When I first moved to the States in 2011, my friends back home in the UK were doing their first triathlons, and one of my closest friends was about to start training for her first Ironman. At the time I was just a runner, and I really liked being just a runner, except that I was constantly injured. I decided to buy a bike so i could keep active even when I wasn't able to run, and so that I could keep my friend company on her long training rides. It didn't take long for me to decide that I wanted to do a triathlon myself.

The problem was, I couldn't swim. I mean, I had learned to swim as a child and was ok at breast stroke, but I had never learned to swim with my face in the water the way distance swimming demands, and I hadn't been near water since a near-drowning experience when I got caught in a riptide in 2004. The first time I went to the pool and tried to swim front crawl, the way I knew I would have to if I wanted to do triathlon, I managed to swim about eight strokes before I got confused and panicked and had to stop.

Despite this, I signed up for my first sprint triathlon, which would take place in June 2012. It was a small event in Windsor, England, that a number of my friends were doing. I knew I was fit enough for the bike and the run, and I had been going to the pool regularly and managed a length or two of front crawl at a time. I had expected I would patch that together with paddle and breast stroke and whatever I needed to do to get to the end. 

I borrowed a wetsuit and a bike and when we got to the race it was apparent that it was a season starter training race for people who are really really good. I hated coming last in anything, but I resigned myself to it immediately. Like many of the triathlon swims I would do subsequently, the swim was one long panic attack. The panic literally propelled me forward in a mix of breast stroke, side-stroke, and back stroke to get to the end of it, all the while keeping my head completely out of the water (there was NO WAY I was putting my face in the water with all of these people around me - what if they didn't see me and hit me in the face, or what if I went in the wrong direction). I didn't manage to get it under control for the rest of the race either - I gasped all the way through the freezing rainy bike, and all the way through the slippery muddy run.

I had completed my first triathlon but it didn't feel like a triumph. Rather I felt traumatized. I realized that I needed to get serious about swimming if I wanted to do more (which I did, of course... It isn't clear why!).

So I got a coach and she taught me, firstly, how to breathe to stay calm, and secondly, how to put together an efficient swimming stroke. I went to open-water training sessions on weekends and came to love the peacefulness of swimming in open water (as well as the lack of chlorine). I also joined DC Tri Club's masters program (we were living in Washington, D.C. at the time), where I spent most of the first six months hanging on the wall gasping for air as people lapped me and lapped me again.

A couple of weeks before I completed my second triathlon in September of 2012 (an Olympic distance, where I swam about  a third of it with my face in the water and spent the rest of it panicking and breast-stroking), inspired by my friend's Ironman I signed up for Ironman Louisville for the following year. From my running days I was in the habit of signing up for another race to "take the edge off" the race I was about to do, but even I realized that signing up for an Ironman was a little bonkers. I knew I could bike 112 miles and run a marathon... So all I had to do was figure out how to swim for 2.4 miles without it being a very long, energy-sapping panic attack.

About halfway through my Ironman training, the swim became my favorite thing. There is little more motivating than a steep learning curve as an adult - we rarely get the opportunity to go from zero to competent. I started to find swimming relaxing for my mind and body, and found a peacefulness in open water swimming that I used to only get from hiking and trail running. I still feared racing - the crowds and choppy water combined with the nerves from racing makes it the hardest part of the race for me (and I even DNF'd in a swim during one of my warm-up races).

On Ironman race day I lined up for a time-trial start, sans-wetsuit (Louisville used to be in August and was HOT), and was excited. Terrified too, of course, but I had worked so hard and waited so long that I was desperate to get into the water. I don't know if I actually had a smile on my face during the swim but I had a smile in my head the whole time. As it got to the end and I could hear the noise at the swim exit, I didn't want it to be over. The swim had become my favorite thing.

Here are my top tips for learning how to swim to race triathlons:
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1. Get a coach or mentor to help you get over your fears and teach you the correct stroke. A correct stroke can make you feel safe and comfortable in the water, as well as enabling you to race well.
2. Spend time in the water. The more time you spend in the water, the better your body can "feel" the water - just on its own, muscle memory makes you more comfortable and efficient. For some of the best places to swim in Austin take a look at our resources page.
3. Find a masters group and show up. Like any group workout, having others around you will push you to do better. Masters also gets you accustomed to swimming around other people, and dare I say it, even enjoy it. For masters swimming programs in the Austin area, take a look at our resources page.
4. Look for races in lakes that are not likely to be choppy, at least in the beginning of your racing career. And if they have time trial starts all the better - that way the crowd is spaced out a bit more.
5. Look for wetsuit-legal races. Over time my preference has changed to swimming without a wetsuit, but a wetsuit can give you extra buoyancy and security which can help with the nerves on race day.
6. Get over being last. It may happen - at least in the beginning. One way to cope with the swim in a race is actually to start at the back. That way you don't have to worry about what is going on around you.

Meghann Jones, Austin Tri Club Vice President

As part of the Austin Tri Club mentoring program, Meghann is hoping to mentor triathletes who are looking to overcome their fears of swimming.

The Ironman 70.3 Austin race is coming up on October 29th!  Here’s our race preview  –

• Summary: The race course is the same as last year. The main changes for 2017 are both weather related:  (1) no fog this year and (2) much cooler temperatures. 

• 10/26/2017 WEATHER UPDATE - A cold front is coming in Friday into Saturday. This means that overnight lows Saturday night will be in the low 40s.  Expect an air temperature for the swim on Sunday morning in the 40s, with the temps rising into the 50s on the bike and 60s on the run.

• Pre-race:  Race starts at 7:30 AM. Transition opens at 5:30 and closes at 7:15. Because there is a shuttle from the Expo Center parking lot to the swim start, it's best to arrive by 6:00. There is only one entrance to the parking lot, so expect significant delays if you arrive later than 6:00. Last year, we cut it a bit close, and I had to hop out of the car and run to the shuttle. We also found the shuttle organization not as orderly as some other races, so it’s best to arrive early. Also, I don’t remember the parking lot being particularly well lit, so bring a headlamp or other light. 

 

• Swim: Swimstart is rolling and self-seeded. This means that you line up in accordance with your expected swim time. This is my favorite kind of start. It means you aren’t having to swim around slow swimmers, and if you’re a slow swimmer like me, you aren’t getting swam over. The swim is a clockwise triangle, with two turns. The swim is in a lake, so conditions are typically good, unless it is windy or stormy. I think the swim will probably be wetsuit eligible. Despite warm temps leading up to the race last year, the swim was wetsuit eligible (but canceled because of fog). The extended forecast calls for cooler temperatures here in Austin over the next two weeks. (10/26/2017 UPDATE - that forecast is right -- the race will definitely be wetsuit eligible)  

 

• Bike: As noted above, the course is the same as last year. The bike is mostly rolling with a listed net elevation gain of 1,555 feet (however, total climbing may be closer to 2,200 feet - thanks Derek Smith from Fort Worth) . The net elevation is not too bad, but most of the bigger hills are in the second half of the race, so you’ll need to keep plenty in the tank. The first serious hill isn’t until about mile 21, and then you have more hills to tackle at 26, 32, 37, 45-46, 50 and 53. Most of those hills are ~ 100-125 foot inclines. They’re not terribly long, but they can be tough if you went too hard the first half of the bike. Also, if you’ve done this race before, you know that the road surface is not spectacular, so be prepared for that.

 

• Run: The run is a three-loop course without a lot of shade. Last year, the sun and temps in the upper 80s made for a tough run. Fortunately, there was plenty of race support. Right now, the long-term forecast calls for highs in the 70s, let’s hope it stays that way. The three loops mean that you have the same incline each loop. The inclines are miles 3-4, 7.5-9, and 11 to the finish.  The hills and the corresponding declines mean that you shouldn’t overuse your quads on the bike. You’ll need them on the run.  The finish is inside the arena.

 

• Transitions: The race has two different transitions.  T1 is by the lake, and T2 is by the arena.  No real impact from this, other than you’ll need to make sure your T2 bag gets to where it’s supposed to be.

 

• Spectators: The swim and the run are your best options to support your racers. Bring a book for the bike. If it gets hot like last year, you can hide in the arena and tell your racer that you saw them on the run, but there were so many people that your racer didn’t see you.  :)

 

• More information and the race athlete guide available through the Ironman website.

Have a great race everyone!

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​Austin Triathlon Club was launched on October 8, 2017. Austin Triathlon Club is an all-volunteer, member-run community welcoming triathletes of all abilities. We encourage you to learn more about the Club by checking out our Mission and Values, the Club Leadership, and how you can get involved.

We would also love to see you at our Kick-Off happy hour on November 6th at the Ginger Man in downtown Austin. For more details and to RSVP, see our facebook event page.

My name is Daniel Riegel, and I’m one of the founding members of the Austin Triathlon Club. We created Austin Triathlon Club because we believe Austin is the best city in America for triathlon. Here are a few of our reasons why we think Austin is the perfect city for triathletes.

1) Barton Springs. The heart and soul of Austin. Barton Springs is a natural springs pool that is more than 200 meters from one end to the other. The pool is perfect open water swimming practice for beginners and experienced triathletes, alike. Water temperature is always ~ 68 degrees, meaning we can train year-around and practice in a wetsuit whenever we want.

2) Deep Eddy. Spring fed lap lanes, slightly warmer than Barton Springs. Deep Eddy overlooks the Colorado River and is #2 on our list of favorite swimming holes. Each pool length is 33 1/3 yards, so 53 lengths make a mile. Even when the pool is at its busiest, you usually only need to wait a few minutes to find a spot in a split or circle-swim lane. Deep Eddy is also the oldest swimming pool in Texas.

3) Bike Night at COTA. There is no other experience like this in the country. Every Tuesday night from April to October, cyclists can ride the Formula One race track in Southeast Austin. The world-class track is 3.4 miles with 20 turns. We love the beer garden afterwards and the general vibe.

4) Townlake (aka the Butler Hike and Bike Trail). Our favorite place to run anywhere. The 10 mile loop provides beautiful views of Lady Bird Lake and downtown Austin. The soft surface -- mostly dirt and gravel -- is forgiving, and there are plenty of water fountains and restrooms. The addition of the boardwalk a few years ago made the run even nicer.

5) Weather. The weather means that there is no off-season for triathletes in Austin. Setting aside our one week of “winter”, we can swim, bike, and run year-around, outside, every day.

6) Races. The Rookie Triathlon, Cap Tex Tri, Lake Pflugerville Tri, Marble Falls Tri, Jack's Generic, Ironman Austin 70.3, Kerrville Triathlon, all in our backyard. Not to mention, the Cap 2K, Pure Austin Open Water Race Series, Splash n Dashes, Deep Eddy Mile, Lake Travis Relay, Highland Lakes Challenge, the Driveway Series, and the Austin Distance Challenge. The list goes on and on.

7) Coaches. Austin is home to 35 USAT-certified triathlon coaches and dozens more highly qualified coaches, trainers, and instructors. Walk into your neighborhood YMCA, and your swim instructor just might be a former professional triathlete turned swim coaching savant.

8) Facilities. Austin has over twenty public lap pools, including three outdoor 50-meter pools, a bike veloway, a state-of-the-art triathlon training center, a gym with its own lake, and over 100 miles of urban trails to run, bike, and play.

9) Community. Austin has a long history of triathlon. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Austin had one of the largest and most talented triathlon clubs in the country – the Austin Triathletes. That club spawned scores of professional triathletes, coaches, trainers, and leaders in Austin’s triathlon community. Our goal is that Austin Triathlon Club can once again provide Austin with a community-based triathlon club, one that welcomes Austin area triathletes of all abilities. We encourage everyone who is a triathlete, or who is just trying to complete their first triathlon, to join the Club.

10) Austin. Austin is home. The people, the music, the food, the weather, the outdoors, the laid-back attitude. We can’t imagine a better place to live and to be a triathlete.

Whether or not you agree that Austin is the best triathlon city in the country, we hope you'll agree that Austin is a pretty great place to swim, bike, and run. We love it here, and hope you do too.
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​Daniel,
Austin Triathlon Club President
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Austin Triathlon Club was launched on October 8, 2017. Austin Triathlon Club is an all-volunteer, member-run community welcoming triathletes of all abilities. We encourage you to learn more about the Club by checking out our Mission and Values, the Club Leadership, and how you can get involved.

We would also love to see you at our Kick-Off happy hour on November 6th at the Ginger Man in downtown Austin. For more details and to RSVP, see our facebook event page.

We are excited to launch the Austin Triathlon Club website today – and so glad that you found us!
 
Austin Triathlon Club was founded by a group of people who care about making triathlon – and sports and healthy lifestyles in general – accessible to everyone. Our goal is to create a safe and welcoming  community for people who already participate in triathlon or who are wondering what it is all about.
 
Right now our website has lots of information about the club mission, the leadership team, and resources for swimming, biking and running in the Austin area. In addition there is information about some of the activities that we are planning for the club, such as mentoring new triathletes and hosting an informal training camp at Big Bend during MLK weekend.

Our goal is to launch memberships by early November. While we intend to keep the club as open and accessible as possible, having a formal membership program will enable us to participate in races and other activities as as a team, and to build partnerships that bring the immense triathlon resources that Austin offers to the club.

Meanwhile, you can stay up-to-date on what is happening with the club by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or contacting us for more details. You can also join us for our launch happy hour.
 
We are looking forward to tri-ing with you!

- The Austin Triathlon Club Leadership Team