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
Parents
Former Member
I think it's helpful to distinguish between the training needed to be a "marathon champion" and that to be a "marathon finisher" a distinction very familiar to those who train for running marathons. I definitely agree with that. In fact, I was comming back to specify that the difference between the (relatively low) mileage some have reported to do in preparation to marathons compared to the (relatively high) mileage I have witness over the years, is partly due to the average swimming speed.
In a University, as you know, typical training regiment involve at least 15 hrs of training a week. That's typical of a sprinter. It can easily go over 20hrs for a LD athlete. Now these guys don't swim slower than 20min/1500 in practice. They typically book 4-5k/hr.
15hr (that's the bare minimum) x 4-5k = 60-75k per week. These guys don't really practice their kick all that much, and virtually no drills (they have at least 15years of swimming experience under the belt).
Of course, 20 hours at 4k per hour = 80k, which is the average weekly mileage for these guys.
Thanks for having brought this distinction Terry, and sorry for having shed confusion on the thread.
I think it's helpful to distinguish between the training needed to be a "marathon champion" and that to be a "marathon finisher" a distinction very familiar to those who train for running marathons. I definitely agree with that. In fact, I was comming back to specify that the difference between the (relatively low) mileage some have reported to do in preparation to marathons compared to the (relatively high) mileage I have witness over the years, is partly due to the average swimming speed.
In a University, as you know, typical training regiment involve at least 15 hrs of training a week. That's typical of a sprinter. It can easily go over 20hrs for a LD athlete. Now these guys don't swim slower than 20min/1500 in practice. They typically book 4-5k/hr.
15hr (that's the bare minimum) x 4-5k = 60-75k per week. These guys don't really practice their kick all that much, and virtually no drills (they have at least 15years of swimming experience under the belt).
Of course, 20 hours at 4k per hour = 80k, which is the average weekly mileage for these guys.
Thanks for having brought this distinction Terry, and sorry for having shed confusion on the thread.
