Busselton Jetty Swim: applied risk management
Busselton Jetty, Busselton Western Australia
Summary
On Sunday, the 11 February 2023, I completed my first Busselton Jetty Swim - 3.6kms in 78 minutes. This post is about how I applied risk management to achieve this personal goal. The five steps I took to ensure success were:
✅Training: I trained progressively and consistently for the event.
✅Simulation: I added race like conditions to my training, moving from pool to open water in the weeks leading up to the event.
✅Pilot testing: I did a test run to identify areas for improvement.
✅Prevention: I identified an issue in the pilot (cramping), and acted to mitigate that issue (supplements, stretching, and avoiding fin use).
✅Specialist advice: I sought coaching to improve my technique. In this case, my left arm hand entry, bilateral breathing and my freestyle ‘catch and pull’.
To be honest, this sounds much more structured than it was. Read on, to find out how it actually played out…
Preparation
I started swimming regularly 12 months ago (and not since high school), at the prompting of another dad at toddler swim school: “Let’s do a triathlon”, ‘Steve’ said to me randomly, poolside, in December 2022. Reluctantly, I agreed.
A knee injury temporarily put an end to the triathlon dream. My specialist was candid: I wouldn’t be able to run more than 10kms, perhaps not more than 5! Extremely frustrated with the limited capabilities of my middle-aged Dad bod, I focused on the other two disciplines. My swim progress through last year is illustrated in the chart below.
In November 2023, we signed up for the Jetty Swim. As luck would have it, I was successful in the ballot. Unfortunately, Steve was waitlisted, which I meant I lost an important ally and sounding board. He continued to train, but we lost a common goal. Steve is competitive, which helped me focus.
My progress through December was interrupted by school holidays and travel. I also had an ankle problem (turned out to be psoriasis) which kept me out of the water for three weeks. I was beginning to worry that I wasn’t going to make the start line.
Fortunately, in early January my ankle resolved, and I was able to swim again. I established a routine and introduced the ski erg to kick start my program and I cut back social drinking for the rest of January.
On January 10, Steve suggested a 2.5km competitive ocean swim for practice.
This was a great idea: a test of current state, get used to being in the water with other swimmers, and an opportunity to identify issues. With this interim goal in mind, I swam in the ocean for the first time on 20th and 21st of January 2024.
How the race went: I zig zagged all over the course and I cramped horribly 600m from the finish. I spoke to observers in a nearby boat but decided to press on and finish. I finished 19th of 19 in my category and worst of all Steve beat me by 4 minutes! It was probably the least enjoyable event I’ve ever participated in.
I felt deflated, happy for Steve, but unhappy that I finished last. It was a make-or-break moment and made me reflect on whether I was ready for the jetty swim - if I cramped 1.9kms in, I wouldn’t make it back to shore. I realised that there was more to this than just will power. I needed help!
I persisted and sought help. I reached out to my support network, both professionally (physiotherapist and remedial massage therapist) and personal (my wife, ‘part time swim coach’), and made the following changes:
I prioritised mitigating the cramping - after all, staying alive was an unspoken condition of entry:
I took magnesium supplements twice daily.
I introduced a stretching regime.
I had a remedial massage two days prior to the event.
I avoided fin use in the week prior (as it contracts the calf muscle for an extended period).
To improve my time:
I fixed my hand entry: my left arm was crossing the centre line which was causing me to zig zag.
I focused on the ‘catch’ to more effectively push water towards my feet and propel myself forward.
I practiced bilateral breathing to avoid waves. There’s nothing worse than being slapped in the face by a wave just as you take a breath!
I switched goggles as I had greater confidence in my spare pair.
With this additional support, and ‘risk mitigations,’ I felt confident. I had few nerves heading into the race. My goal, to break 90 minutes.
Result?
Outcome: 78 minutes! I swam straight, did not cramp, and I beat my previous competitive open water swimming time by 11 seconds per 100m.
On reflection, I was very happy with the outcome. I achieved something I didn’t think was possible 12 months ago. I swam further than I ever had before. I left nothing out on course and finished well ahead of my goal.
The only element that could have worked better, was the bilateral breathing - I drank a bit of water and had to adjust my goggle several times as they were displaced by oncoming waves.
What would I do differently next time?
I’d plan my program from the outset. I achieved my goal, but at times the approach felt very unstructured.
My priority in future would be to undertake a more structured training regime, introduce the ocean swims earlier, and focus on technique, technique, and technique!
What’s your next audacious goal?
How will you use ‘risk management’ techniques to ensure your success?
