Welcome to Swim Smart!

Completing a triathlon with a pool based swim is an awesome introduction to the sport for new athletes, and a great early season training race for more experienced triathletes.

Locally we have 4-5 triathlons with pool swims:

• UBC Triathlon on March @ UBC Aquatic Centre
• Delta Triathlon in April/May @ Ladner Leisure Centre
• North Shore Triathlon in May @ Ron Andrews Community Centre
• Lee’s Trail Triathlon in May @ Second Beach Outdoor Pool
• MEC Vancouver Triathlon / MEC Langley Triathlon

Here are the Top 10+ Tips you should know before taking on a triathlon with a pool swim. These are not technical swimming tips but more an overview of the mistakes I’ve seen during my time as both triathlete and coach. 

Although some of this post is specific for the upcoming UBC Triathlon the same advice would apply to all triathlons that include a pool swim.  

Okay, let's get to it.

Get Familiar With The Pool. No two pools are created equal. At least once before the triathlon you should get down to the pool for a test swim and familiarize yourself with the pool layout, length, depths and temperature. Review the pool swim instructions and try to get a clear picture of what race day will look like. Where do you enter the water? Where do you exit? How do you get to transition? Where can you warm up before the race? Specifically for UBC, be sure to practice swimming in a 50m pool! Logically it’s twice as far as a 25m pool but it will feel 4x longer if you are not used to it. The UBC competition pool is 2 metres deep all the way. Therefore, standing mid way through a length is not an option. At the walls there is a small ledge you can stand in if you need to rest. If you think you'll need this, be sure to figure out where this is ahead of time. Did you know that the UBC completion pool is maintained at 26 degrees? That’s 2 degrees colder than a regular training pool. Why? Athletes swim faster in colder water. If you find a normal training pool at 28 degree to be cold, consider wearing a swimsuit with more coverage or double up the swim caps for extra warmth.

Prepare For Everything! I’ve seen years when the bike course was covered in snow. A few years ago when I took part it was pouring rain. Another year is was clear blue skies, sunshine and about 18 degrees! March is a fickle time of year. Be prepared for all weather conditions. Prepare your gear ahead of time. Be sure your goggles are tight, clean and bring a back up pair just in case. If you plan to swim in a trisuit be sure to test it out before the race. Often the pockets for gel storage create drag when swimming. Stay warm before the race begins - wear flip flops, track pants and a t-shirt then throw them to your support crew before you start.

Have A Strategy. Firstly, show up early! Better to be a bit early and chat with a fellow competitor than being late, stressed and panicking. Write down you race plan and go through everything in your mind a few times. Break your race down into segments and give yourself something technical to focus on. Technique focus will outperform effort every time. Swim Smart. If you have to deviate from your original plan, or if you make a mistake, accept it and move on. What's done is done. Stay in the moment, focus on now. Stick to the plan. Need help crafting your race plan? Send us an email.

Start Smart, Finish Strong. The potent mixture of nerves, excitement, and adrenaline will rocket you down the first few lengths much faster than you’ve probably ever swam before. Especially if it’s your first triathlon. Pace yourself. Start slow. Deliberately slow. You don’t want the adrenaline to run out after the fastest 100m you’ve ever swam and then be left clinging to the wall, gasping for air, questioning your sanity and wondering how the hell you are going to get through the rest of the swim. And then the bike. And then the run! Slow And Steady Wins The Race. 

Ditch The Watch. Wearing a watch get's you in the wrong frame of mind. It’s all all too easy to focus on chasing the clock rather than focus on clean, smooth, efficient strokes. Leave the watch on your bike all set up and ready to go. You’ll find out how fast the swim was when the results are published. I’ve seen too many triathletes slip and slide because they were fiddling with their watch and not paying attention to the slippy pool deck. 

Avoid The Washing Machine. Open water triathlons are famous for flying arms and legs, rough water and bumping into other swimmers. Thankfully a pool triathlon swims are more civilized - so long as you submit a realistic entry time! If you find that you are swimming faster, or slower, than you first expected get in touch with the race organizers and resubmit your swim entry time. Placing yourself in the right wave (group of similar paced swimmers) will reduce the chance of getting passed or needing to pass others. The less interaction you have with other swimmers the more you can focus on swimming with the best technique possible.

Indoor Navigation. In most pool triathlons you will start on one side of the pool and gradually make your away across the pool swimming one lane at a time. This means you'll need to get under the lane rope every second length. Depending on your comfort level there are several ways to do this. 1) Stop at the wall, duck under, then push off on your merry way. 2) Touch the wall and push off at an angle so you glide under the lane rope and then keep swimming. 3) Flip turn under the rope. Definitely something to practice before race day! Unlike regular swimming when resting in the corners is the norm, during a triathlon swim the corners will be used for switching lanes. If you do need to rest, the middle of the lane is the best option.  

Intentional Drafting. Or as I prefer to call it, Intention Dafting. Facepalm! (You'll learn to love my bad jokes in time...) More common in open water triathlons but still applicable to pool triathlon swims. Swim your own race. Don’t intentionally try and find someone who can do all the work for you. You entered this as an individual event and you should complete it under your own steam. If drafting happens because you are exactly the same speed as the person in front of you then fine, accept that little bit of help and save some energy. However, that’s not normally how it works. Usually if you are drafting the reduced effort level makes you feel as if the person in front of you is going too slow. Then the competitive part of your brain kicks in with a gentle nudge ‘Go on. Pass this person. You are going too slow. You’ve trained hard for this race, don’t let this slower swimmer ruin it.’ And so begins an epic battle to overtake down the middle of the lane which more often than not results in you settling back behind the feet of the same swimmer, winded and gasping for air. The great takeaway from this tip - only pass if you can cruise by without needing to swim any faster.

Swimming Etiquette. If you need to rest at the wall stay out of the way from the people coming behind you. Often once you get to the wall the exact middle of the lane is a safe zone. If somebody is tapping on your feet they aren't tickling you to throw you off your race. That's the signal for "I'll be passing you when we get to the wall". Stop and let them past but don’t stay there and rest too long. Also, not every swimmer will know this, so don’t get frustrated if they carry on swimming. If you need to overtake while swimming the process is just like driving. Build a little extra speed, check to make sure it’s safe, pull out and pass in the middle, and then slide back into place being careful not to cut in too early and crash into the person you just passed.

No Running On The Pool Deck. The last thing you need is an attentive lifeguard whistling your direction and kicking you out of the pool. Walk to the start. When you finish the swim, walk until you get off the pool deck. For the Olympic distance triathletes who have to do 2 laps of the swim circuit - when you get out at the end of Lap 1 walk to the start of Lap 2 - do not run! This will only elevate your heart rate and make breathing more difficult when you get back in the pool. Walk, and use the extra seconds to take a few deep breaths and mentally reset for the second half of your swim.

Don't Be A Silly Sarah. Dry off after the swim. March is early in the year for a triathlon. Often it’s still winter outside and the wind chill factor on the bike can make it feel much colder. Take your time in transition to dry off as best you can and ideally take off your wet swimsuit and put on dry clothes for the bike. This will take a little more time, but look at the bigger picture. Are you planning more triathlons this season? What’s worse, a few extra minutes in transition, or 1, 2, 3 weeks lost training because you got sick? Swim Smart. 

Prepare Your Wet Bag. Most pool triathlons will involve a fairly long commute from the pool to bike transition. At UBC it's in the region of 200-300m. As you exit the pool you'll be given your wet bag. Some triathletes won't use this, but most average amateurs should. Especially if the weather is bad - use the change tent, dry off and put on your cycling gear - then head out to transition. Putting on clothes while your skin is wet is incredibly difficult, especially when you are racing! Bring 2 towels with you. Put one in your wet bag to dry off, and keep one beside your bike to dry your feet and hands before riding away.

I'm fairly sure there are a lot more than 10 tips here. Well done and thanks for making it through to the end! If I've missed anything super important or you have questions please get in touch.

In summary - consider the swim to be a warm up for the bike and run. Trying to swim fast is a recipe for exhaustion. Aim to use the best technique you can muster, swimming calmly with long smooth strokes then go kick ass on the bike and run!

Swim Smart.