Triathletes are renowned for our love of gadgets and training aids, trying to squeeze every last drop of data and effectiveness out of each session. But the pool is a place for simplicity. It’s the antithesis of the pimped-up bike section. It’s bloody Zen!
So, here’s a list of things you’ve probably wasted money on:
There are giant clocks at each end of the pool. They’re synchronized. There’s a reason… swimmers swim off the clock. That’s what we do. Get used to it and get good at it and your swimming will improve in the process. Use your head and muscles to gauge your effort and speed.
Training with a speedometer, power meter or GPS device makes sense on the bike and run… during a race, you can take a look down, see if you’re at your goal pace and react accordingly. If you’re able to read your watch during the swim section of a triathlon however, you’re probably sinking.
Flippers: For excellent pool swimmers, who are in search of tiny percentage points of improvement over 200m races, flippers can be useful for identifying and working on weaknesses in the 6-beat kick or longer strokes.
But for long-distance triathlete swimmers (and even a sprint is long distance) who, nine times out of ten are buoyed by wetsuits, a perfect kick becomes less relevant than body position. And flippers won’t help you with body position. In fact, just the opposite – flippers make it easier to cheat and provide a false body position.
Kicking sets are important. But do them with just a board or, better still, with no board at all while lying on your side, so you can work on your rotation and body position.
Snorkels: Two reasons to own a snorkel (other than being on vacation): One, you’re a sub-55 second per 100m swimmer looking for those tiny improvements explained above. Two, you’ve barely ever been in a pool before and couldn’t swim across the bathtub to stop yourself from drowning. Anything in between..? Ditch it!
Tri masks/ fancy over-priced goggles: Two misconceptions. Like bike saddles, swim goggles are rarely super comfortable so don’t pay a fortune searching for a pair that will feel like fluffy puppy dogs licking your eye lids. And, most importantly, ALL swim goggles fog up after a while. It’s hot near your eyes, it’s cold in the water: it’s science! Find a simple pair with fairly minimal padding that you can get used to. They’ll need replacing soon enough.
HR monitor: Unless you’re Jason Statham in Crank or you have a genuine medical condition, you have no real business wearing a HR monitor in the pool. Sure, it’s more data – but what use is data that’s not actionable? Are you really going to swim according to HR in a race? Or find a coach who’ll give you 10 x 100m freestyle at 150bpm? Never gonna happen…
Expensive fancy trunks: A word to the wise here. If you want to look like a real swimmer, wear the same old pair (or better still multiple pairs) of the crappest, cheapest trunks you can find. Preferably ugly too! They’ll provide extra resistance in the water, which is awesome.
OK, so I’m feeling bad. Nobody wants to keep a triathlete from their gadgets. So, here’s a list of swim toys that are useful:
Kick board: Yes, yes, yes to lots of kicking. The slower/worse you are, the more you should kick.
Pull buoy: Even more yes that the kickboard. Once you can swim somewhat and have decent-enough technique, the pull buoy is the best way to get faster and stronger… use it a lot.
Paddles: The difference between paddles and flippers? Paddles create extra resistance and build strength in the arms and shoulders – I like to do a lot of swimming with paddles when coming up to a long Ironman swim. In theory, flippers do the same – but only for very good swimmers. For anyone else, they’re a crutch to lean on.
Remember: keep it simple. And learn to enjoy that simplicity. The pool can be a great place to escape all the gadgets and trappings of the bike and run.