The problem is that if you want to compete in endurance sports, then quantity (or volume) IS quality.  Let’s face it, the basis of our racing is quantity. Heck our sport is used as a punchline when referring to extreme endurance. So let’s split the triathlon up and look at the best in the three individual sports to see how much they train. Then we’ll circle back around to the triathlon sport as a whole.

Swimming – Outside of open water swimming, most of the events in competitive swimming are relatively short compared to the other two sports in triathlons.  Swimming also has an enormous emphasis on technique; something the other two sports don’t really have to worry about. Having said that, because the low impact/ low stress nature of swimming, you will see the highest training volume to racing distance ratios. Just look at Olympians Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps, and even sprinter Alain Bernard.

Lochte has mention that regular training for him is around 100,000 meters per week. Phelps was training 90,000 meters per week as early as age 11 and well above that now. And Bernard? the 100 meter sprint champion? You got it. 100,000 meters per week for a race that lasts less than 50 seconds.

Cycling – While an incredible amount of volume is done to compete in the sport of cycling, there are usually great distances covered in the races as well. The average pro cyclist spends about 450 to 500 miles per week on the bike. Of course if your name is Lance Armstrong then you would be riding almost that much by the age of 13. Want to make the podium of a major tour? Then find a comfy saddle because you’ll be sitting on it for about 700 miles per week.

Running – fits inbetween swimming and cycling when it comes to the training volume to race distance ratio. The tricky thing with running, moreso than the other two sports, is that training durability is much more of an issue. To put it another way, because of the high impact/ high stress nature of running, large amounts of volume need to be built up very gradually so that you don’t get hurt. Having said all of that though, You would be hard pressed to find a middle distance or distance runner in the elite ranks running less than 100 miles per week. Sort of a training minimum in the world of the elite. Take Deana Kastor, marathon Olympic medalist and American record holder. When asked about her training volume in Track & Field Magazine, she responded, “We haven’t really focused as much on mileage this time around as we have on quality workouts. I was typically getting up to 140 miles per week and keeping it up there for a few weeks in a row in the past. This time, I’ve gone to about a 120 miles and feel great doing it.” Hmmmm….decreasing to a meager 120 miles per week.

Triathlon – While training for 3 sports instead of one can be a complicated task, one thing is consistant with the single event sports. Volume. Triathletes don’t do near the volume that single athletes do in their respective sports, but if you look at the training as a whole, you’ll see that top triathletes put in some very long days in their quest to be the best. Numbers you typically see are 300-400 miles on the bike, 45-60 miles running, and about 20,000+ meters in the pool.

So what is my point? Afterall, you’re not a pro and don’t have the time to spend all day training. While you may not be able to put up the huge numbers the pro’s do, the strategy should be the same. Volume first, intensity second. If you are looking to get better in triathlons, or would like to do well in an Ironman, then volume needs to be far and away your first focus. Are you going to be able to fit in 45 miles of running every week? Maybe not. But if you take a look at your training logs and you find yourself focusing your week around the track workout at the expense of the long run, or trying to fit in weights instead of swimming or cycling, then you’d be wise to reevaluate. Speed workouts are great, just make sure they don’t negatively effect the total volume. If you’re racking up 15 miles of running per week in your preparation for an Ironman, look for ways to get a little more quantity in each week, not for ways to add another speed workout in that 15 miles. No one ever gets to mile 23 of an Ironman run and wish they had done more windsprints.

Which brings me back to my initial thought. When I surf around the internet in the various forums I read a lot of training advice from triathlon coaches of all kinds. The information they offer is often all over the place. Some good, some strange, some dangerous. Many of these coaches have taken a weekend seminar and are now certified experts. Others have grabbed a book or two and after flipping through them consider themselves experienced. If the one’s that you’re looking at claim that you will get more out of short, intense workouts then all that boring volume, then start asking some questions. If they say that they don’t believe in a ‘base’ period (more on the here), you might want to get a second opinion before you open your checkbook.

I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine (and college coach) this past weekend at a championship meet and we got on a very similar discussion. When she goes to swim meets where the athletes are slower/newer, the coaches at those meets have training philosophies that are all over the board. When she goes to a national event where the faster swimmers race, the coaches are extremely similar in how they think. I think you see my point here.

Something to keep in mind the next time you’re shopping for a coach or reading all those opinions on the internet.

Good luck with your training.

This is the time of year in which athletes and non athletes alike take some time to endulge in all the wonderful things that the holidays have to offer. With that brings a bit of guilt, and that rolls right into New Year’s and the infamous New Year’s Resolution. Year in and year out the number one resolution in this country is to workout more or to get in shape/lose weight. For many (including myself), this means committing yourself to an event such as a marathon (or an Ironman).

Gone are the days that you could decide to enter a major endurance event such as a marathon 30 days before the race. Marathons are filling up 6 months to a year out and Ironman races can sell out in as fast as 25 minutes, a full year in advance.

The drop out rate for the very popular marathon training programs are ridiculusly high. People sign up with great intentions, hit the ground running with some big runs early on and then burn out just as fast. The success rate would be much higher if people just approached it differently. They’re trying to eat an elephant in a few bites and we all know that’s not how  it’s done.  If you want to finish a marathon, you need to do it one mile at a time.

Here in the Houston area, where I live, most of the marathon programs start in early to mid July for the Chevron Houston Marathon that takes place in mid January. For the average recreational runner, 6 months is plenty of time to ramp up for a marathon, but many of those signing up are starting from stratch in July. Not a good idea, because you have to start covering some pretty big distances in a hurry, and that can be quite overwhelming.

I would suggest that if you think you want to run a marathon, start the training now, but start in very small doses. The key to success in any endurance event is consistency in your training, not how early you can go big. So, instead of trying to kill the world right away, spend the first few months just getting into a habit. Telling you to get out 3 times a week and run 1-2 miles each time for the first 4 months sounds a lot more palatable than to tell you that in just a few weeks you must be able to run 8 miles.

Same thing goes for intensity. There is no reason in the world that you need to hit the track and do wind sprints or interval work if you are trying to finish your first marathon. No one out there walking/jogging in the final miles on race day is wishing that they had done more speed work instead of endurance work. Plus, the rate of injury goes through the roof when you add intense workouts to your training program.

The same philosophy holds true with any endurance event, not just a marathon. If you decide you want to do the MS150 or local 100 mile bike ride, an adventure race, or the Ironman, take small bites from very early on. Because if you start too big, you are going to start to hate the training and there’s a good chance you won’t even make it to the starting line. What ever ‘mountain’ you decide to to climb, remember that it’s small steady steps that get you to the top, and that, “Joy is found in not finishing an activity, but doing it”.*

Happy Training.

*Author Greg Anderson

One of the big topics of discussion around our house is whether or not to enter the 2010 Ironman Cozumel. My wife and I both know that I am due for another challenge, but with the recent purchase of Swim Shops, I want to make sure I have enough time in my day to train for it. And then there’s the bike. In 2006 I rode a 2003 aluminum Specialized in Ironman Hawaii. It was in need of a few upgrades then, so tack 4 years onto it and we both know a new bike is needed.

Of course Cozumel itself is an easy sell to my wife. Go to a resort destination that is a non stop, 2 hour flight away? No problem. If this was a discussion about Ironman Wisconsin then it would have been decided long ago.

I will be keeping an eye on the race today and see how it goes, but have about 24 hours left to make a decision. Just a week ago, Ironman Arizona sold out in 25 minutes, so waffling on my decision will leave me on the outside looking in.

What to do..what to do….

I know that in our perfect, robot-like, utopian Ironman race it seems to make sense to put the biggest focus on the bike ride. It is longest event of the three afterall, so by improving your time on the bike will yield the best improvement overall.  To some degree I can buy into that theory. It’s the biggest chunk of the race, so training for it should take up the biggest chunk of time.

The theory starts to fall apart however, when it’s greeted by the reality of the day. Unfortunately, the Ironman is not performed in utopia, so things will start to deteriorate at some point in the race. Even the overall champions admit that at some point they are out there surviving and not racing anymore. Often you drop into survival mode a few times during the race.  So with that mindset, which event do you want to be most prepared for?

Many people I have listened to point out that the stronger and more prepared on the bike you are, the fresher you will be for the run. I won’t disagree that you need to be prepared, but I’m not sure that this translates into fresher legs on the run. People who prepare more for the bike still exert the same effort as they would with lessor legs, they just finish the ride a little sooner. (And if that was truly how this whole thing worked, why wouldn’t everyone prepare like crazy for the swim, as that really will set you up to be fresher on the bike, and then so on). Look at some of the top pro’s in Hawaii. Almost every year we see some of the strongest cyclists in our sport melt down on the run and finish well back of the leaders. Not exactly fresher legs from their bike preparation. This leads me to my point of the importance of the run.

 Let’s say you didn’t prepare as well as you would have liked on the bike ride and have some rough stretches. If  you are averaging 20 mph on the bike,  hit a wall and drop to a 15 mph average, you will lose 1 minute for every mile. While this isn’t a good situation to be in, you know your focus has been the run and just need to get off your bike to turn your day around. We get to see this often on tv. Someone has a tough day on the bike, but they are able to run themselves back into the race. Remember Dave Scott in the 1996 Ironman? He got off the bike in 26th place and ran his way into a 5th place finish. There are dozens of examples just like Dave.

On the run however, if the goal is to hold 8:30 per mile and you hit the wall, you’re walking, which is typically around 18+ minutes per mile. Now you are losing 9:30 per mile. If a good placing was the goal, your competition will eat your lunch in a matter of a couple of miles. If a good time was the goal of the day, tacking on 9 and a half minutes every 5280 feet will kill that personal best in a hurry. To put it another way, in the hour and a half it takes someone to put up 30 minutes on you on the bike, you will only need about 31 minutes to get all that time back on the run.

Of course the key to any race is to prepare for all aspects, so I am not suggesting that you slack off the other sports and just go run. What I am suggesting is that the greatest swing in performances comes on the run. When people wither on the run the impact is exponentially greater than the other two sports. The fact that the run is last, which increases the probably of hitting the wall on the run course over the other two legs of the race only strengthens my arguement.

Training for an Ironman is a long and grueling process. Whatever your goals may be on race day, make sure that all that training is done in a manner that is well thought out and in step with your raceday plan.  Even if that means you still want to focus on the bike.

Good Luck.

Many people commit to a triathlon and then proceed to have a melt down shortly after the start of the swim. I run an open water clinic every year in the weeks leading up to a big sprint race in the area and without exception there are a number of people who have an anxiety attack just 30 yards into our dry run of the course.

In the years that I have put on these clinics, I have learned some of the most common causes of anxiety in an open water swim. Hopefully this will help you get through the swim and onto your bike.

Breathing – 95% of the problems are breathing, and its not a physical thing, it’s mental. First there’s the anxiety. Most people are a little panicked in murky water with 100 other people and tend to get overwhelmed at the start with arms and legs going everywhere. The jump in heart rate with a dose of anxiety leads to hyperventilation and panic.   People also hate getting lake water in their mouth so they don’t exhale underwater. Instead they exhale AND inhale when they turn to breathe. That causes very shallow breathing and they end up out of breath. Finally, there’s the rough water as was mentioned. Poorer swimmers stop altogether to get a clear shot of air, but most won’t rotate enough to breathe and end up with a mouth full of water (see above).

The Unknown – It crosses everyone’s mind, but only a few admit it. Cloudy water brings horror movie type thoughts (I would love to know how many people won’t swim in open water because the movie JAWS ruined them for life). When it comes to animals there is almost nothing to worry about. Snakes, turtles, fish, etc are scared of us, so the last place you will find them is close to 900 people swimming in a lake. The other big unknown is the bottom, and what’s down there. Branches? A tree? A car? A monster? A body??. While I can’t speak to every body of water that we swim in, here in Texas where I live we have more lakes than Minnesota, but there is only one natural lake. Yep. One. That means there is a very good chance that the lake you are swimming in was planned, engineered, cleared and filled. So relax a little. If the swim start is in at a public beach or park, there’s not a lot of unknown down there.

 The Course – The vast majority of people entered have swum the distance at the pool and are very comfortable. 500 yards is a piece of cake when you break it into 20 lengths of the pool. Take that same 500 yards and drag across a lake and it can make you rethink things. It’s pretty common for me to see the swimmers head off swimming parallel to the shoreline doing just fine (after all, they’re only 15 yards from land), but that first turn away from the land and out into deep water will stop them dead in their tracks. My advice? Instead of doing a 500 in the pool to prepare for a 500 in open water, add another 25% to the distance and make sure that you’re not resting on the walls during the swim. The other to approach it is to swim a 500 to prepare for a 500, but do the whole thing without touching a single wall. It’ll force you to tread a little water just like you’ll have to do when you’re in open water.

The People – To be honest, this one even makes me a little nervous and I’ve been doing this for over 20 years. All those people, all those arms and legs, and all that energy. The best way to avoid getting tangled up in the start is to seed yourself properly (or even conservatively for those with an inflated sense of their swim skills). Unlike running races, its not very easy to just swim around someone, so the chances of getting run over is pretty good if you start in-front of faster swimmers. The other problem is that we crowd the starting line and wait for the gun treading water in a vertical position. When the gun goes off we all get horizontal in the same amount of space.  This makes it nearly impossible to avoid bumping into others. So be sure to give yourself room. If that means you start 10 yards back or wait a few seconds before you put your head down and go then so be it. You’ll easily make that time back since you won’t have to fight for space.

 Of course this isn’t a complete list as everyone has their own personal demons to deal with, but they are the most common that I run into. Bottom line: if you just rationalize the situation that you’re in, you should be able to achieve some level of comfort out there and turn a scary experience into an enjoyable one. That is, of course, assuming Jaws doesn’t swim up from the deep, murky, waters and eat you whole.

Happy Swimming.

The course is the stuff of legend. It’s a open water swim in the Pacific Ocean. The bike takes you north up the island across the lava fields and through some of the toughest winds anywhere, which have reached upwards of 60 mph and have blown people right off their bike. The run starts along the coast and then moves back out into the heat and isolation of the black lava fields. The suffering ends back where you started at Kailua Bay for the finish down Alii Drive.

This race was one of the main reasons that I got into this sport. Back in 1986 I had completed a couple of kids triathlons and was mildly interested in the sport until I saw the Nice Triathlon on TV followed by the Ironman the very next day. Watching those epic battles got me hooked, and from that point on the Hawaiian Ironman became a major motivation in my athletic life like so many others.

Getting into the race can be achieved in a few different ways. The vast majority of the 1800 athletes must qualify by a top placing in other races to get in. The organization leaves about 180 entries open to the “everyman” which are selected via a lottery system. Finally, a few entries are auctioned off via Ebay (with winning bids in the neighborhood of $50,000).

I have been priviledged enough to qualify 5 times and compete in this race twice. In fact, I’ve been one of the lucky ones who has actually led this race. The first time I made my way to Kona I did it as a professional athlete in 1997. I wasn’t the healthiest of athletes that day (the Olympic Training Center doctors told me I was borderline anemic), but being a good swimmer certainly has it’s moments. I took the lead in the swim shortly after the cannon went off. Sometime during the return trip from the turnaround boats I swapped places with German Wolfgang Dittrich and sat comfortably in second. With approximately 30 yards to go in the swim ,2 athletes came around us to try and grab a little camera time. So I finished 4th out of the water and hopped on the bike in second place behind Wolfgang.  Somewhere a ways down the road on the Queen K we were caught by the race favorites. I was dumped from the front end of the race shortly after the turn at Hawi as my cramping problems mounted. I ended the day not remembering the last 3 miles in a race that is regarded by the organizers as having one of the toughest conditions in Ironman history (This was the same year Chris Legh collapsed 50 feet from the finish and the famous crawl for 5th place between Sian Welch and Wendy Ingram).

So what’s it like to lead the Ironman? Verrrrry cool. And rest assured I was definitely thinking this during the race as I had a camera in my face and watched the helicopters right over my head.

I returned to the race in 2006. This time my motivation was to just enjoy the day. For whatever reason though, this race has got my number as I got a flat on the bike and suffered the last 10 miles of the run like I’ve never suffered before. One of these days I’m bound to have a good day there.

So does it measure up to all the hype? You bet. If you are looking to test your absolute limits on the biggest stage the sport of triathlon has to offer, then find a way to get yourself in Kailua Bay on the Saturday of the full moon in October.

Testing a variety of wetsuits is almost impossible unless you live near a triathlon mecca like San Diego or Austin. There are very few stores that will carry more than a couple of brands of wetsuits. This means at best you will be able to try on 2 different wetsuits and hope one fits ok.  I often tell people to go to the biggest triathlon expo in your area (typically this means the biggest race) where there will be a number of manufacturers. You’ll get a bigger variety and your questions will be answered by the experts who make the suit.

The other problem I see is that with a wetsuit, there are no upgrades, alterations, changes that can be made.  When you buy a bike, if the fit is a little off you can raise the seat, etc.  Don’t like the bars? take ‘em off and buy some different ones. With a wetsuit, it stays just as you bought it. Bought a sleeveless and think a full suit would work better? Too bad.  Shoulders a little tight even after the suit got wet? That’s the way it goes.

I probably can’t help much in some of these areas, but I can help a little in the fit department. Here are some suggestions on selecting a wetsuit that fits correctly.

Make sure you pull the legs up enough so that the crotch of the suit is snug up in your crotch. People often leave a gap there and it causes the wetsuit to pull at the neck/shoulders. They get neck rubs and think the suit doesn’t fit when actually they didn’t pull the legs up high enough.
Makes sure you have good range of motion in the shoulders. It’s going to feel constrained compared to no wetsuit, so it’s kinda a judgement call if you haven’t worn a bunch of suits before. Ideally you want a little thinner rubber around the shoulders to allow a greater range of motion.

Vigorously turn your head from side to side (in the store) or breathe to both sides (if you get to test it in the water) so see how the neck fits. 1. you shouldn’t have excessive rubbing (but you may get a little). If you get a rug burn try and adjust the suit as a whole before you give up (see above comments regarding the legs) 2. If you get to test in water, you shouldn’t get any real water intake. A little might leak in when you push off a wall, but you shouldn’t be taking in water every stroke.

On the arms, see if the suits ripples while you swim. You may get a little in the armpit, but overall the arms need to fit snug with no bunching. Same rules for water intake on the wrists (assuming a full suit)

Long John (sleeveless) suits, you need to check for water intake around the arm holes. (this can be a big problem in sleeveless suts)

Ankles. I like my wetsuits legs to come to about mid calf. Others like all the way down to the ankle. There is no real swim advantage to either, but there are certainly differences in how/how fast you take the suit off. Try taking it off a few times and see if it hangs on your ankles (assuming no ankle zippers) If it does and that’s the only problem, I would keep the suit and grab some sissors. Wetsuits are usually sewn and glued so the suit won’t unravel or anything if you cut an inch off the ankles (or at least mine didn’t!).

Pay attention to how constricted your chest feels when you breathe. You’ll feel a little constricted in your breathing and you should adjust, but if testing in the water, get your hr up and see if it’s too tight or not. If it’s more than just ‘a little tight’ and ‘strange’ when you breathe, then you might need a bigger size. Wetsuits do get a little bigger in water though, so this might get better as the suit absorbs more water.  

This certainly isn’t a complete list as each wetsuit brand and style will have some quirks that I don’t have the time to cover, butting running through this list will ensure that the suit fits rather than being sold a wetsuit that will make you miserable.

If you have experienced some of these problems before or you have yet to partake in an open water event, here are some tips that will help you succeed. Some of these topics may not apply to your situation depending on what type of water you are swimming in (lake, river, bay, ocean, etc) and you may not be able to take all of this to heart in your first races. As you get better though, you will be able to apply more of these skills to your race, allowing you to focus less on the elements, and more on your performance.

• Scope the course—preferably the day or so before the race, go out to the swim course and watch others swim the course/area. Pay attention to the currents. These are not always obvious from in the water. Watch others swim the course and see if any currents take them to the right or left of straight. If there is no one out in the water, swim some of it yourself, and ask the locals of prevailing currents(especially on the coast). Also keep an eye on the wind, as a strong enough wind will create surface currents. (Watching the direction debris float is also a good indicator). Need another? swim over to the anchored buoys and see if the anchor rope is being pulled in any specific direction. Don’t assume that because you are in a lake that there isn’t any current. Water usually travels towards the dam in man-made lakes and to the creeks and rivers in natural lakes.
• Sighting—the morning of the race line yourself up (usually from the shore) behind the first buoys from the line that you intend to take during the race. Find a landmark (telephone pole, bridge, house, building, etc) that you can sight off of in case you cannot find the buoy when you are swimming in the race. It may be hidden behind a swell or blocked by the glaring sun. Do this with as many buoys as you can on the course. It helps keep you on course in case you lose your bearings with the buoys. (Don’t swim the whole course the morning of the race though). You can also do this in reverse fashion for the finish. Line yourself up looking at the swim finish out at the last buoys, then look around for a large landmark. Usually they have big inflatable objects, etc., but pay attention to which side of the finish they are one. I swam straight for the big float at a race one year and it was set up about 20 yards to the right of the finish. Lost my lead and a lot of time in the process.
• When you lift your head above the water to sight, gravity comes into play, and more times than not, your legs drop down in the water. That’s why head-up swimming can be a disaster and will wear you out in a hurry. Instead of swimming head up freestyle for a number of strokes while you figure it alll out, try this:Lift your head up right before your arm recovers, catch a glimpse, and then turn your head to get your breath like usual as that arm comes around for the recovery. That doesn’t give you much time to sight, but that’s ok. While your head is back down inthe water, think about what your just saw. On the next stroke, lift your head and focus your sighting on the items you saw from the previous sighting. This way the second you lift your head you know what to look for. Again, the sighting itself is very brief, but it allows for very little interuption in your stroke and allows you maintain speed. When I sight I usually look 3-4 times in a row before I go back to regular swimming.
• At the start of the race, which is always a scary moment, try and relax and stay clear of the area where people are jockeying for position. It is not worth the fight to be over 5 feet, or even 5 meters. If you are at the start and the distance to the first buoy is 100 meters, if you move 5 meters to the outside at the start (thereby avoiding the crowd and the fighting) you will only have to swim 100.13 meters, or about 2 feet extra. (Assuming you swim in a straight line!) So it pays to stay to the outside. This is also a great time to swallow your pride. If you are not one of the faster swimmers in your wave, then DO NOT START IN THE FRONT. Unlike running races where people can just run around you as you tire, people in the water may not see you and will swim over top of you. Position yourself conseratively in the group. If you are nervous then move further back. The further from the front you move, the friendlier the swimmers.
• Be sure to breathe correctly all throughout the swim. sounds simple, but you are really going to have to pay attention to this as there is so much going on around you that everyone tends to take really shallow breaths. Easiest way to do this without thinking too much about it is to make sure you exhale thoroughly while your face is in the water. Loss of breath or hyperventillation is the number one reason I have seen people drop out of the race before the first turn buoy.

• Try and latch onto someone’s feet that’s faster than you and let them do the work! Drafting is often discussed on the bike, but not nearly as popular in the water. Like anything, it takes some practice to sit right on someone’s feet but is highly effective once you get the hang of it. One word of warning: try not to touch the person giving you a free ride. The constant tapping of their toes could end with a heel into your forehead! So play nice.
• Current –If there is a current crossing the course, position yourself at the start to take advantage of it. If the current is running left to right, line up to the left of the field, that way the current will take you ON course and not OFF course. If the currents are with you / against you on a course, try and reserve at much energy as possible by staying within a pack or directly behind someone. Faster swimmers will maximize their advantage in a strong current IF they can get away without anyone drafting. Try to avoid swimming off by yourself if you’re in a current against you. With the current aiding you, maximize the benefit. The faster current will be below the surface, so be sure to pull deep.


Even Lake Swims Can Get Rough

• Waves – Really only a real factor in ocean swimming (although larger lakes can create quite a chop), waves can wreak havoc on your ability to stay on course. This is a great time to be able to bilateral breathe well. Turning your head into a wave won’t give you much chance at air, so breathe away from the waves. In terms of sighting, you will need to do all of your sighting at the top of the wave. Lifting your head up in the trough or bottom of the wave won’t do any good as all you will see is water. It make take a few tries to locate a buoy in these conditions because it the bouy may be behind a wave at the time you are sighting. Be patient. This is also a great time to have some landmarks to sight off of as mentioned above.
• Wetsuits – I won’t go into great detail here as wetsuits command their own article, but wetsuits can be a great aid to your swim. They keep you warm in colder water are extremely buoyant, which makes swimming a little easier and your confidence go up because the added padding softens any blows and you will know that you can’t sink.
• At the finish of the swim, swim up as close as possible to the shore. Don’t stand up to run until you are almost hitting the ground with your chest. If you stand up as soon as you can touch the ground with your hand you will be in water above your knees, which makes it nearly impossible to run. It’s a very simple trick that will move you past people in a hurry and allow you to spend much less energy.



While mastering all of these will certainly take some time, picking up a few of these on race day will make your swim go a little easier and you day more enjoyable.