2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

Former Member — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 16:12:09 GMT

I am swimming tomorrow with some more folks on my team. Quick question/recommendation, what do you all do, if anything, to help hydrate/fuel during the swim? Do you swim the entire hour non-stop, or do you take 10 seconds to drink something? If the latter, what is your recommended "something" to drink and at what time during the swim? This is my fourth or fifth postal. I tend to overheat, so I am strategizing, and hydrating plenty before. Thanks!

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

knelson — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 12:28:16 GMT

Do you swim the entire hour non-stop Yes. I've done it quite a few times now and have never stopped. Not to say that's the best strategy for everyone.

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

knelson — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 12:49:33 GMT

I still haven't done it, either. I heard of one opportunity this weekend, but not sure if I'll do it or not.

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

rxleakem — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 09:53:03 GMT

I was going to swim tomorrow, but like Fish above the town is closing the Rec Center tomorrow so tonight was the night for me! I logged 4257 yards, taking a quick swig of water at 25 min and 45 min. (Less than last year, but that is ok) Helping to propel team New England Masters towards National Champs!

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

FindingMyInnerFish — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 07:13:47 GMT

Thanks to all of you.She got out of the hospital yesterday She can't lift anything over 10 lb for 2 wk.At 2 wk the surgeon will evaluate healing and see when she can swim. Hope all goes well and she's back to swimming w/ no complications!

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

FindingMyInnerFish — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 04:17:02 GMT

That's good news! Hopefully she'll be back in the water in a few weeks. :applaud: Well done! So glad to hear that you improved. And 150 yard improvement at that! That's very significant! Slowing down in the middle is fairly normal for me as well. Somewhere around the 2/3 mark of any swim I mentally fatigue and fall slightly off pace, but recover for the last 20% or so. Sounds like you experienced something similar. In any case, job very well done! Thanks much! My coaches--like all good coaches--while giving thumbs up also want me to reach further. That's why I like having them as coaches. :) Glad I got this in--we're looking at a lot of snow here in the Northeast! Maybe I can get some ice swimming in to build mental toughness. :)

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

ande — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 02:35:22 GMT

I'm happy to say my team did the hour postal yesterday and I did not.

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

mmlr38 — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 02:11:26 GMT

Thanks to all of you, she got out of the hospital yesterday. She can't lift anything over 10 lb for 2 wk. At 2 wk the surgeon will evaluate healing and see when she can swim. That's good news! Hopefully she'll be back in the water in a few weeks. Happy to report that I improved from my non-official hour swim from two weeks ago by 150 yards! Took mmlr38's advice and didn't stop once I got going. Had some water before warming up, then just before starting, and that seemed to do the trick. I did slow down toward the middle, but pushed myself somewhat toward the end, as the previous swim just seemed slower than I knew I was capable of doing. I'm not quoting either of the two totals--they're VERY modest by the standards of the swimmers on this forum. But progress is progress! :) :applaud: Well done! So glad to hear that you improved. And 150 yard improvement at that! That's very significant! Slowing down in the middle is fairly normal for me as well. Somewhere around the 2/3 mark of any swim I mentally fatigue and fall slightly off pace, but recover for the last 20% or so. Sounds like you experienced something similar. In any case, job very well done!

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

Allen Stark — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 01:44:31 GMT

:badday: :bighug: Please wish Seal Girl my best! I hope her recovery is a speedy one. Hope your wife has a speedy recovery and will be back in the pool before long! Yikes Allen, I'm sorry you and your wife have to go through this. I wish her a quick recovery and hope she'll be able to get her 2016 Hour Swim in for sure. That's a real bummer, Allen. Hopefully she has a speedy recovery. . Thanks to all of you.She got out of the hospital yesterday She can't lift anything over 10 lb for 2 wk.At 2 wk the surgeon will evaluate healing and see when she can swim.

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

kaffrinn — Sun, 25 Jan 2015 12:10:28 GMT

Correct! You can stop whenever you want, but the clock keeps ticking. Thanks, Rob!

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

FindingMyInnerFish — Sun, 25 Jan 2015 09:28:45 GMT

Thanks for the thoughts. As the swim is today, I hope I'm in good enough shape to swim an hour nonstop at a pace that's both doable for that long and allows for some improvement, however modest.

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

FindingMyInnerFish — Sun, 25 Jan 2015 09:25:22 GMT

Happy to report that I improved from my non-official hour swim from two weeks ago by 150 yards! Took mmlr38's advice and didn't stop once I got going. Had some water before warming up, then just before starting, and that seemed to do the trick. I did slow down toward the middle, but pushed myself somewhat toward the end, as the previous swim just seemed slower than I knew I was capable of doing. I'm not quoting either of the two totals--they're VERY modest by the standards of the swimmers on this forum. But progress is progress! :)

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

mmlr38 — Sun, 25 Jan 2015 09:17:52 GMT

My wife is the distance swimmer in the family and loves the postal swims. I was going to be her timer this morning. Unfortunately she started having abdomiinal pain yesterday. She thought it was a virus, but instead it was her appendix. Instead of doing the 1 hr swim this morning, she had surgery. Surgent went well, but but it looks like this will be the second year in a row where fate has conspired to prevent her from doing all 5 postal swims. That's a real bummer, Allen. Hopefully she has a speedy recovery. I'd like to improve on my yardage in this swim, and I'm trying to decide whether it's better to take something at more regular intervals than I did last time (took water after 500 yards and then close to the end, maybe last 15 mins. or so) or not stop. Those with more experience in this, what are your thoughts? There is no real physical need, in terms of hydration or fueling, to stop during any form of exercise lasting only an hour. Most endurance athletes agree that unless it's going to be more than a 90 minute effort, it's not necessary to stop to hydrate or fuel. Any amount of time spent resting is almost impossible to make up. However, I know other people who appreciate taking rests during the hour swim just to recover mentally and give themselves a psychological boost. So, if you want to swim your best one-hour postal, I'd suggest finding the pace that you can maintain for an hour and get in good enough shape to do so and then swim the entire hour without stopping.

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

Bobinator — Sun, 25 Jan 2015 06:02:18 GMT

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

FindingMyInnerFish — Sat, 24 Jan 2015 09:47:57 GMT

Correct! You can stop whenever you want, but the clock keeps ticking. A couple weeks ago, I did an "unofficial" hour swim. A masters' teammate and I swam (not in the regular workout sessions) and our coach observed us and stopped us at the end of the hour. I took water a couple times, assuming the clock was still ticking--which was fine with me. But it raises a practical/strategy question: I'm doing another hour swim, an official one this time (I think people can choose whether they want results sent in, which I'm not sure I'll do b/c it's more just to get some feedback on my distance fitness). I'd like to improve on my yardage in this swim, and I'm trying to decide whether it's better to take something at more regular intervals than I did last time (took water after 500 yards and then close to the end, maybe last 15 mins. or so) or not stop. I noticed that I'd get a second wind after I stopped (each time) but I was worried I'd lose too much time if I stopped too often. Still, I noticed that my energy fell off about 20 or so minutes after taking a drink the first time. So I'm going back and forth between thinking I'd have been better off grabbing a drink about every 500 yards or not having anything the whole time since I'd be losing ground by stopping. Those with more experience in this, what are your thoughts?

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

FindingMyInnerFish — Sat, 24 Jan 2015 09:38:12 GMT

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

kaffrinn — Sat, 24 Jan 2015 08:47:01 GMT

I'm coordinating a swim of this event for my masters group next week! I feel a little dumb asking this, but I didn't see anything in the material about rest/water breaks. I assume it's ok for people to take a water break or two during the swim, as long as we don't "stop the clock," correct?

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

Rob Copeland — Sat, 24 Jan 2015 05:38:58 GMT

Correct! You can stop whenever you want, but the clock keeps ticking.

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

Elaine Krugman — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 09:42:45 GMT

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

Allen Stark — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 08:10:12 GMT

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

mmlr38 — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 01:31:42 GMT

:bow: That's an awesome hour of fast swimming, Fly Trap! Congratulations! :applaud: Very nice job! Looks like you're recovering from your injury quite well. Thanks Elaine and Jonathan! Yup, I'm doing it down at the Natatorium towards the end of the month with IAC. I love doing Hour Swims at the Nat; perfect pool, wide lanes, and cold water! Good luck and have fun everyone!! Good luck! Sounds like you have a great place to do it! Enjoy :)

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

Bobinator — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 09:05:18 GMT

Yup, I'm doing it down at the Natatorium towards the end of the month with IAC. I love doing Hour Swims at the Nat; perfect pool, wide lanes, and cold water! Good luck and have fun everyone!!

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

JenBrehob — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 08:22:32 GMT

So far we have had 5 swimmers and me with no time to tally it yet!:bump:

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

trident58 — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 03:29:43 GMT

Took a second shot this weekend. Still came up 85 yards short of what I did last year, but got 5000 on the nose, coming to the wall with 1 second to spare! Had to drop a 1:06 on the last 100 yards to make it happen, but I'm just happy to get that 5000, which was my goal. Considering the major setback I had in late July last year (bad bike wreck that resulted in broken ribs, broken collar bone and a broken scapula), I'm very happy with the swim. Really, I'm thrilled to just be swimming again, much less at nearly the same level I was just before the injury. Hopefully I'll get back there someday. Very nice job! Looks like you're recovering from your injury quite well.

RE: 2015 One Hour (e)Postal Swim

Elaine Krugman — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 02:54:28 GMT

Took a second shot this weekend. Still came up 85 yards short of what I did last year, but got 5000 on the nose, coming to the wall with 1 second to spare! Had to drop a 1:06 on the last 100 yards to make it happen, but I'm just happy to get that 5000, which was my goal. Considering the major setback I had in late July last year (bad bike wreck that resulted in broken ribs, broken collar bone and a broken scapula), I'm very happy with the swim. Really, I'm thrilled to just be swimming again, much less at nearly the same level I was just before the injury. Hopefully I'll get back there someday. :bow: That's an awesome hour of fast swimming, Fly Trap! Congratulations! :applaud: