EIGHT-WEEK SWIM SOS - TriRadar.com

TRAININGZONE— I n a s s o c I a t I o n w I t h —the planEIGHT-WEEKSWIM SOSTHIS eIGHT-WeeK PLAn WILL HeLP YOu TAKeTHe PLunGe AnD BeTTeR YOuR SWIM TIMeSmeet theexpertPhil Mosleycoaching editor of triathlon Plus, Mosleyhas coached dozens of triathletes tosuccess at every distanceTHIS PLAN IS for anyone who hasadopted the ‘bury your head inthe sand’ approach to triathlonswimming. Don’t worry, it happensa lot! People often enter a race, dothe cycle and run training andconveniently ignore the swimmingpart. And then – normally witharound two months to go, andsometimes less – they wake up ina panic and wonder how on earththey’re going to finish the race.That’s why the training in thiseight-week schedule is focused onfixing your swimming in the shortesttime possible. There are still cyclingand running sessions to be done, butthey’re designed to be super-efficientso you can dedicate more of yourtime where it’s needed most: in thepool or open water.As you may have realised by now,swimming is as much abouttechnique as it is about fitness, soit’s not enough to simply ploughmindlessly up and down the poolthinking about last night’s TV. We’veincluded six drills for you to practise,and worked them into some of theswim sessions prescribed in the plan.There’s another skill you’ll need tomaster too – open-water swimming– so in the last four weeks of this planwe suggest you do some outdoorwetsuit swimming before your race(see feature on page 50).Beyond these plans, you should tryto get one-to-one help from a swimcoach or someone who knows theirstuff. Self-help is good, but you justcan’t beat someone showing youhow to swim properly.As with previous training plans,there’s a Training Zones section thatdescribes the correct bike and runtraining intensities. Feel free to swapthe sessions around to suit yourweekly routine, but try not to takeshortcuts. Triathlons are far moreenjoyable when you’re confidentabout your swimming, so make sureyou put in the hard work. It’s only foreight weeks, and two of those arerecovery weeks anyway.Are these plans for you?To start these training plans you shouldalready be able to:Ride your bike steadily for 90 minutesJog for 30 minutesSwim 100m non-stopPhotos James Lampard Illustrations Phil Nicodemihow it worksGet your guide ready to goCut out the guide followingthe dotted outlineFold the guide in quartersusing the fold guidesNow carry it with you forreference while training90 june 2012