12-Yard Training for a 1.2-Mile Open Water Swim

By JAMES DUGAN

I recorded a 31-minute split for 1.2-miles in my first open water swim after training mostly with drills in a 12-yard pool. It is possible…to swim a very respectable mile-plus open water swim on a diet of drills in your own back yard.

I was an athletic person who hiked and mountain biked every weekend and played soccer several times a week. But after I blew out both ankles, I was relatively sedentary for five years. When I decided to return to activity I began to run – a 10K, a half marathon and then a marathon. Then I noticed that many of the top athletes in South Florida were participating in triathlons and I thought that might be an interesting diversion. So I cleaned up my old mountain bike and began riding. I decided to tackle a sprint-distance race: 400-meter swim, 10-mile ride, 5k run. How tough could that be? I started swimming in my 12-yard home pool.

On race day I lined up at the start wearing bike shorts and goggles and hit the water. I survived the swim, but never was comfortable and was gasping as I reached shore. I got on the bike and rode slower than I imagined possible then got off the bike for a thoroughly mediocre run. Nonetheless I was hooked. But I knew I had to learn to swim or all my future races would be similar ordeals.

While perusing triathlon websites I saw repeated references to Total Immersion. I ordered their triathlete’s self-help tool kit, the Triathlon Swimming Made Easy book and Freestyle Made Easy DVD and spent the next four months in my backyard pool following the drill progression. My “training plan” was to stay with each drill until I felt relaxed and coordinated, then move to the next. I was lucky enough to live fairly close to Gary Fahey, a certified TI instructor. I called Gary and asked if he would evaluate my drills to reassure me I was imprinting the right habits. He made several corrections while also reassuring me that I was indeed doing well. This gave me invaluable confidence.

Soon it was time for a real race.... the MiamiMan Half Iron distance triathlon. I hit the water on race day and completed 1.2 miles in 31-minutes in my first open water swim. I wrote Terry to thank him and he suggested that I write a bit about how I trained for a half IM with mostly drills in a backyard pool. It is possible; I did it and did fairly well. So I decided to share my 12-yard pool training experience to let others know it is possible to swim a very respectable open water swim on a diet of drills in your own back yard.

However, before I could begin writing, I was accepted for Ironman Arizona. I moved my swimming to a local university’s 25-meter pool and, for the next five months, trained with 50 percent TI drills and 50 percent whole-stroke. Rather than worrying about intervals or repeat times I practiced “sensory swimming,” focused purely on trying to make “smooth and slippery” a routine sensation. On race day, though there were 2000 other athletes crowded into Tempe Lake, all seemingly swimming on top of each other, five months of practicing concentration and fluent movement paid off as I was able to maintain focus and form to complete the swim leg in 1:08. I finished the complete distance in 10:50:22.

I’m certain that my bike and run were as fast as they were as a result of completing the swim with minimal effort. I am training for six more triathlons this year and another Ironman in 2007 and I will naturally continue to train the TI way. For those of you who may lack access to ideal swimming facilities, I hope you take this as proof that successful triathlon swimming is possible even in the confines of a small backyard pool. If that’s what you have access to, use it to master the TI drills that will teach you to swim so easily that you can complete any distance.

James Dugan is a 40-year old veterinarian who lives in Miami. He has been a marathoner for three years, a triathlete for two years, and a TI swimmer for a year. He loves to go scuba diving when not racing or training, and would like to do an Ironman each year, while training at a reasonable level.

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