Ask the Coach: Improving triathlon swim

For Active.com

Since the race is still over 250 days away, how far would you recommend swimming in a week/session currently and what are some good books or classes to make my swimming more efficient? My average swim time in a half-Ironman event is 35 minutes, which is mid pack. My bike ride averages 19 to 20 mph and I run at a 7:45 pace for the half-Irons.

A. For athletes who find swimming isn't their strongest sport, I suggest trying to get to the pool three to four times a week in the early part of the season. I'm not sure where you're located, but if you can find a good Masters swimming group, that's my first suggestion for improvement.

What do I consider a "good" Masters swimming group? This is a group that has a coach interested in actually coaching. Some Masters groups have a coach on deck that simply writes workouts on the board and then disappears into the office to do something other than watch the swimmers, give splits, technique tips and encouragement. This coach should also balance the workouts, or write two workouts for the group.

Many Masters groups have swimmers that compete in swim meets, so some work needs to be done in butterfly, backstroke and breast stroke. If the group also has triathletes and distance freestyle swimmers, the swim practices should also include distance freestyle sets.

At a good Masters group, each workout has a purpose and the coach discusses the purpose of the workout. The coach has occasional test sets to see what speed you're swimming, then he or she constructs a workout format to improve that speed -- assuming improvement is your goal.

Sometimes good coaches have trouble actually coaching because the swimmers just want to swim and be left alone; not wanting test sets or workouts designed to make them faster. These swimmers want a buffet of workouts with little or no emphasis on performance improvement.

To find a Masters swim group near you, check out http://www.usms.org/links/ If there's more than one option in your area; swim a week or so with each group to find out more about the group, the coach and the swimmers.

Many pools have private instructors that give swim lessons, so this is another option for improving technique. You can call the pool office, give them a description of your needs and see if they can recommend a good instructor.

There are several camps and instructional videos on the market to improve swimming technique. These are an option if no Masters coach or private swim instructors are available in your area. The drawback with videos is that there's no one standing on deck to give you feedback on your form.

If you don't have access to a Masters swim group and you need purposeful workouts, you can check out Workouts in a Binder for Triathletes. This booklet is totally waterproof so you can take it to the pool. The workouts are broken into categories of purpose, designed to help you swim faster. There's a training plan outlined within the booklet so you can use it stand-alone to improve swimming, or you can blend the workouts into your overall training plan since you'll know the purpose of each swim.

Winter is a great time to work on getting faster and more efficient in the water. As spring and summer get closer, if you're swimming four days a week, you can drop it to three days as the volume of cycling increases. I find that only experienced swimmers can go to two days a week and maintain good swim speed.

I hope you get faster and spend less energy for a given pace in the water.

Do you have a specific training or sport related question? Have world-renowned coach Gale Bernhardt answer it! Send your questions to askthecoach@active.com.

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