Can speed practice alone help long distance endurance?

Someone would like to comment on the breathing issue I asked above (#30)? :rolleyes:

A few references: www.nytimes.com/.../03Fitness.html sportsci.org/.../cf.htm High-intensity intermittent training is a form of interval training consisting of short bouts of all-out activity separated by rest periods of between 20 s and 5 min. It is a low-volume strategy for producing gains in aerobic power and endurance normally associated with longer training bouts. Endurance athletes should gradually phase in bouts of high-intensity intermittent training in the build-up to competitions Reprint pdf · Reprint doc · Help For an athlete to compete successfully in an endurance event, a maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) of at least 70 ml.kg-1.min-1 is a minimum requirement (Hawley et al., 1997). While athletes employ a variety of training strategies to increase VO2max, recent research suggests that a form of interval training known as high-intensity intermittent training leads to rapid improvements in VO2max and endurance performance.

Someone would like to comment on the breathing issue I asked above (#30)? :rolleyes: Sure, in between strokes, usually on the opposite side of the chop, and occasionally some Valsalva spurts thrown in to catch waves or see where I'm going.

Does short distance speed training take care of the breathing skill in long distance/OW? Am I right to say improper breathing is a major cause for premature fatigue?:confused: Thanks in advance for any comments on this! :) Sure, in between strokes, usually on the opposite side of the chop, and occasionally some Valsalva spurts thrown in to catch waves or see where I'm going.

One thing that occurred to me which may not be helped enough by short distance speed practice: breathing. I have the impression that breathing is more of a factor in long distance and OW water than in short, fast pool swimming. Also, my own experience is that oftentimes exhaustion is caused by improper breathing. What are your experiences? Any more comments appreciated. being able to breathe on both sides is an important skill for open water swimming for many reasons, but it is also important to practice swimming with a less frequent breathing pattern once in a while; that way when you find yourself swimming the moguls you can breathe when opportunity presents itself instead of swimming with your head up.

My thought on this is: if you know what an efficient stroke feels like, you will also know when it is not: usually when the waves and currents mess with your stroke. Assuming you're not dealing with very isolated & rogue conditions, a well-aware swimmer should have ample time to adjust their technique to make it as efficient as possible given the conditions. You got it right Muppet, for I'm just relating my experiences as a swimmer and my observations as an ESCORT on a kayak. When the current and tide are working against you, then an adjustment has got to be made. If not, then you're not going to make it, and have to be picked up. There have been races, where it has taken me more than twice the normal time to finish. And in one race (which I didn't do), about two thirds (700 out over 1000) swimmers were yanked. So in a race that takes me 2 1/2 hours to finish, which I normally can do in just a little over an hour, you bet my technique will be shot. But the main thing is to have fun, laugh, and wonder about what happened to my technique that I worked so hard on in the pool after the race?:bed:

Absolutely, for as a kayak escort, sprinters have no trouble taking on the surf and strong currents. Kayak escort?? I've seen these on only one FINA World Cup venue (all other venues would use motor boats). Are you located in Atlantic City? ** edit ** And in one race (which I didn't do), about two thirds (700 out over 1000) swimmers were yanked. So in a race that takes me 2 1/2 hours to finish, which I normally can do in just a little over an hour, you bet my technique will be shot Ok. We're probably not in a World Cup Event here. In Atlantic City there's this race (I think it's called Marathon around the Island) that starts off in the Ocean and finishes in some backward rivers (22.5 miles I think). Funny enough, one year, there was a spot that was so rough to swim, that the swimmers were allowed to be towed by their coaches (in the kayak) over a 100m stretch. Otherwise, every one would swim backward ;-) (that was under a big bridge prior entering the river portion, for those who are familiar with this venue)

You can train speed alone and help endurance for middle distance, I don't know about long distance. I think that you need speed to improve your technique, but also you need to swim long distance to get used to that "long" stroke, the kick is differet (5k), the breathing is different... if you want to swim mostly LD. I swim mostly middle distance races 400/800 free, but now I decided to focus more on speed training, so I have been trainning lots of 50s/25s with long rest for the past 3 months, Last week I timed my 400 free and I was just 2 sec off my best time, my 50 free from a push got almost 2 sec faster, so this is my direction for the next months.

If I only practice to improve the speed in short distance, will it help increase the endurance needed for long distance? In other words, say I have trained for several months for (only) speed, could I, one day, suddenly find myself swimming long distance without feeling tired? (Obviously the opposite is not true: simply being able to swim slow long distance doesn't help improve the speed.) Why don't you try it and see? And mb I missed it but what do you consider long distance? 5k, 10k and up? Let us know how it goes.