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Training to 8-miles in cold water

06KWC

I'm training to swim 8 miles again (summer 2026. 2025 got away from me).  Being an open water distance swimmer in Idaho can be difficult but it's not impossible. I'm hoping the USMS community can share what they have learned about swimming in cold fresh water.

Results: My first swim was completed in approximately 4hrs 15 minutes

Goal: cut down my swim time to 3hrs 30 minutes (cutting 5 1/2 minutes per mile)

Background: I live in a small town of 520 people with no access to a public swimming pool. The nearest pool is a 90-minute drive. As a result, I purchased a propulsion pool to train for distance swimming. I live at 6,000 ft elevation. The reservoir is close at 5,500 ft elevation. 

Reservoir swimming: Most of the "lakes" around me are man-made. Utilized for watering the crops in the area.

Timeframe: The reservoirs are frozen for 4 - 6 months per year. The best time to swim a reservoir is mid to late July.

Water temperature: The water is typically 50 - 55 degrees F. 

Training regimen: I make a plan. The plan is broken down into the overarching goal, swim 8 miles. From there, it is broken down into monthly, weekly goals. 

      For example, my monthly goal is to increase my swim time from 40 minutes to 60 minutes. 1st week goal is maintaining            50 strokes per minute (SPM) for 40 minutes, 2nd week goal is maintaining 45 SPM for 45 minutes, 3rd week goal is                  maintaining 50 SPM for 50 minutes, 4th week goal is maintaining 45-50 SPM for 60 minutes.

      I use SPM because I have ProForm goggles that display SPM information for me to track.

Cold training: My pool is kept at 68 degrees F. Two months prior to my swim, I will start doing short swims in the reservoir. This really helps get the body used to the cold water. 

Lesson learned: My first swim was with a swimsuit, cap, and goggles. This next swim will be with a 3mil wetsuit, cap and smart goggles. After my last swim, I was frozen by the time I got to mile 7 of 8 and it took 2 hours to warm up.

Other training: I incorporate strength training, cardio, and flexibility exercises into my training program. I have come to love warming up on my echo bike (10 miles), then its strength training (legs everyday), 1-mile walk on the treadmill at a 7 - 8 incline, followed by flexibility exercises and stretching. 

Question to the group - What advice would you have for me to help me reach my goal of cutting 45 minutes off my swim???

Parents
  • 0

    Wow - amazing project !! I don't know open water swimming or propulsion pools. The things that "popped out" for me

    - SPM; that is probably THE most important part of swimming - timed SPM - in a pool if you do LCM - how many strokes in a 50, then try same time with less strokes. Increasing the SPM is usually not a "good" thing unless you are a max sprinter. In a propulsion pool - I would try to start off on a clean long SPM and increase the propulsion speed - not the SPM if that works - increasing SPM usually means less efficient swimming.

    - HR - heart rate is super important. I would track that - get a baseline you can hold for 30-45 min easily ... then see what happens at higher level. 

    - Max sessions; after 2-6 weeks "warm-up" plan -- you need max sessions ! Variety is fine but in terms of minutes -- 10x2 minutes - descend 1-3 and then maintain the highest level you can 4-10 -- push the limits of your body and your body will respond ... again you need to be "ready" for doing this - but that's the goal. 

    - last - ideally, you need to do some loooooonnnnnggg sessions ... again - if you train "only" 45-60 min sessions - and ask your body to drop in for 3.5 hours ... may be unhappy.

Reply
  • 0

    Wow - amazing project !! I don't know open water swimming or propulsion pools. The things that "popped out" for me

    - SPM; that is probably THE most important part of swimming - timed SPM - in a pool if you do LCM - how many strokes in a 50, then try same time with less strokes. Increasing the SPM is usually not a "good" thing unless you are a max sprinter. In a propulsion pool - I would try to start off on a clean long SPM and increase the propulsion speed - not the SPM if that works - increasing SPM usually means less efficient swimming.

    - HR - heart rate is super important. I would track that - get a baseline you can hold for 30-45 min easily ... then see what happens at higher level. 

    - Max sessions; after 2-6 weeks "warm-up" plan -- you need max sessions ! Variety is fine but in terms of minutes -- 10x2 minutes - descend 1-3 and then maintain the highest level you can 4-10 -- push the limits of your body and your body will respond ... again you need to be "ready" for doing this - but that's the goal. 

    - last - ideally, you need to do some loooooonnnnnggg sessions ... again - if you train "only" 45-60 min sessions - and ask your body to drop in for 3.5 hours ... may be unhappy.

Children
  • 0 in reply to Erik Hochstein

    Appreciate the information. The plan I explained is just an example. Generally, I work up to a 4-hour swim with different focuses at different times.