triathy swim

MC21

I am doing my first triathlon in the triathy in a few weeks, and only the try distance which includes a 250m. I know distance wise its not v long, but I've never swam in a river before and I'm also anxious about other racers thrashing beside me. Can anyone give me some reassurance? I'm not a brill swimmer, I can get in the pool and do 40/50 lengths, but with a moment pause between each one and also with a kick off the wall each time.My wetsuit is reasonably good. Any advice or reassurance would be very much appreciated. Am so worried I will get into the water and freak out due to poor visibility etc. Having worked so hard for this,I don't want to be hauled outof the water at the start and race over :-((( Many thanks

tunney

MC21 wrote: »

I am doing my first triathlon in the triathy in a few weeks, and only the try distance which includes a 250m. I know distance wise its not v long, but I've never swam in a river before and I'm also anxious about other racers thrashing beside me. Can anyone give me some reassurance? I'm not a brill swimmer, I can get in the pool and do 40/50 lengths, but with a moment pause between each one and also with a kick off the wall each time.My wetsuit is reasonably good. Any advice or reassurance would be very much appreciated. Am so worried I will get into the water and freak out due to poor visibility etc. Having worked so hard for this,I don't want to be hauled outof the water at the start and race over :-((( Many thanks

if you start at the front, the middle or near the back you will get battered, bashed, swam over and hammered.

start at the very back once everyone else has gone and that's the only way you will avoid being hammered.


if you have not swam in a river or lake before you may panic the first time you do. I know I did. best bet iis to do this before the race in a controlled environment with people around you who can calm you down and keep you.

tunney

oh and you'll be fine! everyone's first time is scary

Bill G

I think the TriAthy have a practice swim you can do the week before along the same river course. Highly recommend doing it as you will experience swimming with others and get used to the river swimming, but with no pressure from a race environment.

Green&Red

You'll be grand, start at the back, the wetsuit will give you great buoyancy and swimming in a river with it will be a lot easier than the pool. Get some open water practice in and you'll fly it

MC21

thanks so much for the replies. I am going to try a sea swim at the weekend as I am v close to the beach.I will investigate the swimathy. Thanks again x

interested

in addition to the good advice already posted - there are sections (a lot) of that river where you can stand. I've no idea of your height but as above, take a moment, take your time and you'll be on your bike and smiling before you know it.

RedB

Reassurance you say
A thing that freaked me out previously (apart from the obvious bumping, the fear of being out of my depth, drowning :rolleyes:) was struggling to breath in the initial few minutes.
I was gasping and then panicking and wanting to get out. I eventually realised that part of this was a natural reaction to putting your head in cold water as well as obvious stuff like nerves, pacing and breathing often enough. It helps if you put your head in the water enough in the warmup / prior to the start and get that cold shock part of things out of the way. It helps if you breath very frequently in the first 2-3 mins and then settle into a more appropriate routine. It helps if you accept that the first few minutes are going to be the worst but that it will get much easier when everyone settles into their own pace and there isn't as much bumping going on. Control your mind, control your body, relax and then enjoy it. Its actually kind of cool to get on someone's feet and get an easy draft if you can manage it and control the pace. Once I realised that its nearly impossible to drown in a wetsuit, that took another chunk of fear away as I was able to battle the demons and have a good talking to myself when the fear kicked in. Being able to swim 40/50 lengths means you are very well able to manage the distance and it being a (shallow?) river is another huge plus as you know its easy to get to the bank if you ever need to or even just stand up. The visibility may be a challenge if you're not used to it as you can't actually see very much below you at all but be reassured by looking beside you as you breath. You should see bubbles and feet if you're close enough but usually all I saw was gloom and vague shadows but that's normal down the back :rolleyes:. Don't worry about the thrashing, its not intentional, they're trying to get away from you and you're probably having the same effect on them. Try to stay in a straight line and give as good as you get and it'll settle down. You say you've worked hard for this so remember that in the heat of battle, keep your head down and plough on. It'll be over before you know and you'll have plenty of other things to concern you. I promise you that you will look back at this and smile :cool:

Chartsengrafs

The advice I was given for my first one was: start at the back. When the horn goes count to ten, and then start. Ten seconds will mean nothing over the course of a race but it'll give you plenty of room at the start and will save all the bashings for the turning point on the swim

MC21

thank you again, By turning point basster do you mean a change in direction? I am hoping the 250m will just be all one way??!!

Chartsengrafs

Forget the second part of my post- I misread your first post thinking you were doing the sprint distance. The 'try' distance will indeed be in one direction and it'll be over before you know it.

stevire

As RedB mentioned above, depending on the weather the depth of the river is around 1.5m deep at most. You'll be able to stand in most spots of the river if needed, get to the bank if you're unsure of the depth and need to stand. It'll be 250m downstream so you'll fly it down before you know it.

elvis jones

SwimAthy is on Sunday May 26th i believe, its ideal for anyone doing their 1st tri and great to see how the swim will work on the day.

merc230ce

I only found out today that the 'Try' swim is only 250m, for some reason I had thought it would be 400m and that's what I've been aiming for. So the devil on my shoulder is now whispering 'Switch to the Sprint, switch to the Sprint' ;-)

I'm a slow swimmer (the 750m would probably take me 20mins) but I'd manage the distance alright and there's a part of me thinking that if I do the 250 I'll spend longer getting the wetsuit on and off than I will actually swimming! Like the OP it's the thrashing and kicking that would freak me out most - I won't have a problem with the OW bit - and that 10 sec pause at the start would mean even less after 20 mins.

Hmmm...

mossym

merc230ce wrote: »

I only found out today that the 'Try' swim is only 250m, for some reason I had thought it would be 400m and that's what I've been aiming for. So the devil on my shoulder is now whispering 'Switch to the Sprint, switch to the Sprint' ;-)

I'm a slow swimmer (the 750m would probably take me 20mins) but I'd manage the distance alright and there's a part of me thinking that if I do the 250 I'll spend longer getting the wetsuit on and off than I will actually swimming! Like the OP it's the thrashing and kicking that would freak me out most - I won't have a problem with the OW bit - and that 10 sec pause at the start would mean even less after 20 mins.

Hmmm...

sounds like you have your mind made up. i'm doing the sprint at athy as my first tri as well. the swim should be fine, in fact my dilemma is where to start too, i'm estimating a sub 15min 750m, not sure whether to start at the back and avoid the carnage, and risk getting stuck behind people, or braving the middle and just giving as good as i get

sibeen99

RedB wrote: »

Reassurance you say
A thing that freaked me out previously (apart from the obvious bumping, the fear of being out of my depth, drowning :rolleyes:) was struggling to breath in the initial few minutes.
I was gasping and then panicking and wanting to get out. I eventually realised that part of this was a natural reaction to putting your head in cold water as well as obvious stuff like nerves, pacing and breathing often enough. It helps if you put your head in the water enough in the warmup / prior to the start and get that cold shock part of things out of the way. It helps if you breath very frequently in the first 2-3 mins and then settle into a more appropriate routine.

Thanks RedB,
this is some of the most reassuring advice I've read in a while. I have my first triathlon in a couple of weeks, its a sea swim and I've just recently learned to swim properly. Ventured into the sea at the weekend and had that same panicky feeling and problems with my breathing. Was starting to think I've bitten off more than I can chew! I'm delighted to know that there is a reasonable explanation for it. Will try again this weekend!

dchalky

How did you guys find the swim at TriAthy last year - any advice? This is my first swim with an upstream swim at the start but I am (I think) an ok swimmer.

I've enterd the sprint distance at TriAthy this year

mossym

it's a pretty easy swim, the first 150m/200m upstream is toughest. then you swing around the buoy, and swim the remainder downstream.

i wouldn't sweat it at all, i watched people doing the try-a-tri walk the swim portion as the sides of the river are so shallow. given the start is the hardest bit, don't panic if you find that a little tough, relax, get to the buoy, then push on a bit. The river s plenty wide, so the hammering from other swimmers isn't too bad. stick to the back if you think that is going to be an issue.

athy is a very popular tri for those new to the sport, so lots there will be nervous. relax, enjoy it. it's a nice race and good fun.