Three Open Water Swimming Tips from Coach Mace
By Anna Petr
Whether you’re new to open water swimming or are looking to be more efficient in the water, Coach John Mason (Mace) from MP Multisport has been sharing some great tips at the Swim Clinic every Wednesday for the Horsetooth Tri Training Series. Even if you’re a strong swimmer in the pool, open water swimming poses a new set of challenges. Open water swimming can be the scariest part of triathlons for many people but practicing and learning from others will ease your mind for race day and lead to fast
swimming.
Here are a few tips from Coach Mace for how to tackle open water swimming in a triathlon:
1. What to do for a warm up
It is important to do some light activity before you start the race. Running for 15 minutes before you put on the wetsuit helps raise your heart rate and let your body know that you are getting ready for an intense effort. Once you have warmed up on land, Coach Mace advises that you put on your wetsuit and take a few minutes to adjust to the water. When you get in, the water may be cold, so it’s best to submerge yourself and get a small layer of water in your suit. This won’t feel good at first, but it gets the initial shock of the cold water over with and the layer of water will adjust to your body temperature, keeping you warm during the swim. After you’ve adjusted to the water, a few swim sprints in the water will be the last thing you need to do before you start the race! This strategy helps avoid panicking in the water when you start.
2. How to sight
Sighting while open water swimming is a difficult but crucial skill, that is if you care to get from point “A” to point “B!” Sighting is when you lift your chin up slightly to see above
water and make sure you are swimming in the right direction, which you typically don’t have to do in a pool. Coach Mace advises to match your sighting with your breath. While you don’t have to do it every stroke, if you do it every once in a while with a couple consecutive peaks during your breaths it should help you stay on course. Another helpful tip is to look for a still and grounded object, like the sun. Buoys have the potential to move around, so if you’re not careful you could drift with them!
3. Proper fueling
In a triathlon, fueling properly is so important that it is basically the fourth discipline of the race. No matter what kind of endurance athletics you do, it is known that fueling can be tricky to figure out- swimming is no exception. Coach Mace gave us some tips about what kind of foods you should be eating and when in relation to the swim portion of a triathlon. While there is no “one-size-fits-all” guarantee, he recommends that you eat something small 30 minutes out from the start of the race like a gel or a bar, he prefers to take a gel with caffeine. He then recommends that you take another gel, eat a bar, or drink a bottle that has a drink mix with calories to replenish the energy you lost from the swim and start fueling you again for the rest of the race.
MEET COACH MACE
USA Triathlon (Level II), TrainingPeaks, USA Cycling, Colorado State University, FMS, ASEP, PCA, USMES, and Team RWB all have entrusted Coach Mason with a level of certification and acceptance to Coach our Nation’s top athletes. Mace competed for the United States, Air Force Academy’s triathlon team, has run a sub four minute mile, and has qualified for the Olympics, among his impressive resume of of accolades. READ MORE ABOUT MACE
If you wish to learn more or hear other tips from Coach Mace, reach out to MP Multisport (Mace’s coaching business does offer individual training!) or come by the Horsetooth Tri Training!