I'm doing my first one in two weeks. Any tips from the veterans? I'm shooting for 5,000 yards which I think works out to about a 1:12 pace per 100.
START VERY EASY! It is great to have a goal time but don't get too hung up on it, listen to your body and resist the urge to look at the clock. The first 15 minutes should be pain-free, working on DPS/efficiency.
Last time I did one, I brought my son (7 yo at the time) and sat him in the stands with various activities to keep him occupied. For 20 minutes I was very worried he would stop me for some reason (boredom, whatever).
Then the pain hit, and I started HOPING to see him trying to stop me...unfortunately he was particularly well behaved that day.
Chris
unfortunately, at least 2 of the swimmers I am doing this with have gone at least 5,200 in the past. I'm hoping they set the pace, esepcially since my longest race is typically over in a little over 2 minutes (200 back).
While a lot of folks will disagree, I’d suggest you go about this like you would any other race and warm-up at least 500 before the swim. Then get out get hydrated and get ready to swim. For me, if I don’t warm up (even for marathon swims) I can’t easily transitions from warm-up pace to race pace.
Also, in addition to paying attention to how the body feels I would also watch the clock. With a goal of 5000 (1:12’s) it’s pretty easy to see if you are holding 6:00 500’s and if you are slipping a bit off the pace and feeling good, then pick it up a bit. If you are slipping off and swimming poorly, then readjust the goal. My best hour swim was when I had a pace clock next to me and I could calculate where I was for the entire swim.
The one hour can be the most painful thing you do. It is mind and body-numbing if you do it hard. For me, the hardest part is the 1000-2000 as you are getting into your pace (I also don't warmup more than 100). Then about 3500 my legs begin to scream/cramp even though I am not even using them. If I get motivated, I have my wife hold up a clipboard at like 2500, 4000, 5000 with red numbers if I'm behind and black numbers if I'm ahead of my goal pace. Usually, my pool fixes their heater too good the day before I'm going to do it and I have to do it in 86 degree water--definitely lose the cap as you want to be losing all that heat you are producing. It's also nice to plan on doing it about Jan. 22, so if the pool is too hot or you're sick then you have some cushion days to still perform. Don't bother eating or drinking during the swim as there is no way to get any significant calories in your gullet without losing major time. I think you may want to ask the true experts like Jeff Irwin and Mike Schaffer as they are like a hundred years old and still bust out about 1:00 pace for this beast. Good luck!:blah:
... I would also watch the clock. With a goal of 5000 (1:12’s) it’s pretty easy to see if you are holding 6:00 500’s and if you are slipping a bit off the pace and feeling good, then pick it up a bit. If you are slipping off and swimming poorly, then readjust the goal. My best hour swim was when I had a pace clock next to me and I could calculate where I was for the entire swim.
I tried this in 2007 for my postal swims. It really helped when I had settled on a target pace per 500 for a swim and could see the clock easily. In my 3000 I had trouble both seeing the clock and maintaining my pace. When I swam the 6000 my mental and physical states were better and I could more easily see the clock. Accordingly, the 3000 split in my 6000 was only about 20 seconds slower than my 3000 time. Working with a 500 pace seemed to work well for me. I wouldn't be too concerned about anything shorter than that unless you're a real clock watcher *and* you can see the clock without changing your stroke (doing an open turn, lifting your head, etc).
Skip
I'm doing my first one in two weeks. Any tips from the veterans? I'm shooting for 5,000 yards which I think works out to about a 1:12 pace per 100.
Art _z:
We had a very interesting discussion about this last year and rather than rehash that, I have provided the link and hope this helps.
forums.usms.org/showthread.php
Art _z:
We had a very interesting discussion about this last year and rather than rehash that, I have provided the link and hope this helps.
forums.usms.org/showthread.php
awesome, thanks!
I'm doing my first one in two weeks. Any tips from the veterans? I'm shooting for 5,000 yards which I think works out to about a 1:12 pace per 100.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes!
Last year I did 5080 (if I'm remembering correctly).
I had to stop briefly with 10 minutes to spare b/c I had leg cramps. Drank some water and continued on.
I believe I did not hydrate and fuel up properly. My coach said I should have hydrated beginning the day or two before! Makes sense now to me. I recommend the endurance drink of your choice.
I also had my counter give me colored kickboard signals at 15 minute intervals to know if I was on pace or not (red if I was off pace or blue if I was on pace). This helped me tremendously as I divided up the swim into 4 15 minute segments (mentally). Seemed shorter that way. I also positioned myself so I could see the digital clock when coming off the walls. Basically, I knew that I was on pace and how many laps I had done (was also shooting for 5000).
Oh, and I had done some 30 minute swims the months prior. I must say the 60 minute swim is MUCH more challenging. Okay, I'll be honest. Was grueling but very worth it as my pain tolerance really increased as a result of doing this swim. The 1000 now seems very doable!
my fear is if I drop off pace for a 500, I will never be able to get back on track, at least if I'm always on the clock, I'll know when I start slowing down immediatley.
the down side to either approach is if I do start slowing down, there isn't much I'll be able to do about it.:sad:
I will definitley tackle it as 10x500, keeping particular attention to the splits at 200, 250 (because its the psychological 1/2 way point to 500, its a downhill swim from there), 300, 400 and 500.
man, what the hell did I get myself into :frustrated:
That is the problem starting slow as it is difficult speeding back up in something so long (I find it easier to negative split in something shorter like a 500 or 1000). Of course if you go out too hard, it is 50 minutes of torture.
Also, make sure your surroundings know you are doing the swim. I usually go up to the lifeguard and try to convey the fact that if he stops me or tries to take out a lane-line after 50 minutes of me hurting myself, I may have to kill him (in a nice way of course). Your timer is your advocate (keeping people out of your lane, etc.) and when I've used one of my useless children, I've regretted it.
