1 hour postal swim

Interested in the 'cramp' theme here. Having competed in hour and 5000 metre pool swims for a number of years, I too have encountered cramp problems often in my toes and invariably during the last quarter of the swim. (During the last decade I usually cover around 5200yds+ in the hour and the 5000m usually takes me around 63-64 mins). There's really nothing more painful and frustrating than getting cramp is there? It's often exacerbated every time you push off at the turns, when you extend your ankles. A solution? Well, apart from starting the event well hydrated, (I seem to recall from college days that a 2% loss in body fluids can cause a 10% drop in performance) these last few years I've taken to adding a small quantity of salt to my pre-race drink (just enough so you can tell there's salt in it when you drink it). It's easy to forget that you sweat a great deal when you're swimming hard, so there's got to be salt lost from the body. It seems to have helped (me). Give it a go.

Interested in the 'cramp' theme here. Having competed in hour and 5000 metre pool swims for a number of years, I too have encountered cramp problems often in my toes and invariably during the last quarter of the swim. (During the last decade I usually cover around 5200yds+ in the hour and the 5000m usually takes me around 63-64 mins). There's really nothing more painful and frustrating than getting cramp is there? It's often exacerbated every time you push off at the turns, when you extend your ankles. A solution? Well, apart from starting the event well hydrated, (I seem to recall from college days that a 2% loss in body fluids can cause a 10% drop in performance) these last few years I've taken to adding a small quantity of salt to my pre-race drink (just enough so you can tell there's salt in it when you drink it). It's easy to forget that you sweat a great deal when you're swimming hard, so there's got to be salt lost from the body. It seems to have helped (me). Give it a go.