Open Water Swimming Sara McLarty

• Professional Triathlete • Professional Swimmer • USAT Level 1 Coach • USMS Certified Coach

• Triathlete Magazine Swim Columnist

• USMS Open Water Specialist • Co-Owner Swim Like A Pro

The Ultimate OWS Training Session

Pool Training for Open Water

• Majority of training time • Cold weather climates • Warm weather climates • No access to safe open water • No training partners • Fear of open water • Etc.

Pool Training for Open Water

• Side by side/pack swimming • Athletes can get comfortable touching

other swimmers • 3-wide in one lane • Switch positions from outside to inside

Pool Training for Open Water • Rotating draft

groups, athletes of similar speeds

• Practice drafting the feet of another swimmer

• First person is turn buoy then moves to back of group

• Switch leaders every lap or more (ex: 100y)

Pool Training for Open Water

• Take out some of the lane ropes

• Set up small buoys in the pool (waterski buoy, rope, weight/dumbbell)

• Athletes swim for a set period of time (use whistle to start/stop)

Pool Training for Open Water

• “No Walls” • “Turn at the ‘T’” • Long swims

without touching the wall mimics open water swimming

• Take out the break/rest at every turn

Pool Training for Open Water

• “Start from Zero” • Mimic in-water starts • Start in a horizontal position, sculling and

kicking to stay in one place • Sprint one length of the pool • Can be followed up by longer swim at mid-race

pace

Pool Training for Open Water

• Practice swimming in a straight line • Swim with eyes closed, empty lane,

push off in the middle of the lane, take 12-15 strokes, see which direction you drift

• Coaches can look for stroke imbalances on athletes that bump into lane ropes

• Athlete now aware of direction they tend to drift, useful in open water

Pool Training for Open Water

Other ideas: • Aquathlon – swim 400-800y, quick transition on deck, run 1-2 miles

around facility, repeat. • Snake Swim – start at one end of the pool, swim one length in each lane,

duck under lane rope, continue in next lane. Climb out at other end of pool, walk back to start, and repeat.

• Wetsuit Shorts – mimics the body position created by a full wetsuit but doesn’t cause overheating in warmer water. • BlueSeventy Core Short • Roka Sim Shorts

Open Water Safety

• Never swim alone, use the buddy-system

• Have a kayaker or paddleboard for group swims

• Wear bright caps • Stay away from boat ramps • Use common sense!

Open Water Safety

• New waterproof tow bags: • myFloat • The ISHOF SaferSwimmer

Open Water Skills

The starts: • Dive start • Run-in start • Deep water start • Multiple waves • Time-trial

Open Water Skills

Dolphin Dives What you see from above versus what’s actually going on under water!

Open Water Skills Dolphin Dives: • In shallow water (waist

to knees) • Grab the bottom to pull

yourself forward • Use both feet to push

up and forward • Tuck chin to dive down • Keep hands in front of

head/face for safety!

Open Water Skills

Sighting: • Minimize head lift • Just eyes break the surface • Breathe to the side immediately

before or after • Keep body horizontal, minimize

leg drop by kicking & arching back

Open Water Skills

Sighting: • Practice in the pool • Tarzan Drill to strengthen neck

muscles • Sight your coach

Open Water Skills Buoy Turns: • Stay wide, away from chaos, maintain speed, don’t get hit & kicked • Single arm turn • Corkscrew turn

Open Water Skills Corkscrew turn: • Roll away from the buoy • One stroke on your back • Use your legs and arch your back • Turns your body 90 degrees

Open Water Skills Open water conditions will sometimes necessitate changing your stroke technique from the “perfect” pool form. Examples include: choppy water, waves/ocean, cross current, crowded/congested areas, drafting, sighting, etc.

Thank you!

• 800+ free swim workouts at www.MastersSwimWorkoutsbySaraMcLarty.blogspot.com • Swim technique videos at www.Swim-Like-A-Pro.com and @SwimLikeAPro • Follow my racing career at www.SaraMcLarty.com and @SaraLMcLarty