1. Stroking and kicking: One of the easiest ways to handle your stroke and kick during sighting is to increase the tempo of both your kicking and stroking movements. When it comes to stroking, think about moving your arms faster through shorter strokes. For kicking, think about using faster, staccato kicks- probably at least 2 to 3 kicks per stroke. You will not be able to swim forward as powerfully or as efficiently as when you aren't sighting, but it will be much easier to maintain your body position.
2. Head position: A lot of times, less experienced open-water swimmers don't think much about where their head ends up when they sight because they are more concerned about the action of getting their head out of the water. It's important to remember that the higher you move your head out of the water, the more your hips will sink. If you keep your chin low to the water as you sight, you will find it to be much easier to maintain your body position as you navigate.
There are more than a few different drills that can help a swimmer work on their sighting technique. My personal favorite is a version of what is known as the "Tarzan Drill."
I'll be honest with you. I have been calling this the Tarzan Drill my whole life and I am not quite sure why. It's not like you are going to be swinging on vines through the pool, wearing a loincloth. You simply will swim with your head out of the water, giving you a chance to practice your head position and modified stroke and kicking movements.
To do the drill, start by identifying a few landmarks around your pool that you can find as you swim. When you are ready to go, swim a few strokes of normal freestyle. Once you get moving, lift your head out of the water until your eyes are looking forward. Try to keep your strokes short and fast, and kick harder and faster than your normal tempo. This will help you maintain a high hip position as you are sighting. While your head is up, move your head from side to side, scanning for your landmarks.
More: 6 Tips for Beginning Open Water Swimmers
Once you find your landmark, put your face back in the water and swim 5 to 10 strokes of your regular freestyle, then lift your head from the water and repeat the exercise.
If you are brave enough, a great variation on this drill is to swim with no goggles—you must close your eyes under the water, and only open them when you come up to sight. This will better simulate your actual experience in open water.
The Drill Set
4x100's sighting Tarzan Drill
1. Lift head to sight every 5 to 10 strokes.
2. Ensure compensated body position when sighting by:
- Chin low to water
- Hips high
- Faster kick
- Shorter, faster strokes
4x25's Modified sighting Tarzan Drill
1. Same as above, but swim with no goggles.
Remember: sighting isn't difficult. What is difficult is maintaining your body position while you sight, and to do that, you have to "hack" your recipe for swimming. Do it, and you might just find yourself just a little more comfortable on race day.
More: 10 Steps to Improve Your Triathlon Swim
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