I hope no one minds, but I could use your input. And if I repeat myself, it is for the benefit of any new people to this forum.
I am training for what I call an epic swim; a swim from the island of Roatan to Utila in August of 2008, the year I turn 60. The distance is about 19 miles. After months of not swimming by choice, I started re-training this past January 15th. Due to previous swimming injuries, I decided to not leap into it but to train smart so I don't have any downtime due to injury flareups.
In January, I only swam Monday-Wed-Fridays and the yardage started small. My total from Jan 15 to the 31st was 8,800 yds.
In February, I added a fourth swim day, Saturdays. I decided to make Mondays and Fridays drill and sprint days, and Wednesdays and Saturdays are distance days, many times I time them to see progress. My total yardage from Feb 1 to Feb 24th is 26,980 yds. There were 6 days in there the ocean was angry and the swims were of short duration.
Two weeks ago, I timed my 2nd 2 mile swim and it is down from a 54:07 to a 51:02 so I see progress, and not just in time but how trashed I felt hours after it. Last Wednesday, I timed a 1 mile swim and it was a 27:01 so that is rather slow compared to the 2 mile, but hey, we all have off days.
Since that time, I have been extremely fatigued, I actually did not swim this past Saturday because I needed the rest. It is difficult doing a load of laundry. Now, I do not take vitamins because there aren't any here but I plan on getting a suitcase full when I go home to Texas in April. Also, it is hard to hydrate during training because the little island kids steal my gatorade and water off a chair on the beach. But I am not sure how important hydration is for a mile or 2 mile swim, but when I get into the 4 milers and I am about ready to break into those, I guess I'll have to figure a way like wear them around my neck or something.
My questions are: do I need to incorporate periodization into my training routine (periodization is where you swim so many weeks on, and so many days off on a regular basis); what vitamins or replacement products would benefit me as I move upward into more mileage? The reason I am asking these questions is when I go home the end of April for a visit, I will be able to buy anything that may help my body regulate the training I am incurring. The only thing here is Gatorade and my problem with that is it may take so much of it, that my stomach will be sloshing around full of liquid; not a good thing.
Sorry this is long, but wanted to layout the groundwork. So, periodization, pros and cons? Replacement products? Vitamins?
Donna
Hi Leonard - remember me from the Swim for Life? Are you doing it again this year? I hope to see you there. Swimmy and I will be doing it again this year. I am also doing the 4.4 mile Bay Swim the week before.
As always, your posts are so helpful! I was wondering if you have any advice on how much to train per week, for how long, before a major swim like Manhattan or what Donna is trying?
Specifically, how many yards per week is sufficient to do the Manhattan swim or one of the Channel swims? I am sure my current 30,000 max per week would not be enough. I would probably need to work up to at least 40,000, I would think, but I would be curious to hear how much you do when you are training for one of the big ones.
Also, have you done the English Channel or Catalina? I would think that Manhattan is similar in some ways in terms of the distance, but very different in terms of the environment. Any insights you care to share?
Thanks so much. I hope I get to see you at the Swim for Life this year.
Take care,
Diana
Hi Leonard - remember me from the Swim for Life? Are you doing it again this year? I hope to see you there. Swimmy and I will be doing it again this year. I am also doing the 4.4 mile Bay Swim the week before.
As always, your posts are so helpful! I was wondering if you have any advice on how much to train per week, for how long, before a major swim like Manhattan or what Donna is trying?
Specifically, how many yards per week is sufficient to do the Manhattan swim or one of the Channel swims? I am sure my current 30,000 max per week would not be enough. I would probably need to work up to at least 40,000, I would think, but I would be curious to hear how much you do when you are training for one of the big ones.
Also, have you done the English Channel or Catalina? I would think that Manhattan is similar in some ways in terms of the distance, but very different in terms of the environment. Any insights you care to share?
Thanks so much. I hope I get to see you at the Swim for Life this year.
Take care,
Diana
