To (swim) draft, or not to draft, that is my question (Page 2)

I think there is a tactic that is often overlooked by triathletes. It's what I call chase & catch (and recover). What you do is start off by finding strong pace for yourself. Notice I did not say sprint to the first buoy. Too many triathletes have read/told that this is what you should do. Of course if you are a FOB and will finish in the top 10 out of the water then by all means do it. I can't tell you how many times I've watched people going out with me and I wonder if I will simply be out classed in the race. Then at 50 yd half of them drop back, and at 100 yd another 25% drop back. By 200 yd there are just a small pack of us (and a small pack way ahead).

Most people would be better served by finding that strong pace at the start and if they feel strong they can draft up the side of someone (or a pack) and just keep going. You swim hard to bridge to the target swimmer ahead and then take a few moments drafting to recover. Rinse & repeat. When I was having a shoulder problem that prevented me from sprinting I used this tactic very successfully and always finished FOP.

I have a training buddy who swims very close pace to mine.  I think this is a very interesting idea.  We cycle together in pacelines all the time and are well practiced at rolling off the front after 30 to 60 seconds.  We should be able to do the same on the swim, after some practice.  Perhaps switching after a set number of strokes, about every 75 to 100 meters.

I know most of us triathletes are committed to the 'run your own race' strategy and the ethos of 'no outside support', but I think everyone agrees drafting on the swim is allowed within the rules.  Does anyone have an ethical issue with drafting on the swim, after having practiced it with a partner to the point of doing it with precision?

I'm very curious if anyone has time trialed in a pool and has any data to suggest how much advantage could be gained.  5%?  10%?  more?

Yeah - that's about what I was gonna' say.  you've gotta' go out a little faster at the start than you can hold for the race, and then grab onto someone who is passing you (or who has also jumped out in front of you) and be able to relax just enough to make it sustainable, and yet still stay on their hip.  You've gotta' have a little extra at any particular time as with the crowds you'll lose that draft and need to re-catch them.  

To avoid the problems of touching feet in front of you or difficulty finding the pace of the swimmer in front of you, draft at the person's hip. It is the best place to be. Think of migrating birds flying in a "V". If you really want to learn about drafting read this:

Analysis of drafting effects in swimming using computational fluid dynamicshttp://www.jssm.org/vol7/n1/9/v7n1-9pdf.pdf

Drafting or trying to draft in the swim leg of a triathlon is a complete waste for 95% of participants. Not only does the drafter need to be a good swimmer, the person being drafted does too. Usually, and I mean like 95% of the time usually, it's the blind leading the blind.

Concentrate on swimming straight....that should be #1 priority.

I agree with this 100%  I feel you should draft when the opportunity presents itself, but not make it a priority.  Oh.....and don't draft at the Hip!!  Since it slows the person your drafting off down, not only is it pointless because it's hurting both of you, it's sure to pi$$ someone off.

Is that the same 95% that don't do flip turns properly?

*runs and ducks for cover*

This sums it up for me.  I have tried many, many times to draft in races and in practice and it just hasn't been a positive experience for me.  I still try in the pool to practice with faster swimmers but they seem to just pull away no matter what.

I have never seen anything that supports this statement.

Here is a simple article on drafting.

http://www.swimsmooth.com/triathlon.html

One other consideration is sighting. If you are not drafting you will have to sight and use a lot of energy. Also unless the person is swimming completely off thew course you will expend less energy drafting off someone who is not swimming straight that you can use on the other 2 legs of the race, and if they are faster than you, you will have a quicker time. Been there done that.

I am fairly certain that is not accurate.  You are riding the bow wave of the swimmer in front.  It has no influence on their speed -- unless you keep hitting them and grabbing them to pull them backwards.  

Ask Jason Lezak how drafting worked for him in the 2008 Olympic Finals of the Men's 4X100m Relay.  

People often say they were pulled along while drafting in the water or on a bike. This leads people to conclude that it results in more work for the person doing the "pulling". The fluid dynamics in water (or high speed on a bike) of a constantly changing deformable body is complicated, and when you throw in 2 or more deformable objects it makes it very hard to do a quantitative prediction. Nevertheless, there are conditions which could exist that would actually increase the speed of the leading body. The simplest case is where the presence of the additional body decreases turbulence for the leading body.

The one time drafting has really worked for me, I started right behind some guys from my tri club who I know are strong swimmers. They dropped me at the turnaround bouy, but I got an awesome draft for the first half of the race. My swim split shattered my previous PR.

Other than that, I've never found someone who was a good match for me to draft off of in a race. Seems like out of every 10 people I encounter in the water, 6 or 7 of them are vastly slower, and 3 or 4 of them are so vastly faster they're gone before I realize they're there.

The one time drafting has really worked for me, I started right behind some guys from my tri club who I know are strong swimmers. They dropped me at the turnaround bouy, but I got an awesome draft for the first half of the race. My swim split shattered my previous PR.

Other than that, I've never found someone who was a good match for me to draft off of in a race. Seems like out of every 10 people I encounter in the water, 6 or 7 of them are vastly slower, and 3 or 4 of them are so vastly faster they're gone before I realize they're there.