Learn to swim you @$#%!

There are other topics I wanted to tackle but since this one is in the news a lot lately, and it’s something that I feel strongly about, that makes it the perfect subject to blog about. You’ll have to bear with me if it gets a little ‘rant-y’…

Two deaths in the NYC triathlon made headlines at the same time that a study came to light: the overwhelming majority of deaths in triathlon occur in the swim portion.

The knee-jerk reaction has been to question whether race organizers are doing enough to screen participants for health issues and swimming proficiency.

I have my own take on the matter, but I want to give you some background that has influenced my line of thinking.
When I talk to non-triathletes who have aspirations (or at least pipe-dreams) of doing a tri, it’s always a lack of swimming ability that is keeping them from taking part. Either that, or an irrational fear of open water. Swimming seems to be the biggest barrier to entry for potential triathletes.

Even within a race, I see a dearth of swimming ability where I really shouldn’t. Every single race, I’ll be anywhere from a quarter to halfway done the bike portion when I’ll be passed by a faster cyclist. I don’t just mean overtaken – these guys blow by me like I’m standing still. Now based on my results, it’s fair to say that I’m above average in swimming and below average (by age group) so this is somewhat likely: I’ll exit the water before weaker swimmers and get caught by the faster cyclists. Maybe some of them are starting in later waves. But by the time I’m at the 20k mark (out of 40k) around 70 minutes will have gone by, and I’m being passed by racers moving around 10km/h faster than me (most often on much better bikes): assuming that’s true, and they’re moving at 40km/h on average (to my 30km/h) they’ll have gotten to that 20km mark in 30 minutes, meaning it’s taken them 40 min to finish a 1.5km swim (to my 30 min). I’ve left out differences in wave times and transition, for simplicity. The ueber-cyclist will finish much faster than me (assuming equal or at least comparable run times) for being 40/30=33% faster than me on the bike compared to me being 33% faster in the swim.

I can’t blame these guys for being weak on the swim – why bother getting better when there is no apparent payoff for improving your swim? This dis-proportionality was notice by guys named Wainer and De Veaux who proposed the Equilateral Triathlon.

The ITU sanctions the following distances (from the ITU website):

Name
Swim
Bike
Run
Super Sprint
400m
10km
2.5km
Sprint
750m
20km
5km
Standard
1500m
40km
10km
Middle
2.5km
80km
20km
Long
4km
120km
30km
Ironman
3.8
180km
42km

and the Equilateral Triathlon distances look like (times are based on world record holders):
Name
Time per leg
Swim
Bike
Run
Sprint
10 minutes
1 km
(0.6 mi)
8.5 km
(5.3 mi)
3.9 km
(2.4 mi)
Olympic
28 minutes
2.7 km
(1.7 mi)
22.4 km
(13.9 mi)
10 km
(6.2 mi)
Ironman
127 minutes
12 km
(7.5 mi)
96.2 km
(59.8 mi)
42.2 km
(26.2 mi)

Now let’s look at some sample race distances around Ontario:
Name
Swim
Bike
Run
Milton Triathlon
750m
30km
7.5km
Orillia ‘Sprint’ Triathlon
750m
33km
7km
Goderich Triathlon
1km
42km
10km

Notice anything? Race directors are adding distance to those categories on the bike and run while keeping the swim short. Or, they keep the recommended bike and run distances while shortening the swim. And I don’t blame them either; they need participants, and by making the swim shorter, the race becomes more accessible.

The main ideas of increasing the safety margin of the swim seem to be either swim proficiency testing or health testing of participants. One of the the casualties in the NYC triathlon was formerly a high-school varsity swimmer, with previous triathlon experience and only 40 years old. Certainly she had enough swim proficiency and training to complete the swim portion, and I doubt anything short of an EEG would have revealed health issues; the woman would have been observed to be in good shape by a doctor. So what would a swim test or doctor’s note really have accomplished in this case.

So here’s my idea: increase the length of the swim in most triathlons. Participants will either drop out (better yet, switch to duathlon), start taking swimming more seriously in their training to compensate. While monitoring a longer swim course with kayaks and lifeguards is a daunting proposition to the race organizer, this needs to be weighed against whatever additional measures are being proposed instead (proof of good health, open water swimming certification); what will those cost?

Swimming is a low impact, whole body exercise, and it behooves us as a society to develop it as much as possible; being a good swimmer might save your life or that of someone else. Furthermore, it’s cheap! It’s been pointed out that triathlon is expensive, and the biggest expense has to be the bike (plus helmet, shoes, shorts, jerseys, bottles, etc.). The longer the bike portion, the more the event favours the athlete with more money, and the more those who are using a simple road bike (or even a commuter/mountain bike) might feel an event isn’t for them since they’ll be too slow and it will take too long. A race that approaches the equilateral proportions might actually be both less risky and more accessible. Go figure.


Now, I’m not saying *any* change is absolutely necessary. I’m a big fan of the saying: ”Nothing is sometimes the right thing to do, and always a clever thing to say.” Statistically speaking, triathlons and endurance sports are not dangerous, and have probably saved more lives through promotion of exercise and healthy living than they have cost. Still, if change is desired, I’d prefer the sport to look at a simple modification to the race format than introducing extra levels of bureaucracy.
***UPDATE: Autopsy results on the NYC triathlon deaths were inconclusive
***UPDATE2: Death caused by cardiac arrhythmia due to prolapsed mitrial valve

What’s this all about then?

Triathlon and endurance sports are steeped in ‘Iron Man’ imagery – being made of metaphorical iron is necessary if you want to hold up against what the distances do to you.

If you’re enthusiastic about comic books, fantasy and/or martial arts the idea of a ‘Warrior’ is a kind of paragon. The warrior lives by a code of honour, and struggles against adversity. These are the ideals athletes strive for; where we equate honour with discipline, and the adversity comes through pain and fatigue.

Furthermore, the Warrior is the mascot of the University of Waterloo (my alma mater), and ‘The Iron Warrior’ is the name of the Engineering Student newspaper.

But ‘Iron Warrior’ was taken on Blogger. Which is just as well, since I’ve often been drawn more to characters who use wits, guile or even trickery rather than brute force as a means to their ends. Even at a glance, the average triathlon training program seems to be not only extremely demanding in terms of volume of time spent; but logistically difficulty with 2 disciplines (or strength training) being addressed on most days.

So what if you want to be ‘iron’-like, and live a multi-sport lifestyle while keeping enough flexibility for a ‘life’? You know, family, career, friends, or heaven forbid… Other interests and commitments; is it possible? Might there be shortcuts or loopholes to the multi-sport code of discipline? Ways to even, dare I say… cheat (in training, not in competition)?

I don’t know, but this blog is about trying to figure that out.

Lessons Learned from my Rookie Year

I’ve heard of a few people now who want to get into triathlon as one of their first (or the first in a long time) athletic endeavours. Part of me thinks it’s more sensible to get some other kind of endurance event (or several) such as a 5k or 10k running race before diving into the complexities of multisport, but the other part of me wants to just have them get involved in this great sport as soon as possible; I mean, why wait?

Looking back at my first season, I try to think what the bigger lessons and philosophies I took away were. Some were based on research I had done on my own, others are more rooted in my own choices and personality. They should apply to a rookie/newbie going into a try-a-tri, sprint or short (750m/30km/7.5km) event. Here are the top ten lessons I learned from my first year of doing triathlons.

1.) Make sure your lane swimming training distance exceeds your race distance. Open water swimming is harder than pool swimming. Waves and wind slow you down (or interfere with your breathing), without the pool lines to keep you straight you end up swimming a zig-zag for extra distance, and of course the traffic of other racers makes for added difficulty too. Stopping at the end of the lane to turn around may not seem like much of a rest while training, but compared to simply stroking continuously through, it’s like a nano-vacation every 25m. Being able to exceed the required distance by about 10% or so ought to do it.

2.) Train your race, race your training. I keep a very conservative pace while racing; I learned this while running. It doesn’t guarantee your best time or optimal performance, but it’s your best chance to finish and finish strong. Make sure your race pace is as close to your training pace as possible; don’t let the excitement of the race get to you. This is especially important in the swim. At my first event (the highly recommended Milton triathlon) my fiancée/ roadie observed a swimmer who made it as far as the first buoy (about 50m) before having to hang on to it and call for help. While it’s possible this guy simply had showed up to this event without proving to himself he could swim 2 lengths of a pool, I think it’s more likely he got so keyed up that he went like a wild man for 30 seconds and found himself completely gassed. I’d rather keep my head, and when the end is in (figurative) sight, I can use any extra energy (some of which might have been supplied by race-excitement-adrenaline) to sprint to the transition zone/finish line. A heart-rate monitor and/or GPS can help you know how hard you’re going during training and the race (I use the Garmin Forerunner 305 though I used to have the 301).

3.) During the race, take the outside lane in the swim. I probably did more than 750m of swimming in my races thanks to widening the loop, but I was able to swim at the pace I wanted (see lesson #2) and got a lot less interference from other swimmers. I figure I made up the time I lost swimming extra distance by not having to get untangled from other people.

4.) Have a roadie. You’ll be carrying a fair bit of gear: bike, helmet, towel, shoes, water bottles/gels, etc. It ought to be possible for one body to manage all that, but I sure appreciated the extra pair of hands. If you don’t have a significant other to rely on, ask a friend to help you as a favour. In a triathlon you get to watch the athletes go by at least 3 times (unlike other kinds of races), so it can be exciting for spectators. In that vein (though from a shallower perspective), a lot of the athletes have really good bodies.

5.) Spend some time and mental effort on orientation and visualization. The race kit pickup for Milton was actually the day before the event at Kelso conservation area, so I had a good idea of where I’d be entering/exiting the water, how to get my bike in/out of the transition area, and that I’d be starting my run going uphill. When setting up in the transition area, visualize how you want to change your equipment; e.g. do you want to towel off before putting on shoes? Keep in mind that athletes get disqualified for taking their bike off the rack before putting on a helmet. I like to set it up so that putting on the helmet is one of the first things I do.

6.) Take spinning classes. Getting geared up for bike rides is time consuming, and it’s hard to find the time to get long training rides in. When you do, you spend time at red lights or negotiating traffic that you wish you were devoting to turning the pedals and getting in shape. I was really worried about my cycling ability and endurance, and lasting for an hour in those classes without stopping, while simulating hills and other challenges made all the difference in having a successful season. It gave me bike training during the week, regardless of the weather, which isn’t easy in Canada. Having said all that, you need to get on your real bike sometimes to learn how to deal with the real life issues, and how to use the gears effectively.

7.) Get speed laces. While there are special triathlon shoes which offer quick entry to minimize the transition time from bike to run, I found a product much like these can be attached to normal running shoes. Not only do you save time on race day, but once you’ve got them on your shoes for training, you’re never bothered about tying a really good knot that won’t come undone while running ever again.

8.) Beginner/semi-out-of-shape triathletes have an advantage over the elites. More advance triathletes spend big bucks on wet suits to provide buoyancy and insulation against the cold water, then have to learn to get out of them in a hurry while wet, but in my first season I had a natural solution that the rest of them didn’t seem to have access to: body fat. I’m lucky in that I’m used to swimming in fresh (and open) water which isn’t always as warm as a pool, but I do think the body fat I was carrying helped me stay warm enough in the water for the May and June races. I think the water at Milton was 18 degrees Celsius or so, which is too cold for flopping around in the water, but considering I was swimming a race, I generated enough body heat to stay warm during the swim, and was able to transition to the bike without fussing around in a wetsuit. I am buying one this year as I’ve lost a little weight and I’m serious enough about the sport now to merit the expense, but last year was a different story.

9.) Have water bottles and gels, but don’t bother carrying them on the run. From running half (and one full) marathons, I used to carry a water bottle on a belt so I could hydrate whenever I wanted, instead of the crowded water stations. While a short/sprint triathlon is comparable to a half-marathon in terms of overall endurance, the run is short enough that carrying the bottle was just extra weight, and the stations were more than adequate. I did like having water on the bike ride and I was using gel mid-way through the ride and at the bike-to-run transition.

10.) Look forward to more. Body marking means everyone can see your age. The few times I’d pass someone, I’d feel proud until I got close enough to see that they were in their upper 40s, 50s or 60s and I was surprised every time, because not only were they performing as younger, they looked it. This sport is so incredibly healthy as it uses muscles throughout your whole body, increases your cardio-vascular endurance, and is quite safe.

Lessons Learned from my Rookie Year

I’ve heard of a few people now who want to get into triathlon as one of their first (or the first in a long time) athletic endeavours. Part of me thinks it’s more sensible to get some other kind of endurance event (or several) such as a 5k or 10k running race before diving into the complexities of multisport, but the other part of me wants to just have them get involved in this great sport as soon as possible; I mean, why wait?

Looking back at my first season, I try to think what the bigger lessons and philosophies I took away were. Some were based on research I had done on my own, others are more rooted in my own choices and personality. They should apply to a rookie/newbie going into a try-a-tri, sprint or short (750m/30km/7.5km) event. Here are the top ten lessons I learned from my first year of doing triathlons.

1.) Make sure your lane swimming training distance exceeds your race distance. Open water swimming is harder than pool swimming. Waves and wind slow you down (or interfere with your breathing), without the pool lines to keep you straight you end up swimming a zig-zag for extra distance, and of course the traffic of other racers makes for added difficulty too. Stopping at the end of the lane to turn around may not seem like much of a rest while training, but compared to simply stroking continuously through, it’s like a nano-vacation every 25m. Being able to exceed the required distance by about 10% or so ought to do it.

2.) Train your race, race your training. I keep a very conservative pace while racing; I learned this while running. It doesn’t guarantee your best time or optimal performance, but it’s your best chance to finish and finish strong. Make sure your race pace is as close to your training pace as possible; don’t let the excitement of the race get to you. This is especially important in the swim. At my first event (the highly recommended Milton triathlon) my fiancée/ roadie observed a swimmer who made it as far as the first buoy (about 50m) before having to hang on to it and call for help. While it’s possible this guy simply had showed up to this event without proving to himself he could swim 2 lengths of a pool, I think it’s more likely he got so keyed up that he went like a wild man for 30 seconds and found himself completely gassed. I’d rather keep my head, and when the end is in (figurative) sight, I can use any extra energy (some of which might have been supplied by race-excitement-adrenaline) to sprint to the transition zone/finish line. A heart-rate monitor and/or GPS can help you know how hard you’re going during training and the race (I use the Garmin Forerunner 305 though I used to have the 301).

3.) During the race, take the outside lane in the swim. I probably did more than 750m of swimming in my races thanks to widening the loop, but I was able to swim at the pace I wanted (see lesson #2) and got a lot less interference from other swimmers. I figure I made up the time I lost swimming extra distance by not having to get untangled from other people.

4.) Have a roadie. You’ll be carrying a fair bit of gear: bike, helmet, towel, shoes, water bottles/gels, etc. It ought to be possible for one body to manage all that, but I sure appreciated the extra pair of hands. If you don’t have a significant other to rely on, ask a friend to help you as a favour. In a triathlon you get to watch the athletes go by at least 3 times (unlike other kinds of races), so it can be exciting for spectators. In that vein (though from a shallower perspective), a lot of the athletes have really good bodies.

5.) Spend some time and mental effort on orientation and visualization. The race kit pickup for Milton was actually the day before the event at Kelso conservation area, so I had a good idea of where I’d be entering/exiting the water, how to get my bike in/out of the transition area, and that I’d be starting my run going uphill. When setting up in the transition area, visualize how you want to change your equipment; e.g. do you want to towel off before putting on shoes? Keep in mind that athletes get disqualified for taking their bike off the rack before putting on a helmet. I like to set it up so that putting on the helmet is one of the first things I do.

6.) Take spinning classes. Getting geared up for bike rides is time consuming, and it’s hard to find the time to get long training rides in. When you do, you spend time at red lights or negotiating traffic that you wish you were devoting to turning the pedals and getting in shape. I was really worried about my cycling ability and endurance, and lasting for an hour in those classes without stopping, while simulating hills and other challenges made all the difference in having a successful season. It gave me bike training during the week, regardless of the weather, which isn’t easy in Canada. Having said all that, you need to get on your real bike sometimes to learn how to deal with the real life issues, and how to use the gears effectively.

7.) Get speed laces. While there are special triathlon shoes which offer quick entry to minimize the transition time from bike to run, I found a product much like these can be attached to normal running shoes. Not only do you save time on race day, but once you’ve got them on your shoes for training, you’re never bothered about tying a really good knot that won’t come undone while running ever again.

8.) Beginner/semi-out-of-shape triathletes have an advantage over the elites. More advance triathletes spend big bucks on wet suits to provide buoyancy and insulation against the cold water, then have to learn to get out of them in a hurry while wet, but in my first season I had a natural solution that the rest of them didn’t seem to have access to: body fat. I’m lucky in that I’m used to swimming in fresh (and open) water which isn’t always as warm as a pool, but I do think the body fat I was carrying helped me stay warm enough in the water for the May and June races. I think the water at Milton was 18 degrees Celsius or so, which is too cold for flopping around in the water, but considering I was swimming a race, I generated enough body heat to stay warm during the swim, and was able to transition to the bike without fussing around in a wetsuit. I am buying one this year as I’ve lost a little weight and I’m serious enough about the sport now to merit the expense, but last year was a different story.

9.) Have water bottles and gels, but don’t bother carrying them on the run. From running half (and one full) marathons, I used to carry a water bottle on a belt so I could hydrate whenever I wanted, instead of the crowded water stations. While a short/sprint triathlon is comparable to a half-marathon in terms of overall endurance, the run is short enough that carrying the bottle was just extra weight, and the stations were more than adequate. I did like having water on the bike ride and I was using gel mid-way through the ride and at the bike-to-run transition.

10.) Look forward to more. Body marking means everyone can see your age. The few times I’d pass someone, I’d feel proud until I got close enough to see that they were in their upper 40s, 50s or 60s and I was surprised every time, because not only were they performing as younger, they looked it. This sport is so incredibly healthy as it uses muscles throughout your whole body, increases your cardio-vascular endurance, and is quite safe.