1 hour postal swim

I got cramps in the back of my thighs today while swimming. It was a hard work out, but not so hard that I would have expected cramps. The only thing I can think is the hydration thing like Phil said. I usually drink two 16oz bottles of water before swimming at noon. Today, for a bunch of different reasons, I didn't drink any water before.

Well I swam it tonight and all I can say is my body gave me a good old-fashioned ass kicking. I started out o.k., not great, but got a really bad cramp in my right lat at around the 27 minute mark. I seriously thought I would have to stop entirely, but after about 150 yards I worked through it. So I got back into it until my right calf cramped up severely at around 45 minutes! This lasted for around 200 yards. I think everyone's probably cramped up during workout and knows how difficult it is to swim with a bad one. It seemed like I just about came to a dead stop. Actually it raised my 100 times only by around two seconds, but the real damage is I was never able to get back to the 100 splits I was holding before the cramps. Maybe I should be happy I even finished! I ended up swimming 4900 yards. 60 yards less than last year. It's really discouraging because I know I'm in better shape this year. Oh well :(

You may not want to but is there anything stopping you from doing it a second time? Originally posted by knelson I ended up swimming 4900 yards. 60 yards less than last year. It's really discouraging because I know I'm in better shape this year. Oh well :(

I had an interesting eye-opener yesterday. Two weeks ago, I did the hour swim, and exceeded 3 x 1650s by about 45 yards. My 1650 splits were: 20:02; 19:51; and 19:35. The amazing thing for me was I never got all that tired; I didn't expect to swim that far, so I tried to just stay within myself and swim by feel. If I found so much as a tiny *** of lactic acid, I would back down. I also did not realize at the time that each successive 1650 was getting faster. It felt as if I was pretty much holding the same pace throughout, which is, I suppose, a testimony to the ability of a "warm up" to enhance distance performance. (When doing an hour swim, I don't do any official warm up--the first part of the race itself serves this purpose.) Anyhow, yesterday, I swam in a local 1650 meet. I figured I could go out a lot faster because it was so much shorter an event than an hour swim. I ended up swimming an 18:59.22--good for me, but not quite as good as last year, when I first turned 50 and swam an 18:53. Anyhow, when I compared this year's 1650 splits to last year's, I saw that I was about 5 seconds faster this year at the first 500 (i.e., a 5:41 this year vs. a 5:46 last year); and still a little faster (by about 1/2 second) at the 1000 mark. But the third 500 of the race, I lost big time compared to last year--adding what would prove to be the 5.5 seconds difference for the overall event. My teammate thinks I went out at the right pace and just wimped out on the middle and third 500s; I think that I went out too fast, and that if I had held back a little more at the beginning, I could have finished stronger. I know everyone is different, and that some like to positive split a distance race, some like to hold an even pace, and some like to negative split it. What do you experienced distance swimmers find works best for you? Do you think I would have had a better overall time if I had saved a little more on the first 500? Thanks for any advice. PS I was MUCH more tired at the end of the 1650 than I was at the end of the 1-hour postal swim.

I just noticed this in the One Hour Swim information sheet: "USMS Long Distance Swimming rules require a starter/referee be present during the swim." Huh? Is everyone out there finding a certified official to be present during their hour swims? Seems a bit excessive. -Rick

A lot about USMS is excessive, but when you're having these national competitions, I guess they have to err a bit on the side of caution. That's why you need to have someone count your laps for you and put down your 50 splits to the nearest .1 second. I think we all have known swimmers who "remember" their performances perhaps a wee bit more generously than reality might call for. In our regional Y league, people can mail in 1650 times they allegedly did on their own. I don't want to call anyone a cheater, but I have seen some times that really seem impossible, given the fact that the person who allegedly swam them was A) not a distance swimmer and B) would have a hard time doing the splits just by themselves, let alone 16.5 times consecutively! Who knows? Maybe such folks had a once-in-a-lifetime day in the pool. But I think that USMS, by requiring what seems like overly stringent rules for some of these events, preempts any questions that might otherwise arise.

Originally posted by jim thornton I had an interesting eye-opener yesterday. Two weeks ago, I did the hour swim, and exceeded 3 x 1650s by about 45 yards. My 1650 splits were: 20:02; 19:51; and 19:35. ... I know everyone is different, and that some like to positive split a distance race, some like to hold an even pace, and some like to negative split it. What do you experienced distance swimmers find works best for you? Do you think I would have had a better overall time if I had saved a little more on the first 500? I think your one hour swim was exactly what you should aim for: build into it. Being able to negative split, to me, is a sign that you are in great condition. The only time I've been able to negative split races was when I was in excellent shape. That said, sometimes in those conditions I negative split 200 frees! I don't think anyone would endorse that as a good race strategy. I'm just not a rabbit. For my one hour swim I didn't think I took it out too fast, but it's obvious I did. I started getting tired around the 1000. For me, at least, when I start to fall off pace I find it nearly impossible to get back into it. So, I think I nice steady pace, with a slight build in the second half is the optimal way to swim a distance event.

Actually, what is required is that there be a person acting solely in that capacity - not one of the timers and not one of the swimmers. It does NOT need to be a certified official. It would be nice if they would state that explicitly in the meet info (they'd probably get greater participation). As it is, I suggest you do due diligence and verify that for yourself with the meet director rather than taking my word for it. You just never know what to trust here in cyberspace.

I'm now convinced that the best way to do the one hour swim is to do it as a set. After swimming 5405 last year, I faced the daunting situation of ageing up during the month of January, and (gasp) having the unique "opportunity" to swim it twice. The first time a couple weeks ago, I ended up doing it long course. So the set was 9 x 500 @ 6:40, holding 6:15. It certainly broke up the swim. I wish I had looked at the calculations a little better, because my converted yards distance was just shy of 5000. Of course, you don't get any credit for losing all those turns when doing it long course, which is too bad. I think the second one will be today. Probably 10 x 500 @ 6:00 or perhaps a bit faster to hit the 5000, and call it a day. -Rick

Originally posted by Fritz You may not want to but is there anything stopping you from doing it a second time? Yes, my sanity! No, once was really enough. Time to move on to the next challenge this year. About the cramping. I haven't had any problems lately, but I cramped up quite often last year during workout. I did drink quite a bit during the day, but maybe I should have guzzled down more water immediately before the swim. I think we all know swimming can be frustrating. Things don't always go exactly as planned. I was definitely tiring and wouldn't have reached my goal of 5,200 even if I didn't cramp up. I've just got to get back in the pool and continue to work hard.