Mastering Rough Water
By Gary Emich
In the pool your focus is on swimming one
perfect stroke after another. Not so in
the open water where currents and rough water can require skills and techniques
completely unlike those used in a pool.
Waves may be push you sideways and slow
your forward motion. Large waves may
crash over your recovering arm and prevent a clean hand entry. Choppy water may be so turbulent your stroke
timing and placement is thrown off and it’s impossible to get into any kind of
rhythm.
Your new strategy now
becomes one of adapting your stroke to the water conditions.
Before we begin, let
me define two types of rough water commonly encountered: waves and chop. Waves
travel in one direction, head-on or from your back or side. You either swim up and over them or you swim
through them. (Don’t confuse waves with
the large undulating upward and downward swell
of the open ocean.) Chop is many small waves coming from no discernable direction. (Look in your washing machine the next time
it’s on “wash cycle.” Really - take a
look). Chop frequently is created by exceptionally windy conditions and/or
tidal currents.
Though somewhat
different both conditions require that you make adjustments to your body
position, stroke and timing.
1) Any conditions not
found in the pool (especially for novice open water swimmers) can be
exceptionally frightening and disconcerting.
Remember to stay relaxed, retain your composure and focus on your
breathing. Lifeguards and other water
support personnel are looking out for you and can be there in a flash if you
wave your arm over your head.
2) At some point in
one of your races a wave or chop is going to slap you in the face. This may force you to skip taking a breath,
to swallow water or even to inhale some up your nose. Again, do not panic, retain your composure
and get a full breath on the next stroke.
If waves are coming from the side you normally breathe on, the ability
to breathe bilaterally is a big plus since you simply can switch to the other
side. You also may need to exaggerate
your body roll and/or head turn in order to catch a breath without swallowing
water.
3) Keep your body in a
good horizontal body position. Picture a
log and a rag doll in rough water – which has the most stability? Maintain as long or as “stick-like” a body
position as possible by keeping one hand anchored in front of you throughout
the entire stroke cycle. Keep your arm
extended in front of you, hand firmly anchored in the water, until your other
arm is about to enter the water – almost like the “catch-up” strokes you
practice in the pool.
Good horizontal
body-core stability allows you to pull yourself through the choppy water
effectively. Picture yourself piercing
the waves rather than fighting them or rather than letting them toss you about
like that rag doll. The choppier the
water, the more exaggerated your “stick-like” body position and open water
“catch-up” stroke.
Piercing the water
also can necessitate altered stroke timing, either a shortened or prolonged arm
recovery while you wait for the wave or chop to reach a position so your hand
can enter the water cleanly and anchor itself quickly. If you do not time your recovery right you
may grab air instead of water or find your recovering arm underwater as a wave
passes over it. Do not be surprised to
find yourself alternately shortening or prolonging your timing on a
stroke-to-stroke basis. Remember, rough
water requires you to adapt your stroke to the conditions.
4) Waves coming from the side or from an
angle push your body sideways. This can
force your forwardly extended anchor hand to veer out to the side or even
downward. This is OK because in this
position your hand and arm now take on new roles. Your hand is not anchoring itself so your arm
can pull your body forward (normal role).
Instead, it is anchoring itself at your side to prevent you from being
pushed sideways and to keep you in a forward line of travel (new role).
One word of
caution: this new role puts your arm in
an awkward anatomical position and any attempt to pull yourself forward could
damage your rotator cuff or sprain your shoulder. Allow your hand and arm to stabilize any
sideways motion and allow them to resume their more traditional job on the next
stroke cycle.
5) Use your forearm to
help your hand catch and pull back more water (also make sure you push the
water all the way back to your thigh without cutting your pull short). This is
a good drill to practice in the in the pool.
Close your hands and swim several laps with your fists. Without benefit of open palms, your arms will
struggle to compensate and find the best leverage in the water. Focus on catching the water with your
forearm. After several laps, open your
hands. You will be surprised at how much
more water you catch.
6) A high arm recovery
can prevent the waves and chop from crashing over your arm. (Forget the pool “thumb up your side
recovery” – a technique that if used in rough water may find your hand never
leaving the water.) Get your hand out of
the water and high into the air quickly.
Wait until the wave/chop conditions are right and then quickly thrust it
back into the water.
7) You may find
yourself swimming against a current. In
this situation, the current will latch onto every single body protrusion it can
find to thwart your forward progress.
Increase your stroke rate and focus on swimming through the smallest
“tube” possible (envision yourself in an aquatic wind tunnel). There should be little to no glide at the end
of your hand /arm extension. If you need
to kick harder do so but keep your legs and feet in the “tube” limiting the
depth of your kick to just below the surface.
Swimming in rough
water with waves crashing over you can be an exhilarating experience or it can
be sheer horror. Put yourself in the
first category by practicing in a variety of open water conditions to gain
experience and confidence before your first open water race.
Gary Emich
is an ASCA and USA Triathlon-certified coach, race director of the Alcatraz
Challenge Aquathlon and co-host of the DVD “Lane
Lines to Shore Lines: Your Compete Guide
to Open Water Swimming.” Visit www.lanelinestoshorelines.com
for more information.
A
Crazy Open Water Endeavor
By
Karen Reeder
Recent news headlines of “Atlantic Swimming” brought to my mind a plan
concocted by me and Regan Stacy, another marathon swimmer, some 10 years
ago. Our plan, which never came to
fruition, was to swim the distance between the
We both felt this swim was too time consuming for one swimmer alone, and
would be much more fun with friends. Our
idea was to have a swimming relay across the
The logistics and cost for such an endeavor would be complicated and
expensive, but I think this swim can be safely done without wetsuits, fins or a
shark cage.
Even more exciting would be a race between 2 teams, across the
This is not in my immediate future, with two young children, but someone
out there with time, fundraising expertise and some open water swimming friends
can make it happen. Any takers?
Highlight
Swim
The 12th annual 24 Mile Tampa Bay
Marathon Swim will be held on
The 24 mile ultra-distance swim
race starts at
Since
this event was first staged in 1998, it has drawn competitors from across the
For more information, visit http://www.distancematters.com/