The Triathlon Secret
1. Get to the race 90 minutes prior to the start of the race. Survey the water and find a place to swim prior to your wave start. This should be off to the side far away from where people are exiting or entering the water. Somewhere that you will not get kicked out. Be creative.
2. Fifteen minutes prior to the start, GET IN THE WATER.
3. Your only goal here is to get your face accustomed to the water. Whatever it takes, get your face in and swim a few strokes. If the water is below 60 degrees, you may hyperventilate and even start to panic. That is ok and even considered normal. This is where you need to chill out and relax while treading water. Take 30 seconds and swim a few more strokes. You WILL get used to the cold and very soon be able to put your face in. Once this occurs you should swim for 5 minutes or so to get loosened up then do 3-4 X 30 seconds of hard swimming with a 30 second break in between sets.
4. Congrats…the hard part is over. You have gotten your body used to swimming in a wetsuit in cold water. Your face is used to the cold and your heart rate is used to the effort. The upcoming race start is now just a formality as your “fight or flight” reflexes have already been triggered. The tendency for you to panic now has been decreased by 95%.
5. Go to the race start and when it is your turn to start the race, let everyone line up ahead of you. Pick the far side away from the first water buoy. This is basically where there are less people. When the gun goes off. Let everyone go. Take three deep breaths and swim slowly to the first buoy. This is NOT A RACE….yet. You are enjoying what its like to be in the water and being thankful for one of life’s special gifts.
6. You have hit the first buoy and not panicked. You now have a green light to pick up the pace to whatever you have trained your body to handle. The hardest part is over.
