Here's a swim I bet you would all hate. I did. It was in a sprint triathlon, a 350y swim indoors because upstate NY lakes are still far too cold. In an 8 lane, 25Y pool you jump into lane 1, no diving, go up to the end and on the turn you go off at an angle to go under the ropes. Up and down each lane and at the far end go under the ropes. In lane 8 climb out and run out the back door to your bike transition. I simply couldn't put any power into the turns and going under the ropes disrupted the synchronicity of my stroke, like the first two had no power.
Anybody ever done anything like this?
Here's a swim I bet you would all hate. I did. It was in a sprint triathlon, a 350y swim indoors because upstate NY lakes are still far too cold. In an 8 lane, 25Y pool you jump into lane 1, no diving, go up to the end and on the turn you go off at an angle to go under the ropes. Up and down each lane and at the far end go under the ropes. In lane 8 climb out and run out the back door to your bike transition. I simply couldn't put any power into the turns and going under the ropes disrupted the synchronicity of my stroke, like the first two had no power.
Anybody ever done anything like this?
I've done one like that, and my wife has done a different event like that. That's how I've typically seen short triathlons done in places that don't have a body of water conveniently nearby.
I've done several triathlons like that. I don't really mind it a all. The only differance being is that the swim is always last (and the run is first) so that competitors are spaced far enought apart that there's a much lesser chance of overcrowding by the time they get to the pool. With a little practice you can perfect your flip turn by being close enough to the laneline, deep enough, and at the correct angle so that your push off the wall glides you under the laneline and right into the next lane.
Dan
Never did a race that way, but we used to do "snake swims" in practice when I was a kid, which is the same concept. If you only allow one direction per lane, it allows the swimmers to swim butterfly without dodging oncoming traffic. Good for working on butterfly form, not so hot for turns though I agree:)
I've done a few like that. One I did required you to open touch the wall in the lane you were in, swim under the lane line, touch the wall again and then push off. Having to touch a second time was a pain and really slowed down any rhythm. I much prefer the turn and push off under the lane line races.
I've done 2 or 3 tri's like this in April in NJ with the swim at the beginning in normal order and 8x25s. Remember that you are also adding the width of the pool to the swim length and that additional length adds time.
The first time i raced like this it was awkward to say the least. For the second time, I practiced the turns a bit and was able to do all flip turns and push-off under the lane lines without any trouble. Part of my problem too was that they are sending off the next swimmer :10 seconds behind (we're supposed to be seeded by time, but people don't tell the truth or know their times), and I didn't want to get caught from behind, so I took off afap and was dead at about 100 yards. Did a better job of holding a pace the second time and had an easier time getting out and running to T1 too.
I've done triathlon snake swims like that early in the season when it was too cold for open water. Fortunately always in 50 meter pools. They would send us off one-at-a-time on five second intervals fastest to slowest, which worked ok unless someone had fudged their seed time.
A lot of the more accomplished swimmers would also cross under the lane lines and do flip turns. It's really not that hard with a little practice.
The worst part was if you got caught up in a pack with three or four other swimmers, especially at a turn.
As I mentioned, I always did them in 50 meter pools, don't think I'd enjoy it as much in a 25 yard pool.
The worst part was if you got caught up in a pack with three or four other swimmers, especially at a turn.
As I mentioned, I always did them in 50 meter pools, don't think I'd enjoy it as much in a 25 yard pool.
This is why it's better in these races for the swim to be last. The run thins/strings the pack so there isn't a group ride in the bike portion. By the time they finish the bike...athletes arrive at the pool one-at-a-time and there usually isn't a crowding issue.
Dan
I've taken a triathlon swim training class that did something similar as part of training. The difference is that we also came back the other way so that people could potentially be crossing paths on the diagonal. The point of it was to be chaotic and dealing with bumping into people.
