Coaching Tip:  Wear 2 Swim Caps

Triathlon is a contact sport, at least in the swim it often is. Athletes kick. Arms pound the water. People get a foot in the face or fingertips grab their toes.

What happens when one of those kicks or hits lands right on your goggles and pops them off your face? You most likely become unnerved and thrown off your game for which you have trained long hours and put in much sweat equity. You might be able to save your goggles from floating away, but they will be full of water.

One simple solution to this is wearing two swim caps. Put on the first swim cap, then your goggles, and finally top it off with another swim cap. It will take some getting used to, as your head may feel like a pimple being popped, but over time, that feeling will go unnoticed by your mind. Practice this in your training so you are ready come race day. Your first cap might even match the color of your race swim cap.

While donning two swim caps, make sure your goggles are sticking to the skin around your eyes and not to the bottom layer swim cap. If you experience any leakage into your goggles, check to make sure this is not the cause.

Wearing two swim caps will help keep your goggles in place, even if you are hit by a fellow swimmer. Alternately, you could try putting your goggles on first (no cap) and then one swim cap on top.

Try out these options and see what works best for you. All options listed here are USAT and Ironman legal. Just make sure your top swim cap is the one for the race in which you are competing at the time.