Podcast Episode #48: The Answer to 17 Open-Water Swim Questions That Will Instantly Make You Faster

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Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode

This June 18, 2009 free audio episodeincludes a special swim interview for you triathletes, as well as listener Q&A's on "Chia Seeds" (are they actually superior to flax seed?), Peanut Butter (is it really as bad as some nutritionists say?), Insulin Spikes from post-workout nutrition, Fasting for Weight Loss, and one very interesting natural remedy to fix a knee injury...

This Week's Featured Topic:

By now, you have probably realized that there is a pretty stark contrast between swimming 25 yards, pushing off a wall, and swimming back...and fighting your way through 1.5K or more in choppy lake water. This is especially true if you like to follow the big black or blue line on the bottom of the pool.

So who's to blame? You? Or your pool-side coach/master's swim instructor/triathlon mentor for not teaching you a stroke that actually works in the open water?

Maybe a little bit of both.

So today's podcast episode contains the answers to "17 Open-Water Swim Questions That You Should Probably Ask Your Swim Coach.", and it features John Kenny, a triathlon coach from Pacific Elite Fitness. John was a 5-time US National champion in open water swim distances ranging from 10K up to 25K. He was a 7-time National team member and has competed at a wide variety of races including Nationals, Olympic trials, Pan Ams, Pan Pacs, World Cups, and World Championships. He has been competing at local open water races since 1990, attended his first Open Water Nationals in 1997, and most recently represented the USA in the 25K at World Championships in 2008. From short races to marathons, flat lake swims to rough ocean or turbulent river swims, John Kenny is the most experienced open water swimmer in the United States, if not the world. Other coaches in the triathlon realm claiming to be "open water experts" do not come close.

In addition to a host of immediately practical open water swim tips and tricks, my discussion with John includes:

1. Should my stroke count and arm turnover increase in the open water?

2. If so, by how many strokes per minute?

3. And if so, should I be using a swimming metronome?(click here for more information on the "swim metronome/pedometer" that John mentions)

4. Should my breathing mechanics be different in the open water?

5. Should I do the 2 Stroke R, Breathe, 1 Stroke R, Sight, Switch Sides pattern that I see almost all the pros doing in triathlon swim video footage?

6. If so, how do I do that?

7. Should I sight first, then breathe, or breathe first, then sight, and does it matter?

8. How often should I sight?

9. Should I change my swim mechanics if I'm swimming downriver?

10. What about in a choppy lake vs. a choppy ocean with breakers?

11. In an ocean start, at what point should I stop running and start swimming?

12. Can I learn how to "porpoise" or "dolphin dive", and will it make me faster?

13. How far away from the feet of the person in front of me can I be before I lose the draft?

14. How hard should I work in the first 200 meters to catch a draft?

15. What is the #1 Workout to get more comfortable with open water swimming?

16. What is the #1 Workout to get faster in the open water?

17. Is there a way to eat and drink while swimming in the open water?

For more information on hiring open water swim expert and pro triathlete John Kenny as your coach (and I can personally testify that just a few of the tips in this interview brought me through one of my best open water swims at the recent Boise 70.3 Half Ironman Triathlon), just click here. Also in this podcast: