Triathletes - What to do Without Access to a Pool

by Tom Manzi - UltraFit.com

• Sighting: During a long swim, sight on a stationary object that is on land. If available, it is also good to sight on a buoy that is out in the water.

  Practice counting strokes. Count 10 right-hand entries, then sight on an object, and repeat this a few times. (If you breathe only to one side, count the hand entries on your breathing side.)

  Next, sight on every fifth hand (sixth for single-side breathers) entry. Repeat this a few times, then try for every third (fourth for single-side breathers) hand entry.

• Fartlek: After an easy warm-up, do 5 to10 x 60 seconds hard with an easy two- to three-minute steady swim in between each pick-up. Try to swim the hard part at sprint triathlon pace.

  For those that use T-time, your average 100 pace for 1,000 yards or meters, complete the pick-ups at faster than T-time pace. When doing these hard fartlek repeats, focus on good form and sighting by counting strokes.

• Beach starts and beach entry: Practice getting into the water with a running start from a flat beach. If there is surf, practice getting through the surf and swimming a straight line for about two minutes away from beach.

  Turn back to shore; swim in hard, as if ending your swim in a triathlon. Swim until it is too shallow for you to use a normal catch on your stroke, then get up and run out of the water.

  Run with your feet going out to the sides a bit to clear the waves. Repeat this two to three times.

• Run - swim - run - swim: A fun workout on a flat sandy beach is to start out running aerobically for about three minutes along the beach. Enter the water easy, try to drop your heart rate a bit and then swim for three minutes. Repeat this sequence a few times.

  You can carry your goggles along with you; but I wouldn’t recommend a wetsuit for this workout.

  It is important to do any of the open-water workouts or drills I’ve mentioned at a guarded beach. Be sure to be familiar with the depth, currents and condition of bottom. It’s a good idea, and more fun, to do these workouts with a partner.

  Tom Manzi is a competitive age-group triathlete and USA Triathlon certified Elite-level coach. His clients include professional and amateur triathletes, duathletes, and runners. Tom may be reached by e-mail at tmanzi@ultrafit.com.

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