"X" Marks the Spot

Every Thursday, one of the Tri Club members provides all of the tri club members with an opportunity to swim at Lake Murray with kayak support (and lots of healthy food afterwards) in our own private cove. Yesterday was the second time that my training partner and I ventured out in the 3-weeks since this year's Thursday swims resumed. We've met some awesome people at the tri club and today was no different!

One of the lessons I learned at the Lake Murray Sprint Triathlon or perhaps weaknesses that I learned about myself (I think I already knew but this swim proved it) is that I did a much better job of "spotting" when I did ballet as a child than I do while swimming in open water as an adult. I realized within the first few minutes of the swim portion of the Lake Murray Triathlon that I quickly got off course and subsequently had to work my way back over giving up time and energy that wasn't necessary. I think this also increased my frustration which is counterproductive at the start of any event. Therefore, I decided to make today's swim adventure a less in spotting. Periodically, I would stop along the way to "THE BUOY" just to see exactly where I was. I had an opportunity also to chat with Kelli, our volunteer kayaker for the day, and she gave me some really good pointers. She said that Joe, one of our fellow tri club members, knocked 13 minutes off his swim time this year simply by practicing at the lake with the tri club doing nothing but practicing spotting a target and stroking towards it. This was very promising!

I spent the next part of my practice swim going away from the dock focusing on a target and turning around spotting on the return trip. In addition to spotting, I am having to teach myself how to spot and not waste an opportunity to take a breath. I seemed to eventually get the hang of it as it became a bit more effortless. Nevertheless, I definitely will continue to practice based on some of the pointers that I was given. I haven't had a great deal of practice in open water swimming and the pool is somewhat unrealistic where this particular skill is concerned.

Also, there are some good videos online that demonstrate open water swim techniques. One suggestion that was made was only to lift your head enough so that your eyes are out of the water. Nose and mouth out of the water (majority of head out) causes your butt and lower half to sink which immediately halts forward momentum. Again, definitely things that I will continue to practice as I get closer and closer to Ironman.