Switching from tri to a swim race

[pennyarm]

I am a TI swimmer and triathlete. My goal for my tri swims is to leave the water breathing normally and enter transition and the bike relaxed...in other words I don't leave any excess energy in the ocean. I remember Terry saying no one ever won a tri on the swim leg, and this has proven true for me.

In two weeks I have a swim only OW one mile race and all of a sudden I am realizing that I have nothing to do after I reach the finish line but check out the food tent so I can afford to really push it. I know this sounds funny, but how do I do this when I have spent so much time training to cruise?

[CoachBobM]

If you have a Tempo Trainer, experiment with how much you can reduce the interval between strokes while keeping the number of strokes you take per pool length constant. This will teach you how to swim at a faster pace than your cruising speed.

Next, start experimenting with how far you can maintain this faster pace without running out of steam before the end. This should help you to identify the point in the race when you can switch from your cruising speed to your faster pace without running out of energy before you finish.


Bob

[pennyarm]

Thanks Bob. I tried this today, but the ocean was so rough I couldn't do much more than swim out of the rips! But then there is tomorrow so thanks for the tips...very helpful...makes sense and yes, I have a TT

May I ask which tri club/group you swam with? Im having trouble finding people to ocean swim with

[gary p]

I find there's not much space between my "cruise speed" and my "knackered-at-the-finish race speed" at the mile distance. Like maybe 4-5 seconds/100.

[s.sciame]

Originally Posted by gary p

I find there's not much space between my "cruise speed" and my "knackered-at-the-finish race speed" at the mile distance. Like maybe 4-5 seconds/100.

Quite typical I'd say. If you're familiar with css training, we could say that your cruise speed over 1 mile is your threshold pace (css) and your finish race speed (css - 5s/100m) is about the pace you would hold on a 400m pool race, right? Conversely, a css + 5s/100m is something you could hold for about 4km.

Salvo

[gary p]

Originally Posted by s.sciame

Quite typical I'd say. If you're familiar with css training, we could say that your cruise speed over 1 mile is your threshold pace (css) and your finish race speed (css - 5s/100m) is about the pace you would hold on a 400m pool race, right? Conversely, a css + 5s/100m is something you could hold for about 4km.

Salvo

Well, there's about an 7 seconds/100m difference between my 400m race pace (average of the last 3 100's) and my 1500m race pace (total average per hundred; it's pretty steady after the first one). I can go about 4k at 1500 race pace plus 5s/100m.

I'm coming at distance racing from the sprint side. My best race is probably the 100 free.