Triathletes Hoping for Calm Sea at Dana Point : Thanks to a Staggered Start, Things Should Go Swimmingly in Today’s L.A. Regional

Water. An ocean full of it. It battered the face of Joanne Ernst, and still she persisted.

Ernst, named the 1985 female Triathlete of the Year by Triathlon magazine, was competing in the San Diego event of the U.S. Triathlon Series last September. She plodded, then plunged into the early morning surf at Solana Beach, attempting to start the 1.5-mile swim that begins each of the 13 USTS events.

But no matter where she dove, Ernst seemed to hit an impenetrable wall, until the ocean did the unthinkably cruel.

It broke her goggles.

“That was it for me,” she said. “I didn’t feel like burning my eyes out with saltwater. So I just headed back in.”

Be advised that Joanne Ernst does not give up easily. She has been a full-time professional triathlete for three years. She won the formidable Ironman triathlon in Hawaii last year.

Ernst was just one more victim of what is considered by many triathletes to be their least favorite event--the swim.

Triathlons begin anywhere from 6:30 to 8 in the morning. That can be cold water.

“I was in a race in Northern California and they said the water would be in the mid-70s,” Ernst said. “Actually it was in the 50s and people just went numb because no one had worn wet suits. When people got out they were so disoriented they were putting on the wrong shoes, the wrong clothes. It was terrible.”

Consider that many triathlons push contestants into the water as one herd. A thousand people or so, attempting to swim toward a turnaround buoy, usually spend most of their time slugging it out with fellow contestants.

Scott Molina, four-time USTS national champion and defending champion in the Los Angeles regional, said: “I was competing in Long Beach and about 1,200 people hit the water at once. About 200 yards in, there was this turn to the left. People were just getting on that turn. Everyone was running into each other. I think the USTS was smart to use the staggered starts.”

And consider that we’re talking about water. Ocean water.

There are no sides to grab onto out there like the local YMCA.

That’s what makes today’s USTS Los Angeles Regional event at Doheny State Park in Dana Point that much more difficult for the more than 1,000 participants scheduled to compete.

Of the 13 USTS events, only three--San Diego, Los Angeles/Dana Point and the National Championships at Hilton Head Island, S.C., hold their swimming events in the ocean.

Most events take place in lakes--lakes with names like Clear (Houston) or Pleasant (Phoenix).

“When you have a triathlon that starts in the ocean, it’s like competing in four events,” Ernst said. “You not only have to swim, you have to make it through the breakwater.”

Ernst’s main trouble during the San Diego race was that she kept trying to dive into the waves instead of under them.

“That’s a pretty common problem for people who haven’t done a lot of swimming in the ocean,” said Janet Greenleaf, a coach for the Mission Viejo Natadores swim team. “They stiffen their bodies and throw themselves into the wave, and pretty soon they’re going back to the shore.”

Greenleaf, who, along with Ernst and Linda Buchanan, is a favorite to take the women’s professional title today, says that experienced ocean swimmers relax their bodies as they dive under the wave--many times grabbing the sand and pulling themselves forward.

Although the USTS now uses staggered starts for the swim, there was a time when all triathlons simply shot off a gun and contestants ran into the water like so much cattle.

“In those mass starts, you weren’t going anywhere fast,” Greenleaf said. “The best thing to do was to relax. Some people would really freak out with all the hands and legs and feet splashing about.”

Greenleaf recalled one painful moment for a woman during last year’s Ironman.

“The start of the Ironman is incredible,” she said. “Everywhere you look there’s a body. You can really get beat up out there.

“This woman freaked out and just sat down on the shore and she was just crying her eyes out. She couldn’t bring herself to go in the water, I guess it was too scary. She just sat there and bawled.”

So how can one avoid such panicking?

Greenleaf says the most important thing is to stay relaxed.

“Even with a staggered start there are going to be a lot of people out there,” she said. “You’re not going to run away from anyone, so you might as well take it easy. Don’t freak out.”

Ernst prefers starting to the outside of the pack.

“Since everyone is going to the same place, people tend to try and take the same route,” she said. “I like starting away from that. You might have to swim a little more distance but you save getting beat up.”

Molina suggests that knowing how to bodysurf wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“You can really save a lot of energy and you can really save some time by catching a couple of waves in,” he said. “Not everyone knows how to do it, but I’ve seen people just pass up a ton of guys because they took a nice wave in.”

Joanne Ernst will probably be grateful if the waves let her get out this time.