lot of great pitchers who go the distance would say the same thing.
You want to be ready to go before the game, but each inning sets up the next just like swim sets up the bike . . .
I stayed in the pocket and just let the swim come to me. I also think it helped that I wasn’t in a wetsuit which seems to make me feel like I’m going to the local dungeon without a payoff.
Relax and Enjoy
My ankle problems took away much of my running, but in the month leading to Louisville I bet I swam 20 times. For a two week stretch I swam every day and loved it.
I became way more relaxed in the water and that translated to less effort. I cut nearly 15 minutes off my last Ironman swim and felt far better getting on my bike.
The last thing you want to do in Ironman is climb out of a hole because of careless mistakes. You lose focus, give up a couple walks, a hit, make a big error and the next thing you know you’re down three runs.