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.
My guess is that you should swim straight and if you are really hurting/form is going to pot, etc. take a quick 10-20 second break or better yet do some double arm back.
I just know that I personally would do better with a little break here or there, unless I really get into the zone. But I am NOT a distance swimmer - I suck at holding a pace, the only way I can sort of do it is if I can see the pace clock. We did a 800 test swim a few months ago, really it was 8 x 100 r:03 in between. I held a much better pace per/100 even with the rest than I would have had I done 800 straight swim. I know it's mental, but so am I ...
My guess is that you should swim straight and if you are really hurting/form is going to pot, etc. take a quick 10-20 second break or better yet do some double arm back.
I just know that I personally would do better with a little break here or there, unless I really get into the zone. But I am NOT a distance swimmer - I suck at holding a pace, the only way I can sort of do it is if I can see the pace clock. We did a 800 test swim a few months ago, really it was 8 x 100 r:03 in between. I held a much better pace per/100 even with the rest than I would have had I done 800 straight swim. I know it's mental, but so am I ...
