Suggestions on Tapering for LD Ocean Swim

Hi friends, I am trying to get information from any of you who have done some very long ocean swims. I have one planned that will be 18 miles. I am reasonably confident at the training required, although any suggestions for that would also be welcome. I plan on swimming upwards of 40 to 50 miles a week for it, regularly. I also plan on a long swim once a month (10 miles) and two weeks for recovery from that distance until my body understands that this will be a regular thing. On the 10 mile swims, one way will be with current, the return will be against it (can't wait!!). My biggest question comes to the tapering for the 18 miler. How soon, what distances, etc., etc. Any advice, other than seeing a mental counselor for my "temporary insanity" at choosing something like this at age 60, would be helpful!!! Donna Just to add my voice to the other's, this volume (60-80k) is fairly typical of the training regiment of the ld squad within our team. The 10mile swim too. We used to go even higher than than, up to 25k especially for those who had never done a marathon before. All our ld swimmers with no exception were former pool swimmers having trained and competed at a high level, for years and years. And they were swimming that volume not only to prepare for a 25k, but for multiple marathons ranging from 25k (amateur competitions) to 40k (professional competitions) even up to 64k (Santa Fe Argentina). 80-100k per week was required to be able to aliging 3-5 marathons in a row (every weekend). It may sound like a lot, but these guys are basically paying their studies with their racing season. I don't think that swimming 80k per week for someone that had not previously done 25k/week for many years, then 30, then 40 and so on, would be a good idea though. And 18 miles in good conditions (warm water, not too tidy) isn't that much of a long event to prepare for. You could probably get away with a lesser volume if you find out that your limit is lower than 50miles / week. The most important aspect, volume aside, is to prepare well for the conditions that will prevail during that race. You need to be comfortable swimming in big waves (if you expect some), and in cold water too (if you expect it to be cold). I remember ocean temperature lower than 60degrees in Atlantic City. So ocean doesn't mean warm water all the time. If you can bring a coach you know with you, it can make a big difference too, instead of relying on some unprepared teenager with no experience. As for the taper, remember that the longer the event is, the less you have to cut during the taper. Personally, I'd put you on a 1week (only) taper, and would not cut the volume all that much. Approaching the taper for a swim marathon the same way that you would taper for a 400, or even a 1500 pool event would be a serious mistake in my opinion.

Hi friends, I am trying to get information from any of you who have done some very long ocean swims. I have one planned that will be 18 miles. I am reasonably confident at the training required, although any suggestions for that would also be welcome. I plan on swimming upwards of 40 to 50 miles a week for it, regularly. I also plan on a long swim once a month (10 miles) and two weeks for recovery from that distance until my body understands that this will be a regular thing. On the 10 mile swims, one way will be with current, the return will be against it (can't wait!!). My biggest question comes to the tapering for the 18 miler. How soon, what distances, etc., etc. Any advice, other than seeing a mental counselor for my "temporary insanity" at choosing something like this at age 60, would be helpful!!! Donna Just to add my voice to the other's, this volume (60-80k) is fairly typical of the training regiment of the ld squad within our team. The 10mile swim too. We used to go even higher than than, up to 25k especially for those who had never done a marathon before. All our ld swimmers with no exception were former pool swimmers having trained and competed at a high level, for years and years. And they were swimming that volume not only to prepare for a 25k, but for multiple marathons ranging from 25k (amateur competitions) to 40k (professional competitions) even up to 64k (Santa Fe Argentina). 80-100k per week was required to be able to aliging 3-5 marathons in a row (every weekend). It may sound like a lot, but these guys are basically paying their studies with their racing season. I don't think that swimming 80k per week for someone that had not previously done 25k/week for many years, then 30, then 40 and so on, would be a good idea though. And 18 miles in good conditions (warm water, not too tidy) isn't that much of a long event to prepare for. You could probably get away with a lesser volume if you find out that your limit is lower than 50miles / week. The most important aspect, volume aside, is to prepare well for the conditions that will prevail during that race. You need to be comfortable swimming in big waves (if you expect some), and in cold water too (if you expect it to be cold). I remember ocean temperature lower than 60degrees in Atlantic City. So ocean doesn't mean warm water all the time. If you can bring a coach you know with you, it can make a big difference too, instead of relying on some unprepared teenager with no experience. As for the taper, remember that the longer the event is, the less you have to cut during the taper. Personally, I'd put you on a 1week (only) taper, and would not cut the volume all that much. Approaching the taper for a swim marathon the same way that you would taper for a 400, or even a 1500 pool event would be a serious mistake in my opinion.