Tips on jumping into the water

1. Take a deep breath before you jump.
2. Make sure your cap and goggles are on tight.
3. Don’t jump in with your fins. Put them on when you get into the water.
4. Bend your knees and slowly walk (easy jump) off the edge of the boat into the water.
5. Stay upright by looking forward and cross your arms and legs.
6. After you hit the water spread your legs and arms and begin treading water.
7. Make any adjustments to your equipment.
8. Take a few deep breaths, relax-you are on your way to a great swim!

Tips on swimming front crawl (freestyle)

This information is taken from TOTAL IMMERSION (TI), a method of swimming by Terry Laughlin:

1. To propel yourself forward with the least effort, focus on shoulder roll and keeping your body horizontal (least resistance), not pulling with your arms or kicking with your legs. This is counter-intuitive but important, as kicking harder is the most universal suggestion for fixing swimming issues.
   Keep yourself horizontal by keeping your head in line with your spine — you should be looking straight down. Use the same head position as while walking and drive your arm underwater vs. swimming on the surface.
2. Check out these swimming videos on YOUTUBE:
   
3. Penetrate the water with your fingers angled down and fully extend your arm well beneath your head. Extend it lower and further than you think you should. This downward water pressure on the arms will bring your legs up and decrease drag.
4. Focus on increasing stroke length (SL) instead of stroke rate (SR). Attempt to glide further on each downstroke and decrease the number of strokes per lap.
5. Stretch your extended arm and turn your body (not just head) to breathe.
6. Inhale fully through your mouth when you face is on its side; exhale fully when you roll your face in the water-out your nose.

Tips on overcoming fear of swimming in open water

1. Plan to make a few practice swims with a buddy and have someone follow you in a kayak or canoe.
2. A wetsuit takes away the feeling that you have to keep your arms turning over just to keep from sinking. Take advantage of that by relaxing and enjoy the wonderful security of feeling completely supported by the water.
3. Practice floating on your back so if you get scared you can just relax.
4. Practice treading water in deep water so if you have to adjust your goggles you know how to sit vertically in the water.
5. Practice deep breathing.
6. Swim breaststroke or backstroke in case you get tired.
7. Stay well within yourself. Go slower than you think necessary to establish a sense of calm and control. Then focus on one or two specific points of technique. Make sure your head is in line with your body ... or that you feel as if you're slipping through a small hole in the water ... or that you feel arms, legs and body moving in sync.

Tips on swimming in the open water

There are a few skills that you can practice in the pool to prepare for swimming in open water.

• Assuming you will swim the front crawl (free style) a majority of the time, practice breathing on both sides, or bilateral breathing. Breathing on both sides accomplishes two main goals. It tends to "even out" your stroke so that you will naturally swim straighter. It will also give you the ability to see where you are going on the right and left side.

• Another skill to practice in the pool is lifting your head to see forward while swimming. The easiest way is to lift your head forward just before taking a breath to the side. I use the forward motion to look and then breathe to the side. Breathing head forward is not suggested since it requires too much energy to lift the head high enough for a breath and will cause slower swimming. Once you are comfortable with lifting your head and breathing on both sides try to set a pattern; 10 strokes (20 hand hits): 1 head lift.

• Adjusting your stroke rate while you are swimming will also help. Imagine riding a bike for a very long time or uphill. As you get tired, you change gears so that it is easier to pedal by increasing the pedal rate and decreasing the pedal resistance. If you apply this same principle with swimming you will be able to adjust for coldness, waves, and fatigue.

Establishing a goal

The swim across the lake is approximately 1.2 miles. 1.2 miles equals about 2,100 yards which equals 84 lengths (or 42 laps) in a 25 yard pool. Now don't get intimidated! There are a million ways you can get into shape and make this swim comfortably; even if you are not a real comfy swimmer. The first thing to do is to determine your baseline ability level and then design a training program that will help you get across the lake with confidence.

Go to a pool, swim for about 5-10 minutes to warm up and then time yourself for 4 lengths. Take that time and multiply it by 21. That will give you a ball park time for the total swim. For example: if it takes you 3:00 to swim 100 yards (4 lengths), multiply that by 21 (2100 yards), it would take you a little over an hour to make the swim. You might need to add a little time to account for the difference between swimming in a pool and swimming in a lake.

The goal for many of us is to "just make it" across the lake. That is totally fine-there is no time limit. But for those of you who would like some help designing a training program look for my next blog on designing a training program.