Triathlon University: Ironman Swim Made Simple
The swim is one of the most intimidating and nerve-wracking parts of a triathlon. Most people find swimming in a pool to be challenging enough, and then you realize you’re actually going to have to do it in open water?!
Most new triathletes worry about things like:
Making the time cut-off
Getting bumped on kicked by other athletes
Dark, cold, or rough water
Going off course
What animals lurk beneath the surface…
This is completely normal.
If you don’t have experience with open water swimming, it’s understandable that it might be frightening. If you’re not confident in your ability to swim in the pool, it makes sense that you’re not thrilled about jumping into a lake, river, or ocean.
But it does not have to be that way.
Thousands of people, just like you, do triathlons from sprint all the way up to Ironman each month, and they aren’t great swimmers either. What they are is committed.
They’re committed to learning good technique and practicing regularly.
They’re committed to being consistent. (You need to swim at least 3 x a week.)
They’re committed to stepping out of their comfort zone and trying something scary.
You might not ever love open water swimming. That’s fine. But you can learn how to not panic and swim efficiently, so it doesn’t negatively impact the rest of your race.
The first step is this process is obtaining information.
That’s what today’s video is all about. It’s a visual guide to the triathlon swim, and while I focus on specifics for Ironman races, most of the things I reference (with the exception of water temperature ranges) will be similar for short-course triathlons as well.
In the video below, we cover temperatures for wetsuit use, how to sight for buoys, wetsuit vs swim skin, how open water swimming is different than pool swimming, common mistakes athletes make, and my tips to stay calm and in control.
So grab your pencil, and let’s go to Triathlon University!
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For a more in-depth look into open water swimming with specific techniques to learn, check out our free guide:
🏊🏻 Complete Beginners Guide to the Triathlon Swim
If you know someone who’s getting ready for a triathlon, please send this video to them!