If you are interested in swimming, we have periodically offered swim training and swim technique clinic options.  For 2012, we have some big changes and amazing things coming and our plates are pretty full.  But swim training is still a key part of any triathlon training program so we wanted to provide the best option we could.  So, we are now partnering with and recommending the Edmonton Koalas Masters Swim training program.   The Edmonton Koalas Swim Club is  a masters swim club based out of Peter Hemingway and coached by local triathlete, swimmer and coach, Jason Britton.  Jason brings a wealth of experience and technical swim expertise to the table.  If you want to swim further and faster than you've swam before, this is group is for you.  There are 7 swim workouts open to you as a member of the swim team and drop in attendance at $10 per session is available as well.  

 

 

While we've got your attention on this page, you should also check out the article "Triathlon Swim Technique" under the "Tune In" button at the top of the page.  The article was inspired by an article Lava Magazine published in 2011 and that article includes a nicely descriptive and informative video that highlights the reasons why triathlon swimming can be different from regular swim team training.  As triathletes, we often race in open water which can be choppy and crowded.   The most effective approach to swim technique required to get through those kind of conditions might be different from some of the more traditional swim styles coached for pure lane swimming and masters swim racing. 

 

In lane swimming and racing in a pool, the swim conditions are a little more predictable, the water is normally smooth and calm and you are rarely fighting for space with any more than a handful of like minded individuals who are all (normally) peacefully swimming up and down the lanes, following some semblance of swim etiquette. Not so in an open water swim like triathlon!!  In a pool, the long glide stroke like a semi-catch-up stroke or "fish-like" swimming will do you well.  In a mass swim start when you are fighting to gain your own space and can barely put your face in the water for all the feet splashing madly about in front of you, a higher turnover stroke that focuses on the propulsion at the back end of the stroke will likely be more helpful in keeping you moving forward.   A long, laid out, fish-like stroke can get interrupted but the melee, resulting in a loss of forward momentum.  So, the more effective swim stroke for triathlon might be on that focuses on higher turnover, high elbow recovery (especially in choppy water) and the power at the back end of the swim stoke.  Check out the article for yourself and see what you think.