Olympic distance triathlon swim training can be difficult.
Training for a triathlon includes specific exercises in swimming, biking and running. For Olympic length triathlons, training should concentrate on increasing endurance so the athlete can complete the race, which often takes longer than two hours. Swim training can increase an athlete's speed and get him to the transition area before the other athletes. Being first to transition gives an athlete a boost of confidence and makes it easier to navigate through the transition area and onto the bike path.
History
The modern sport of triathlon was first established in 1974 and became more well known in 1982 with the first Hawaii Ironman Triathlon race. Triathlons combine swimming, biking and running. The swimming portion of the triathlon is considered the toughest due to the varied water temperatures, full body exertion and physical strength required to maintain swimming speed.
Olympic Distance Triathlon
The swim portion of an Olympic distance triathlon is 1.5 kilometers, with a 40-kilometer bike ride and a 10-kilometer run. This distance is the same distance used in the Olympic games and many triathlons around the country. Other distances commonly available in triathlons include the sprint distance, which consists of a 750-meter swim, a 20K bike ride and 5K run; the long course, also called a half ironman, which requires a 1.9K swim, 90K bike ride and 21.1K run; and the ultra distance or ironman, made up of a 3.8K swim, 180K bike ride and marathon run.
Tools
Some swim training tools that are useful in triathlon training include hand paddles, a kickboard, pull buoys, goggles and a swim cap. Hand paddles are small flat plastic accessories that strap onto your hands and make it harder to pull your hands through the water. They are effective in building upper body strength. A kickboard is held while you practice your swimming kick, and a pull buoy is held between your legs to prevent your legs from moving when you want to concentrate on your arm strokes.
Scheduling
Don't look at the sport of triathlon as three separate sports and train for each of them separately. This view of training will inevitably push your body too hard and result in injuries. Overtraining in the swim can cause injury to the rotator cuffs. To avoid this injury, rotate swim training with bike and run training to give your muscles the necessary rest period between workouts.
A typical week of triathlon training will include two to three swim workouts of 30 minutes each, two to three run workouts of up to 60 minutes each and at least two bike workouts of 60 to 90 minutes. One day per week, two sports can be combined into one workout. On the other days you are doing two workouts, you should do one in the morning and one at night.
Injuries
Injuries in triathlon training often surround the run portions since it is the hardest on joints, especially the knees and ankles. Swimming is often the sport athletes turn to when they have an injury, but if the injury involves any part of the arms, swim training may have to be adjusted. Typical swim training adjustments include swimming only with the arms or only with the legs and using support tools like a kickboard or pull buoy.
Workouts
In Olympic distance swim training the triathlete needs to concentrate on increasing endurance and maintaining enough energy to continue on with the race and complete the bike and running portion. Swim workouts should be done two to three times per week with one workout being part of a "brick" workout day. A brick workout is when one sport is combined with another sport for a longer workout. Brick workouts give practice with transitions and train muscles to switch from one sport to the next. Swim workouts need to concentrate on either distance or speed, but not both in the same day.
For speed drills, swim four segments of 100 yards each, with a 30-second break between each segment. Swim eight segments of 25 yards each, with 15-second breaks between them, and four segments of 200 yards each with 30-second breaks between the segments.
For endurance drills, swim 1,500 yards. Take breaks as necessary, but they should be no more than 15 to 30 seconds each. Swim four 400-yard segments slowly with 15-second breaks in between, and swim three 500-yard segments slowly with 15 seconds in between
Tags: swim training, bike ride, breaks between, each with, Olympic distance