Oh, believe me…I know they are out there in FL.
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If you keep looking you’ll keep finding them. You’re extremely negative towards swimming and don’t miss an opportunity to let the World know, to a point where an observer might wonder why you bother at all with triathlon. Is there anything that the community here can do to help? Such negative attitude is certainly not helpful for less experienced athletes and it really pains me to see a fellow athlete dread a good portion of our favorite sport so much.
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I’m willing to admit that i project a more negative attitude to swimming than my actual feeling toward swimming.
Do I like swimming? Yes I do. I really enjoy the recent progress Ive seen on the pool.
Do I like OWS? Nope. Mostly because I am terrified of it.
Do I like the idea of Ocean Swimming? Nope. Specially in FL, where there are sharks everywhere!
Why do I even bother with tris? Great questions. And that is something that I ask myself before every event that has a duathlon.
My current rationalization is that I like to fight my fears. I always tend to do things that scare me. It been a thing since I was a child.
During my last event, 2 weeks ago, I was border line shaking when i saw the buoys. I was thinking how far they were! Then I got to the water to warm up and kind of calm myself. Then I did the swim and it went completely uneventful. I was relax most of the way (corners are always stressful). I finished and continue with my race. Gave me hope that maybe i can swim enough to complete a 70.3.
I am not sure. Most people here has always been supportive of my swimming struggles and have suggest things to improve. I know I have tried many of the suggested things, and I can say that my recent gains has been partially, thanks to some very good community suggestions.
This is true. I will tone it down, because its really not helpful.
Believe me, it pains me more knowing that the biggest handicap in the sport I have is my swimming.
Knowing that I am missing AG podiums because I am afraid of trying to swim hard on even the shortest of the events.
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Talking ourselves up is a worthy endeavour.
I got into a negative mindset with running which really wasn’t helping, I still recognise my weakness but try to see it as an opportunity for success.
I come from a place of being weak across the board and over the years I’ve built my swim, built my bike so I don’t need to be differential anymore, soon my run will be strong too.
And if I can do it, anyone can - that’s the spirit of triathlon, in my humble opinion.
So, maybe challenge yourself and see how long you can say/post only positive things about your “least strong” discipline, see how long it lasts and what effect it has? I might try it myself 
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Haha this is some pretty apt timing for me, consider me in on that one! Got myself into a weird headspace this year and lost a lot of confidence, and as much as I’ve made some solid improvements it’s definitely hamstrung me a bit both in regards to performance and enjoyment. (kind of a bummer as training has always been really helpful for me mentally)
I think training with others can really help sometimes, as much as I like doing my own thing mostly. Gets you out of your own head a bit. Used to do a couple of club sessions a week and I really miss them (Or was that just the pub afterward? 
)
Hey now, given some of the workouts I’ve seen you post you could definitely pull that off! Plus you’ve got a bit more leeway with the swim in longer events if you’ve got a strong run/bike combo IMO.
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Interesting post regarding swimming and I am kind of the same as Joel. I don’t mind it but I am not jumping for joy to go to the aquatic center. For me personally though it is because I don’t like being cold and also the pool is disgusting with masters, swim teams, middle/high school, swim lessons that take place in that one pool.
Maybe it has changed or I need to find another pool but this one is so close. Cant have it all. Ha
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My greatest swimming-related fear is accidentally whacking one of the kids who kamikaze across the lane directly in front of me during my threshold intervals.
That and the aquafit ladies.
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Hi all, excited to use Adaptive Training to prepare for 70.3. The thing is, the race I’m looking at is not until late September 2022 and in between there’s no B races on the agenda.
Should I (a) just start plan builder and do every workout it suggests. This is likely to repeat the base, build, specialty phases at least once.
Or (b) focus on increasing ftp using sweetspot base and sustained power build, and then use plan builder 24 weeks out from the race for just one cycle of Base Build Specialty. I’ll probably supplement it with some base running and swim.
Anyone with the same dilemma before? Appreciate your kind advice. Cheers!
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You can just go with plan builder, but personally I prefer to mix things up and focus on weaknesses at this time of year then get into structure on Jan 1st. Ten months or so of structured plans can work but it can also be mentally fatiguing and lead to compliance problems.
It does depend on your background though.
I’d encourage you to find some B races, or at a minimum your own self supported simulation events at home. Or single sport events that bring some focus early in the year.
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I did the entier 2021 season of Celtman and two half IM’s without being in a pool. Last time i was in a swimming pool was 2019 December (pre-covid). I know what you mean about being cold and annoying people in the lanes. I have a local reservoir that is closer to me than the nearest pool and also free so did all of my swimming open water. Was brilliant but also the mind wanders when there is no visibility ‘what’s in here with me, what just brushed up against me arm (it was either a small branch or dead fish)’… broke it down into little 400m laps up and down the same stretch and over time got past it. in the end you dont need a pool exclusively or dont need open water exclusively if you focus on remaining calm and are confident you can swim the distance in the conditions out there
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This is what I don’t have… Confidence.
I know i have swim the distance. It’s just the lack of confidence who kills me specifically when conditions are less then ideal…
After 1 week to let the dust settle a bit here is my race report for IM Cascais
Official data
Total time: 11:10:59
Swim: 1:12:43
Bike: 5:56:51
Run: 3:48:58
AG Ranking: 12
The course:
Swim - A bit Kona like - Big rectangle with buoys on the right
The sea was quiet but there was some light chop in the long 2k come back stretch.
Note for the race organizers
- Red buoys with red official swim caps is a total no-no because, when sighting a buoy at the distance, the field of vision is crowded with spots with the same color and same apparent size. It also would help having some smaller buoys between the big ones. The approach to the exit point was also not well marked.
Bike - Very honest course with a lot of climbing in the first 1/4. Strong winds were absent but, being common in the spot, might be a factor in the next editions.
Note for the race organizers
- The roundabout in Cascais where the riders would either go to the next lap or back into the flat stretch to Lisbon was at times cahotic with riders being confused. There should be more volunteers helping there.
- Bike aid stations should be placed in mildly upward sloping terrain not in the flat where speeds around 40kph were quite easy to achieve. Volunteers should also know what kind of nutrition is mainstream or occasional (offering only caffeinated gels is nonsense). My nutrituion plan was relying in the race aid-stations so I had to fully stop in 3 of the 5 aid stations.
Run - A very tricky course with some undulations and a few stretches of challenging terrain. Again wind might play a huge role in future editions. My insistence about the wind comes from the fact that I lived all my life at less than 30 minutes drive from the place and, believe me, 3 out of 4 times, north west winds are blowing strongly there specially in the afternoon, making Cascais the most consistent place in Portugal for sailing.
Race execution thoughts:
I had an episode of acute lower back pain in the day before but somehow I managed to keep it at bay during the race specially on the bike where I felt it could evolve to something very serious when pedaling standing. Cramps were threatening me since 2km into the swim and I felt them there until the finish line (as I stopped, both legs cramped in multiple muscles and I almost collapsed). I cannot say I lost too much time due to these two issues.
Swim - given that I dedicated only 3% of my total volume to the sport and the last 2k were slower due to cramps, I can only be happy with the outcome. One note: I decided to start in the first waves and that proved to be a good decision because the sun was not out yet (the first stretch is directly against it) and front pack swimmers are much better sighters than mid pack ones like myself.
Bike - Wrong race plan with some impact in the final time. My FTP was quite low historical but my endurance was at its best. I know the course extremely well, even its potholes, so it would be an unique opportunity for a successful segment. I was afraid of the impacts the climbing with leave on my running legs so I took it conservatively choosing to be more aggressive in rolling terrain. The problem is that an additional 10w in a climb translate in a more material time gain than 10w in the flat specially when the rider has a good CdA (which is the case). That was a mistake that probably cost me at least 5 minutes. I should have put around 10w more on the climbs and 5 or so less while rolling in the flats.
NP 177w for a VI of 1.09 (hard to do better here due to the nature of the course)
IF 0.72
Run - Left T2 too fast but settled into the pace I thought I could sustain (5:15 to 5:20/km). It went well until it didn’t! I took a gel in the second aid station and that created a lot of stomach discomfort so I decided to stick to Gatorade and coke. By km 28, the climbs and rough terrain took their toll and I felt myself falling into a pit. I manage to keep on running and then, after walking an aid station where I had 4 cups of Gatorade, I decided to invest all my remaining energy into keeping a decent running form: running tall, eyes on the horizon, relax neck and shoulders and feel the arms swinging freely. Then a miracle happened and I was suddenly running at the initial target pace which I was able to sustain until the finish line. My back half was just 4 minutes slower than the first one something anyone would take happily in a IM Marathon.
Final thoughts:
Being a Level 1 coach myself, I was my own guinea pig to a training intervention I called “The Big Volume Experience”. Since Feb 1st I averaged a little less than 20h per week. This is doubling my tranining volume history for the last 5 years. The main aspect there is that I had to sacrifice intensity in order to cope with recovering from such a huge volume spike which meant doing more than 90% of the total time at very low intensity (quite below the first threshold).
I had also a few permanent running niggles which prevent me to place a solid speed work block a couple of months away from the race as planned. Concerning running, I did only low intensity since June.
The conclusion is that low intensity volume without almost any speed work can take you very far in endurance terms but:
1 - there was a clear limit in how high I could get my FTP just by pedaling huge hours at low power
2 - the running speed ceiling becomes too low and the sustainable pace in the Marathon most probably was affected by that (I did some openers in the race week and I was struggling to run just a few minutes at my typical 10k pace)
A surpring outcome of “the big volume experience” is that my legs just do not hurt as they did before. After a hard race, I used to need almost a week just to be able to walk properly. This time, I felt I could had gone out for a run just 2 days after the event and I actually did so 3 days after without major difficulties. My central fatigue seemed also ok since I swam a few laps 2 days after the event at warm up feel at the best “speed to RPE” of the season.
My AG placing was a disappointment because my aim was to finish in the top 10 (missed it by just 5 minutes) but the competition is always fierce in the IM first editions.
I totally blame my stupid coach for failing this outcome goal! 
Anyway, it was a heck of a journey.
The conclusion is that volume is King but you surely need Her Majesty Queen Intensity to be able to rule the Kingdom
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I get it completely, especially for those of us who aren’t ‘good’ swimmers. For OW swimming, no one is ever going to feel happy or confident in currents, high winds, cold (under 12C), jellyfish, crowds etc unless you practice it. Its just like descending or vo2 intervals… like @Jonathan said on a podcast ages ago… you are good at what you do. The other side is avoiding it isn’t going to make the problem go away.
That said if you ever want to come up to Edinburgh in Scotland for a swim block… ill take you to the safest OW swim area with currents, winds and everything else but shallow enough to do a 4k swim and stand up at any point 
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The best advice I ever got for swimming was to learn to “be comfortable being uncomfortable”. While most people apply this to an exertion level (as well they should), it also applies to mindset that a lot of Adult Onset Swimmers have….we dread the swim, even though we may be decent (but not great) swimmers.
Embrace being uncomfortable and accept it. “Right, I’ve been here before….I know these feelings and I always come through the other side OK. Let’s get in the water.”
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That’s an exciting write up! Well done for pulling it back together on the run, I’ve got to say that I’m not sure that more watts overall on the bike would’ve left such a good run split but you know yourself, and pacing the climbs is tricky.
20h weeks - well done, it paid off and you’ve learned something too. I like to experiment with training, given that is most of our time you may as well make it interesting.
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This applies to all levels of endurane training and racing. My training partner and myself use this quote freely when the other is complaining.
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I had an episode of severe panic attack in the race before the IM Cascais so I was quite anxious about the swim this time.
It went surprisingly smooth.
What did I do?
Above the neck
- Visualization - seeing my self swimming effortlessly and in total control (this was done in the weeks prior to the race at various moments; specially when swimming in the pool I tried to tele-transport my mind as if I was in OW)
- Positive self-talk (without overdoing it)
- Calming deep-ish nasal breathing before the start
- Expect the unexpected, be ready for worst case scenarios and dial some plan A and B for some that (in my case calf cramps were frequent while training so I was ready for them, I was also ready to let go of 30 seconds in the total time if I needed to follow a wider line to escape an aggressive group)
Below the neck
- starting at a very early wave - the front-pack swimmers are far less aggressive than the average Joes like my self when they face a slower person. I was hit, bumped and squeezed a few times but it was just for fractions of seconds because they just passed me very fast; with people at the same level (same speed) sometimes you find yourself being hit by the same guy for minutes in a row. It might look less ethical but the rules allow you to choose your wave and much less ethical for the organization would be to put your self at a higher risk given the background you are carrying from the previous experience.
- let the race pace get to you instead of the opposite - as soon as you find yourself in the water just let your feels sync with your body which means starting slow and in a controlled manner picking up the pace bit by bit as you acclimate to the natural stress of it
- try to swim OW in rougher conditions than expected in the race on the upcoming days - if you do it with a more experienced friend, a safety buoy and close enough to the shore, the experience will probably boost your confidence and your “being comfortable with the uncomfortable” will be upgraded another notch.
I have to say that, given these strategies, I almost enjoyed the swim! Naaahhh!.. 
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That is awesome…and great tips!!
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I’ve been a bit slack since race season finished for me on roll call so,
|Week|WC|Race/Plan|TSS|Run hrTSS|STSS|Lift hrTSS|Total Time|Bike|Run|Swim|Lift|
|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|
|40|27/09/2021|Ironman Barcelona|372|248|47|0|13h 56m|7h 14m|5h 58m|44m|0d|
|41|04/10/2021|StrongLifts 1|0|67|0|15|2h 41m|0d|2h 11m|0d|30m|
|42|11/10/2021|StrongLifts 2|20|110|0|56|4h|29m|2h|0d|1h 31m|
|43|18/10/2021|StrongLifts 3|60|73|0|56|5h 20m|1h 57m|1h 48m|0d|1h 35m|
|44|25/10/2021|StrongLifts 4|27|151|0|19|5h 10m|53m|3h 12m|0d|1h 5m|
Got my lifting restarted in November and my run frequency back up. Major hitch last weekend when the pain cave flooded, I got a pump delivered on Tuesday so was training again on Weds.
Looking forward to running improvements, with lot of low HR running for now.
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Roll call!
Recovering, offseason, new season, mid season…wherever you’re at, there’s reason to be training 
@novemberdelta
@toribath
@jtuk
@DanF
@olly
@btsaubt
@bretzky
@baggiebird
@jmdcovas
@HMG
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