In general, swimming is the great forgotten in the world of triathlon and in general, for most triathletes, it is the part that is most difficult to train. In a long-distance event, we face a 3,800m swim, which means for most athletes between 60 and 90 minutes of activity, which must be specially prepared in 2 aspects, strength and especially technique.

TECHNIQUE

To face the swimming section of the 140.6inn triathlon we must have a good technical base, which allows us to spend the minimum amount of energy necessary and which, in addition, helps us to slide in the water, in the most efficient way. You have many videos on the internet that will help you understand and practice swimming techniques, although if you want to advance quickly and without errors, the ideal is that you contact a coach who can polish your swimming technique. In your training planning, you always have to leave enough space for technique training and this should be around 1/3 of your sessions. One of the biggest mistakes people make when they want to start swimming in the sea is to swim in the pool continuously the distance they are going to swim in the sea. It is true that this gives you the assurance that you will be able to cover the desired distance, but to swim in open water you must do it in an efficient way. Swimming a long distance with little technique is such a waste of energy that it can lead to not finishing the crossing successfully.

STRENGTH A long distance triathlon requires improvements in physical form so your training must be well structured with intervals and series that combine rhythms and different distances. The idea would be to do series where we progressively increase the rhythm of your swimming and where each time the breaks between the series are shorter. The ultimate goal is to be able to maintain a high swimming rhythm, during the time you plan to swim Below we give you some examples to increase your swimming rhythm. And don't forget either the exercises out of the water, which is a good complement to strengthen the muscles that we use during swimming and gain strength and efficiency.

BREAK

Finally, obtaining the desired performance and results in a competition is highly dependent on an effective strategy. The most common mistake many athletes make is continuing to train with a heavy load, mistakenly thinking that they can improve their form in competition just with hard work. This is not like this. Form improves during rest. In fact, any high-tension training performed in the last week is unlikely to bring about physiological changes that have already been achieved in previous periods. So there is no doubt, it is best to rest.

PROPOSAL

We leave you this training program for the 4 weeks prior to a 3,800m competition that will help you get to “D” day in good condition: Perform 4 sessions / week in series of 100, 200, 500 and 1000m: - Day 1: Warm-up + 3 x 1000m descending (each repetition faster than the previous one). Rest 1 minute between reps. Focus on the body position, hold a long stroke throughout the session. It is a good day to practice orientation in the pool, raise your head several times to orient yourself as if you were in the sea. - Day 2: Warm-up + 2 x (3 x 500m) descending. Rest 30sg between 500 and 1 minute between sets. Resistance work. Focus on coordination, an important factor in swimming with less effort. Also take advantage of this session to work on breathing, bilaterally if possible, it will help you breathe better on windy days and waves, as well as to control what happens around you. - Day 3: Warm-up + 4 x (3 x 200m) descending. Rest 15sg between 200 and 1 minute between sets. Focus on the kick, grip and final push, with special emphasis on maintaining good technique, coordination work is essential. This day the rhythm must be aerobic and of quality. - Day 4: Warm-up + 3 x (5 x 100m). This will be a fast-paced, rest session at a time. The first series rests 10s between 100m. Maintain a sustainable pace. The 2nd series rests 20sg between 100m, and the 3rd series rests 30sg between 100m. Try to get your pace a little faster as the rest increases. The goal is to increase the stroke rate but maintaining a good stroke length, maintain the technique even at high rates, it is the key to swimming fast a long distance event. Follow this training during the 3 weeks before the competition and the 4th week rest training only what the body asks of you, focus on swimming very fine with a long stroke and at a constant pace. You are ready for the competition!