Photos L-R: Antarctica Bound, Jay Prasuhn

Throughout the country, at beaches, lakefronts and riverheads, bipedal creatures of habit begin to gather at the shore. Like predictable duck migrations, some waddle, some sprint, some wade, and some splash—oftentimes in pairs or small groups—into the water. Most are covered neck-to-calf in a shiny black, musky coating resembling blubber to insulate themselves from the chilly water, while a few on the daring side shed such protection. Onlookers gawk incredulously.

I call this ritual springtime return to open-water swimming the “Trudge of the Triathletes.” Depending on your outlook and confidence level, it may also be known as the “Surge of the Swimmers.”

What, did you think I was referring to something else?

Like the endearing 2005 documentary March of the Penguins, the triathlon version features various archetypal characters. More confident swimmers strut into the water, glide effortlessly, and manage to have a blast doing it. Others are timid, toe-dipping and simply trying to avoid trouble with chop and current. Most of us probably lie somewhere in between, experienced open-water swimmers who either settle with “we’ll see how it goes” or simply “get through” the swim portion of a triathlon.

Even the pros display a lack of confidence in their open-water swimming skills

Among renowned swimmers Andy Potts and Julie Dibens, along with coaches Gerry Rodrigues, Ian Murray and Tim Bomba, I found a common theme: how you think about open-water swimming matters as much if not more than how you actually do it. Why? According to Potts, swimming can be tough because it’s the loneliest and least social of the three disciplines. “You have to have your face in the water and can’t talk, so being a strong mental athlete with a positive mental attitude about swimming goes a long way,” said Potts, the recently crowned 2011 Rohto Ironman 70.3 California winner (his third title there) and former University of Michigan swimming standout.

It’s also flat-out scary. Potts and Dibens both said they still get nervous before every race, and there’s even been a time or two where Potts had to calm himself during races in rough water with a couple breast-strokes before continuing. 

Nerves, bad habits and lack of emphasis on open-water swim technique can take their collective toll on a triathlete’s race-day psyche. Gerry Rodrigues, world champion open-water swimmer and founder of Tower 26 swim coaching, said it’s common even for pros to display a lack of confidence in their open-water swimming skills. He recently returned from coaching pros for five days at Purplepatch training camp in Tucson, Ariz. When it comes to adjusting their stroke and outlook, “it’s all about shifting their lens, acquiring some more tools in their arsenal and having a swim plan for race day rather than saying, ‘We’ll see what happens,’” said Rodrigues, who’s coached Olympian swimmers and Ironman champions. “There is nothing proactive in that statement.”

Potts’ plan often focuses on pushing hard during the swim portion of his races. “When I get into that wait-and-see approach, the experiences aren’t what I want them to be,” said Potts, who added that his training swims often match the intensity of his race pace to ensure greater comfort in competition. “When someone else dictates the pace, that takes matters totally out of my control. So I push and try to be aggressive.”

For Dibens, being mentally prepared helps her start faster when the gun goes off. She doesn’t dwell on checking out the competition beforehand, opting instead to replay a mental checklist of what she needs to do to have a good start: be aggressive, maintain fast turnover, stay high in the water, and use a strong leg kick. Of course, that doesn’t mean Dibens isn’t above a little friendly trash-talk to get in her competitors’ heads, especially friend and rival Mirinda Carfrae—who just won her third Ironman 70.3 California title along with Potts. “I can beat Rinny in open-water swimming with my feet tied together while holding two tennis balls,” said Dibens, who clipped Carfrae by two minutes in the swim at the 2010 Ironman World Championships. “I could even probably balance a water bottle on my head for the whole swim. I’d hate for her to get dehydrated trying to keep up.”

Now that’s confidence!

The physical side of training can’t be overlooked though. Potts swims five days a week, but confines all his training to the pool. The latter notion was fairly controversial to the coaches I spoke to, as they generally contend that the best way to prepare for racing in open-water is to train in open-water conditions. Potts believes his stroke and body positioning in the water naturally translate well to open-water swimming, and he uses tricks such as swimming in lanes with the jets turned up to simulate a current.

Less confident swimmers need to practice as much as possible in open water to simulate race conditions. That means extra time conducting drills (Dibens stressed the importance of head-up swimming for better sighting), mass starts, and dealing with the discomfort of contact with other swimmers. Triathlon Training Series head coach Ian Murray advises his clients to learn from Muhammad Ali’s “rope-a-dope” strategy against George Foreman in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle” when dealing with the battering that swimmers endure in the initial chaos of a race start. “Every time you are touched or bumped you simply ignore and deflect without spending an ounce of energy in defense or anxiety,” Murray said.  “Each time it happens, be confident that you’ve just eased through that moment while others exhausted themselves a bit more.”

Tim Bomba, LA Tri Club member and co-founder of its popular Ocean 101 swim training clinic, used to be terrified of swimming. His younger brother, Danny, drowned as a teenager. Several years later, Bomba overcame his fear and learned to swim, which he does so year-round. Through Ocean 101 he’s helped hundreds become better swimmers, too. Based on his experiences, Bomba’s approach to the clinic is as much mental as it is physical, emphasizing that the one thing swimmers of all abilities can control in the water is their thoughts. “By understanding their fear, we address it, but don’t coddle it,” said Bomba, a full-time triathlon and marathon race announcer. “We help (swimmers) get past their comfort zone, without them knowing that they are getting past their comfort zone.” 

As the sun brightens and the temperature climbs, soon it will be time for your own personal migration to the open water. Whether you trudge or surge there is ultimately up to you and how you prepare not just your lats, but the muscle in your head.  

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Ryan Schneider is an Ironman triathlete and blogger who works in brand development when he’s not swimming, biking or running. You can read his blog at ironmadman.com, follow him on Twitter (@theironmadman), and read his monthly column right here.