How do you train for the one hour postal?
Currently I swim about 2100 - 2200yds 4 -days a week - 3 days coached w/ age group kids
1 day same yardage but not coached.
I'm thinking about staying late during my coached days and swim an extra 500 -1000 yds after practice. My thinking is this extra yardage is about what I can do to be able to get home and get dinner on the table. Then increase my 1 day not coached to about 3000 yds and do more distance swims. My personal goal is to do any where from 4200 - 4500 in the postal.
I think all masters swimmers should do it at least once during their lifetime, even pure sprinters (like myself). Before doing the hour swim in 2002, I could count on two hands the number of times IN MY LIFE that I had done a swim race over 200 yards in the pool. I had never done a 1,000 or 1,650 race in a pool, ever. Somehow I escaped the requisite 1,000 yard swim for all freshman swimmers during college.
In any case, I prepared for it by doing sets of 500s, 600s, and 800s. During the actual one hour swim, I stopped at each 1,000 yards for 15 to 30 seconds to take a drink of gatorade as I dehydrate really easily. The rest I did take was included on the one hour swim, so I knew I was losing yardage by taking breaks, but I didn't want any leg cramps. I ended up doing 4,650 yards which is not a big deal but I thought it was o.k. given that I am a pure sprinter.
Good luck! It is a great feeling when you finish it!
I think all masters swimmers should do it at least once during their lifetime, even pure sprinters (like myself). Before doing the hour swim in 2002, I could count on two hands the number of times IN MY LIFE that I had done a swim race over 200 yards in the pool. I had never done a 1,000 or 1,650 race in a pool, ever. Somehow I escaped the requisite 1,000 yard swim for all freshman swimmers during college.
In any case, I prepared for it by doing sets of 500s, 600s, and 800s. During the actual one hour swim, I stopped at each 1,000 yards for 15 to 30 seconds to take a drink of gatorade as I dehydrate really easily. The rest I did take was included on the one hour swim, so I knew I was losing yardage by taking breaks, but I didn't want any leg cramps. I ended up doing 4,650 yards which is not a big deal but I thought it was o.k. given that I am a pure sprinter.
Good luck! It is a great feeling when you finish it!
