Time Gentlemen Please

Thursday I took an hour off work and spent it at max effort in the lake, the water was nice at 14.3c though it was rather patchy.

I average 3km an hour open water and 3.6km per hour in a 25 m pool. Today I was pleased to cover 3346m in the hour. Sometimes I get hung up on time in the water, especially when schedules and time are tight. I should learn to recall the quote from the absolute gent that is Mr Nick Adams "it's not just about how long you are in the water, it's what you do whilst you are in there"

This in turn reminds me of one of my all time favourite posts from Mr Alcatraz Gary Emich......
Don't let the pool cheat you .... Enjoy

Don't Let The Pool Cheat You.

This week I have been in touch with Gary Emich, he has very kindly allowed me to re post the following article which initially appeared in USA Triathlon Magazine in Spring 2009. Gary is an incredible human being, with many many swims to his name, he is the world record holder for The Alcatraz Challenge swim, today his count stands at 701 ! yes that's seven hundred and one swims unaided across the once thought of impossible stretch of water. He states that every Wednesday is Alcatraz day and that he plans to stop when he reaches 1000. I highly recommend his DVD "LANE LINES TO SHORE LINES" Whilst the article was targeted at triathletes it is excellent advice to all open water swimmers..Enjoy and thanks again to Gary.

Did you know a 1.5k open water swim can be up to 39 percent longer than its swimming pool equivalent?

In a 25-yard pool, my stroke count is 18 strokes per length or 1,188 for l.5k (18 strokes x 66 lengths). I recently swam in a 50-yard pool (yes, yards not meters) and thought 36 strokes would take me end to end. Imagine my surprise when it took me 43 strokes. Because there was a marker at the halfway point, I counted the number of strokes during the first 25 yards and during then second 25 yards, Sure enough, 18 strokes got me halfway across but it took me another 25 strokes to finish the length since I had no wall to push off during the second half. Extrapolating this to a 1.5k open water swim I'll take 1,650 strokes (25 strokes x 66 lengths) or 39 percent more to cover the same distance as in a 25-yard pool. This is huge!

Does this also affect my time? You bet! In a 25-yard pool, I swim 1.5k in 27:50 or 25.3 seconds per 25 yards. During my 50yard pool session, instead of 50.6 seconds length (2 x 25.3), it took me 55.0 seconds: 25.3 seconds for the first 25 yards when I pushed off the wall and 29.7 seconds for the second half without the wall push-off. Extrapolating to open water, I'll swim l.5k in 32:40 (29.7 seconds x 66 lengths) or 17%
longer than in the pool.

So how do pool workouts affect your training and race preparedness?

First and considering the examples above, your average 3,500 yard pool work-out probably is closer to 2,500 yards due to the slingshot effect of pushing off the wall; and your times won't reflect your slower but real open water speed.

Second, since accurate sighting arguably is the least developed swimming skill of most triathletes, the resultant inability to swim a straight line can increase the swim distance up to 5 percent, especially if the course is not marked well.

Third, throw in some current, chop and wind and your l.5k race-day swim is now a formidable challenge, which has been known to cause more than a few triathletes to panic.

Last, If you're like the majority of triathletes for whom the swim is the least favorite, your pool workout likely is the first to fall by the wayside when struggling to balance family, work and training. Bottom line on race day: you swim a longer distance than what you under trained for in a time far slower than you expected.

What's a triathlete to do? The easy answer is to train in open water but this is not practical for most of us during the winter; and admittedly, coached pool workouts (such as U.S. Masters Swimming) afford an opportunity to focus on speed work, drills and technique. Increase the yardage in your workouts to compensate for the yards spent torpedoing off the pool wall on your turns. If your current workout is 3,500 yards, increase it to 4,500 yards. But make sure they're quality yards with emphasis on streamlining your
body movement through the water:

Maximize your open water swimming to the extent possible so you are conditioned to swim race distances without the push off  "rest" every 25 yards and so you swim effectively without the training wheel effect of lanes and black lines. Most swimmers in open water swim one straight long set but with a little creativity and imagination you can create and simulate a pool workout complete with a warm-up, drills, intervals and a cool-down.

Pool swimming does have benefits but just as you don't train exclusively on a treadmill or on a stationary bike, you need to train sufficiently in open water so that you have the poise, confidence and skills necessary to be at the top of your game on race day.

Spooked

Monday this week I had the day more or less to myself, the weather as it has been all week was awful, grey wet and dull, more like a winters day than summer but then that's kind of typical for Britain, the previous weeks glorious sunshine was clearly all we are going to get for the time being. Anyway, back to Monday, I drove over to the coast knowing that high water was around lunchtime. On arrival the sea look reasonably inviting albeit the air temperature was lower than I expected for that of the water. I was alone on the beach, not even a dog walker in sight.

I stood on the sand applying some Vaseline to my arm pits and then I saw it, I waited, kept looking, there it was again, there was something big and dark in the water about thirty metres off shore just where I was about to head, I stood mesmerised, trying to focus, was I seeing things, maybe it was a log or something?

Then up it popped again, initially I thought it was a dorsal fin but soon I realised it was a seal, I was, by now totally freaked out, I had not expected to see anything and whilst I can deal with stuff once I am in the water this was doing nothing for my enthusiasm to get in. My mind had gone. I sneaked into the water just long enough to get cold then drove home completely paranoid about what I was going to do, if it was safe to swim here anymore and my future plans.

Once home I emailed Gary Emich and Ned Denison for some advice and reassurance, this is what they said

"We have had several instances over the years of young pups coming up & nudging swimmers playfully. As you can imagine, the swimmers freak & swim like hell which is akin to running away from a dog - the seal pup then chases the swimmers and continues to bump them - it's a game. I've been bumped 3 times and each time I just stopped swimming - the pup surfaced 3 feet away with eyes that were saying - "swim, so I can chase you" - after a minute or 2 of stand-off he basically said "sod off - you're no fun" and swam away.They're curious but normally not aggressive - nothing to worry about. Gary"

"If it is a male seal...I always pull the front of my togs down...that scares them away..

No seriously...just ignore them. Don't splash or bark at them. Don't try to play and don't ever corner them (like in a cave or small inlet) At Sandycove they will occasionally brush our feet or swim up at at us - only to veer away at the last minute. Just ignore them. Ned"

So there you have it, I was scared of a little seal, I am pleased to say that armed with the advice of two seasoned experts I am happy to get back into the North Sea with or without the company of my new friends. Its been their pool longer than mine after all, I suppose I am the intruder not them.