Kevin Zeng felt Masterful while practicing in the pool, but floundered the first time he ventured into open water to try a triathlon. So he applied his systematic program for stroke improvement in the pool to mastering a whole new set of skills – navigating, sighting, and feeling at home outside it.

I was introduced to Total Immersion in January by a book called Triathlon 101. The swimming chapters described Terry Laughlin’s “buoy pressing” technique. I was immediately intrigued and, after purchasing Terry’s book, began training for my first triathlon.

Within four months as my TI practice allowed me to swim a relaxed 1.5 miles in the pool I entered a sprint triathlon; I presumed the 600-yard swim would be a walk in the park. But once in open water, surrounded by churning bodies, it was a completely different world. I panicked and felt erratic; My time was a respectable ten minutes but I never found the effortless rhythm that had made pool swimming such a pleasure.

I realized that TI hadn’t failed me, I had failed to prepare properly by not doing any open water swims. Even when you’ve practiced TI technique, open water training and sighting practice are imperative. So I went back, read Part 5 of TSME, “Getting Ready to Race” solicited suggestions on the TI website’s Discussion Forum, and developed a plan for turning myself into an open water swimmer, based on this routine:

• Three 60-minute pool sessions per week focused on drills and drills only. Every single length done with a purpose, from swimming downhill to weightless front arm.
• Drilling at least 15 minutes with closed eyes and sighting by lifting the head, each session.
• Two open water swims a week, if possible.

Some might think this is a lot of training; if it’s more than you care to do, just adjust the frequency to your liking.

Here is how I train in the pool for sighting.

1. I begin the length in Skating position on my left side with my eyes closed.
2. I do two cycles of double or triple Zipper Switch (Lesson 4 in the Fishlike Freestyle video)
3. At this point my left arm is extended. As I begin to recover my right arm, I exhale and sneak my head forward to breathe and scan the horizon.
4. As I do I keep my left arm extended, mostly to continue the rhythm and timing. I quick-scan the horizon and take a mental picture, then “hide” my head again and continue switches with no break in rhythm.
5. Taking the quick-scan snapshot allows me to navigate. The key is to practice taking mental pictures and “developing” the image in your head after you’ve returned to the nose-down position.
6. I place small objects on the edge of the pool to force me to concentrate on finding a certain object. This way I get full concentration out of my practice.
7. After I hide my head I close my eyes again and begin the cadence all over again. I usually get only two looks per length. I find that when I close my eyes I am more tuned in to feel, an added benefit.

Purposeful practice beyond the pool

Each weekend I venture to the lake and work on sighting and changing gears in open water, following the “rehearsal” program outlined in Chapter 21 of TSME. I usually do some light warm up switches and then begin. I usually take 10 to 20 strokes between sighting breaths. My frequency depends on water conditions, and if my gyroscope is working correctly. The more off-course I swim, the more frequently I sight. But that’s not all.

I wanted more race-like simulation and that meant “pack” swimming.. I was fortunate to find a group of triathletes who wanted to swim together in Lake Michigan. We began swimming closely packed to see if we could stay within our strokes. After a few hundred meters we began to ignore each other and fell into our respective styles. I found I could swim relaxed, and sight without problem, my biggest breakthrough yet. My next triathlon was much better. I finished an 800m swim in 13 minutes and 35 seconds. This was a big breakthrough for me and I went on to finish 30th out of some 300 athletes in my 30-34 age group. I’ve since been able to reduce my mile swim time to 30 minutes, attributable in large part to open water/sighting practice.

Since switching to TI swimming early this year, I’ve been able to increase my comfort and distance, but not without lots of practice. I’ve learned that the key to becoming a good TI swimmer (and Triathlon swimmer) is to continue imprinting key skills. One morning this summer, I swam with a Tri-club in the lake. I arrived on the beach at about 6:30 am ready to go...then waited some 20 minutes while everyone else squeezed into wetsuits. Finally we entered the water -- me expecting some instructions from the coach -- but as soon as we got waist deep they all started swimming like crazy. So I began swimming too and after about six minutes I no longer saw anyone in front. So I breaststroked a few times, looking back. To my surprise, I saw most of the other swimmers sitting on the beach. I went on to finish the mile swim with two other swimmers, and later found out the club, many of whom pay a high monthly membership fee, typically swim only 100 to 400 meters in their wetsuits and call it a day.

I see these same habits in many frustrated beginners. A few sessions in the pool, a brief, tentative dip in open water swim, and then the race, followed by angst and bewilderment. Although TI will improve you more than any other method of swimming, I can’t emphasize enough the value of diligent practice. Get in the pool and work on sighting. Drill perfect technique. Forget your distance swimming and swim for the sheer enjoyment of gliding effortlessly down the pool. Then, move your practice to the lake and train just as purposefully with friends.

As the season ends, I’ll refocus on intensive drill practice in the pool until January, when I’ll begin more whole-stroke training and some open water rehearsals. This summer thanks to TI, I completed my first sprint Triathlon on June 12th and have since done several Olympic distance races. Next summer I want to tackle a Half-Ironman and maybe a full Ironman in 2004. But always, my goal is better technique and ultimately to Swim like a Fish.

Kevin Zeng, 30, lives in the Chicago suburbs and is a high school teacher and football coach. He has been a triathlete since 2001 and a devoted TI swimmer for about the same time. You can reach Kevin at seel98@yahoo.com

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