Gull mentioned the one hour postal swim in the Elite vs. Fitness thread and rather than go further off topic over there I decided to create a new thread.
So one thing I've been wondering about is what is the best way to swim it? The obvious strategy is to just start out with a pace you think you can hold for an hour and go for it. Past experience has told me this isn't always easy, though! Has anyone tried it using repeats? For example, to swim 5,000 yards you need to hold a 1:12 pace per 100. What if instead of trying to swim straight you did 100s on the 1:12? Maybe I'm crazy, but I feel like maybe I could hold 100s on the 1:12, going probably 1:07-1:08 the entire time easier than I could swim for an hour straight at a 1:12 pace.
Another strategy might be to have a goal pace in mind and keep swimming until you fall off the pace, then rest some amount of time and continue. The question is whether this approach would actually allow you to swim farther over the course of an hour. It seems a little counterintuitive, but maybe it would work.
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You can do the event on your own, or in a group - but you must have a volunteer to keep count by taking split times at each 50. If sharing a lane, no more than two swimmers can share a lane together, and no circle-swimming is allowed. Complete details about the event are on the entry form online at:
www.usms.org/.../1hrentry.pdf
As for strategies: the last time I participated in the Hour Swim I did 5,075 yards. Having experienced that pace, about 1:11 per/100, I can say without any hesistation that the idea of swimming 1:07's or 1:08's on a 1:12 interval never would've worked for me. Even if I had someone there telling me exactly when to go, the pace and the short amount of rest between repeats would be a great path to a world class bonk. With all due respect to the person who made the suggestion, I don't recommend going that route. Aside from that point, if you can hold a 1:07 pace for an hour with only a few seconds rest between repeats, you could probably go faster than a 1:12 pace for a continuous swim.
You can do the event on your own, or in a group - but you must have a volunteer to keep count by taking split times at each 50. If sharing a lane, no more than two swimmers can share a lane together, and no circle-swimming is allowed. Complete details about the event are on the entry form online at:
www.usms.org/.../1hrentry.pdf
As for strategies: the last time I participated in the Hour Swim I did 5,075 yards. Having experienced that pace, about 1:11 per/100, I can say without any hesistation that the idea of swimming 1:07's or 1:08's on a 1:12 interval never would've worked for me. Even if I had someone there telling me exactly when to go, the pace and the short amount of rest between repeats would be a great path to a world class bonk. With all due respect to the person who made the suggestion, I don't recommend going that route. Aside from that point, if you can hold a 1:07 pace for an hour with only a few seconds rest between repeats, you could probably go faster than a 1:12 pace for a continuous swim.
