Hi All,
I'm going to be doing the 5K Postal Swim in about 3 weeks, and I need some advice about pacing. A little background:
I'm kind of a newbie. Last year, I participated in a bunch of open water races, but my focus was on participation rather than racing. I did some long distances, (1K, 2K and 4K events with a few minutes rest in between), but I didn't have any goals related to speed.
This year, I've been focusing on speed. My coach told me to stick to short events (except for postal swims). So far, I've done three races this year (all 1K OW), and I've treated them like races.
I want to do the 5K Postal Swim, but it's just an extra little adventure, not a main event for me. As such, I haven't really been training for it. I swim my normal 3,000 yards per day (7x per week), and add in a longer distance (usually 4,000 yards) when I have time as long as it doesn't interfere with my other training goals. In the next two weeks, I'll do a 4,500 yard and a 5,000 yard practice.
I rarely do long distance time trials in the pool, so I don't have good data about how fast I should expect to be able to swim 5K. My 1-Hour Postal Swim pace from January was 1:52/100 yards (2:02/100m). This week, I did a near-race-pace 1000 yards in the pool at a 1:47 pace (1:56/100m)
I should be able to hold my 1 hour postal swim pace (1:52/2:02) for the 5K. The speed gains I've made since January should make up for the extra distance and the long-course pool. I actually think/hope I should be able to come in a little faster than that.
So, I know of two ways to manage this:
Go by feel. Start out easy and build intensity after each 1,000m.
Go by the clock. Hold myself to 1:52/2:02 for the first 3-4K and then give whatever I have left for remaining distance.
What do you guys think?
Katie
Hi Katie,
I'm a sprinter but I also do longer swims sometimes,
I did 2 1 hour swims in Jan 2011.
You might not think you have the conditioning to do a 5k
but you do. You'll be fine. I bet you could even do a 10k.
in the weeks approaching your swim
keep going 7 days a week
Pick up your yardage and do longer swims
you can shift to sprints as meets approach in Oct, Nov & Dec
7, 6, or 5 days away from your swim
reduce your yardage and intesity
especially 2 & 1 days away
don't do much at all
When you're doing the swim
Wear a fast suit
if you can warm up a bit before you start though many people just use the first part of their swim as warm up
put petroleum jelly on parts of your body where you're likely to chafe,
Like along your shoulder straps, i have rub spots on my right shoulder when I do long swims and haven't shaved my face.
shave your arms and legs the night before
if you're hard core cut your hair, if you're hard hard core shave your head
wear a thin cap or no cap
what's the pool water temp likely to be?
if it's too warm ease up your planned pace even more
hydrate & fuel up, before your swim but not a big meal,
drink water with electrolytes
eat some glucose which is also called dextrose
(Dextrose is the main ingredient in Smarties candy)
have a water bottle and GU gels near your lane,
so you can grab and go
Definitely pace it right
on pacing
swim long smooth and easy, think about minimum effort
good head position, small kicks,
hold a pace you can handle the entire way,
it should feel way too easy at first,
swim at 65% or 70% effort
maybe start out even easier so you can (slightly) pick up your pace each 1000
breathe often, like every 2
sometimes on turns I breathe on the 1st & 2nd stroke off each wall
take big breaths, FILL Up your lungs
it's OK to stop but don't stop much, maybe 5 or 10 seconds every 1,000
have a rest strategy like
2000 then 10 sec rest,
1000 5 sec rest,
1000, 5 sec rest
1000
those little breaks can do wonders for you
stay calm and relaxed and steady, don't do too much too soon,
if you can,
pick up the pace on your last
500, 200 & maybe even sprint your last 50 or 100
have your counter signal each 500 or 1000
you can also switch strokes, it might help you to switch between freestyle and backstroke.
I did 2 postal 1hr swims
one Sun Jan 23rd, 2010 Went Postal
but I wasn't happy with it and felt I could do better so
on Sat Jan 29th, 2010 I wrote in my blog:
Thinking about taking another crack at the hour swim again tomorrow
instead of asking myself "what do I need to do to go faster?" I should ask
what do I need to do to go further?
+ begin and swim at a smoother easier pace
+ stop fewer times
+ maybe I'll attempt 10 x 500 starting on 5:40 then drop a sec each round after each one.
Here's how my 2nd attempt went
Sun Jan 30th 2011 HR Postal Swim take 2
let us know how you do,
Good luck
Ande
Hi All,
I'm going to be doing the 5K Postal Swim in about 3 weeks, and I need some advice about pacing. A little background:
I'm kind of a newbie. Last year, I participated in a bunch of open water races, but my focus was on participation rather than racing. I did some long distances, (1K, 2K and 4K events with a few minutes rest in between), but I didn't have any goals related to speed.
This year, I've been focusing on speed. My coach told me to stick to short events (except for postal swims). So far, I've done three races this year (all 1K OW), and I've treated them like races.
I want to do the 5K Postal Swim, but it's just an extra little adventure, not a main event for me. As such, I haven't really been training for it. I swim my normal 3,000 yards per day (7x per week), and add in a longer distance (usually 4,000 yards) when I have time as long as it doesn't interfere with my other training goals. In the next two weeks, I'll do a 4,500 yard and a 5,000 yard practice.
I rarely do long distance time trials in the pool, so I don't have good data about how fast I should expect to be able to swim 5K. My 1-Hour Postal Swim pace from January was 1:52/100 yards (2:02/100m). This week, I did a near-race-pace 1000 yards in the pool at a 1:47 pace (1:56/100m)
I should be able to hold my 1 hour postal swim pace (1:52/2:02) for the 5K. The speed gains I've made since January should make up for the extra distance and the long-course pool. I actually think/hope I should be able to come in a little faster than that.
So, I know of two ways to manage this:
Go by feel. Start out easy and build intensity after each 1,000m.
Go by the clock. Hold myself to 1:52/2:02 for the first 3-4K and then give whatever I have left for remaining distance.
What do you guys think?
Katie
Hi Katie,
I'm a sprinter but I also do longer swims sometimes,
I did 2 1 hour swims in Jan 2011.
You might not think you have the conditioning to do a 5k
but you do. You'll be fine. I bet you could even do a 10k.
in the weeks approaching your swim
keep going 7 days a week
Pick up your yardage and do longer swims
you can shift to sprints as meets approach in Oct, Nov & Dec
7, 6, or 5 days away from your swim
reduce your yardage and intesity
especially 2 & 1 days away
don't do much at all
When you're doing the swim
Wear a fast suit
if you can warm up a bit before you start though many people just use the first part of their swim as warm up
put petroleum jelly on parts of your body where you're likely to chafe,
Like along your shoulder straps, i have rub spots on my right shoulder when I do long swims and haven't shaved my face.
shave your arms and legs the night before
if you're hard core cut your hair, if you're hard hard core shave your head
wear a thin cap or no cap
what's the pool water temp likely to be?
if it's too warm ease up your planned pace even more
hydrate & fuel up, before your swim but not a big meal,
drink water with electrolytes
eat some glucose which is also called dextrose
(Dextrose is the main ingredient in Smarties candy)
have a water bottle and GU gels near your lane,
so you can grab and go
Definitely pace it right
on pacing
swim long smooth and easy, think about minimum effort
good head position, small kicks,
hold a pace you can handle the entire way,
it should feel way too easy at first,
swim at 65% or 70% effort
maybe start out even easier so you can (slightly) pick up your pace each 1000
breathe often, like every 2
sometimes on turns I breathe on the 1st & 2nd stroke off each wall
take big breaths, FILL Up your lungs
it's OK to stop but don't stop much, maybe 5 or 10 seconds every 1,000
have a rest strategy like
2000 then 10 sec rest,
1000 5 sec rest,
1000, 5 sec rest
1000
those little breaks can do wonders for you
stay calm and relaxed and steady, don't do too much too soon,
if you can,
pick up the pace on your last
500, 200 & maybe even sprint your last 50 or 100
have your counter signal each 500 or 1000
you can also switch strokes, it might help you to switch between freestyle and backstroke.
I did 2 postal 1hr swims
one Sun Jan 23rd, 2010 Went Postal
but I wasn't happy with it and felt I could do better so
on Sat Jan 29th, 2010 I wrote in my blog:
Thinking about taking another crack at the hour swim again tomorrow
instead of asking myself "what do I need to do to go faster?" I should ask
what do I need to do to go further?
+ begin and swim at a smoother easier pace
+ stop fewer times
+ maybe I'll attempt 10 x 500 starting on 5:40 then drop a sec each round after each one.
Here's how my 2nd attempt went
Sun Jan 30th 2011 HR Postal Swim take 2
let us know how you do,
Good luck
Ande
Hi All,
I'm going to be doing the 5K Postal Swim in about 3 weeks, and I need some advice about pacing. A little background:
I'm kind of a newbie. Last year, I participated in a bunch of open water races, but my focus was on participation rather than racing. I did some long distances, (1K, 2K and 4K events with a few minutes rest in between), but I didn't have any goals related to speed.
This year, I've been focusing on speed. My coach told me to stick to short events (except for postal swims). So far, I've done three races this year (all 1K OW), and I've treated them like races.
I want to do the 5K Postal Swim, but it's just an extra little adventure, not a main event for me. As such, I haven't really been training for it. I swim my normal 3,000 yards per day (7x per week), and add in a longer distance (usually 4,000 yards) when I have time as long as it doesn't interfere with my other training goals. In the next two weeks, I'll do a 4,500 yard and a 5,000 yard practice.
I rarely do long distance time trials in the pool, so I don't have good data about how fast I should expect to be able to swim 5K. My 1-Hour Postal Swim pace from January was 1:52/100 yards (2:02/100m). This week, I did a near-race-pace 1000 yards in the pool at a 1:47 pace (1:56/100m)
I should be able to hold my 1 hour postal swim pace (1:52/2:02) for the 5K. The speed gains I've made since January should make up for the extra distance and the long-course pool. I actually think/hope I should be able to come in a little faster than that.
So, I know of two ways to manage this:
Go by feel. Start out easy and build intensity after each 1,000m.
Go by the clock. Hold myself to 1:52/2:02 for the first 3-4K and then give whatever I have left for remaining distance.
What do you guys think?
Katie
