In long course triathlon, “drafting” in the bike leg is illegal.
There is a measured distance that must be maintained between riders on the bike leg, so that there there isn’t an energetic advantage for those who “follow” behind someone else.
In the swim leg however, there is no such rule.
It turns out, that when you “sit on the feet” of the swimmer in front, there is a huge energetic advantage. You save a lot more energy than if you were to swim “off the front” or by yourself.
Understandably, this creates a mad rush at the start of the swim to be in that front “pack” in order to save energy.
In the 2010 Australian Long Course Champs in Huskisson, this rush took place in the swim like in any other race.
However, this also happens at dawn, with a low sun.
Halfway through the swim, it was clear that the lead group of pro athletes were swimming completely off course.
At a point of course, they sighted the buoy and realised their error, before having to pivot. But not before they lost valuable time (through swimming too far).
A lot of time in our daily routine we “sit on the feet” of either our past self, or someone else.
It makes complete sense. It’s easier and well, often faster.
Every once in a while though, even when we are following professionals, we can find ourselves going the wrong way.
The question is, are we “sighting” the marker frequently enough to realise this and pivot? Or are we just following blindly.
