Open Water Swim in Oct.

That looks really cool. How much assist do you get with the current?

This looks really awesome. Will you actually venture into the open water?

That looks really cool. How much assist do you get with the current? If the locks have been opened for a few days before the swim, the current will make the 10 miles swim like 3-4 miles. The tennessee river can have a strong current. If the locks haven't been opened much, there won't be much of a current. Won't know much until the week or so leading up the swim.

Well, I hope this is successful so they start making this an annual thing. It looks way cool, but there's no way I'm getting out there this year. Looking forward to race reports.

Being that this isn't that far for me I just may have to do it! I did the 4.5 mile River Rat Race last year in the TN River and it only took 68 minutes or so.....so if there is THAT kind of current you could expect times of 120-140 minute range possibly. Otherwise, this would be a LONG swim!

There may be a few more logistical details to work out, but ... I think I'll do this. I have some questions for the crowd: Background: In the past year I've competed in the 800 SCM & LCM, the 1000 SCY twice, and the 1650, finishing in 21:09. I've also done many (over a dozen) 3000 yard continuous swims in a SCY pool, complete with 119 flip turns, which takes me about 41 minutes. I think my technique and endurance are adequate to attempt this. But I've never done any open water swimming, or any endurance swimming longer than 40 or 45 minutes. I have three months to prepare. 1. Training. Currently I do about 15,000 to 20,000 yards a week in various pools, featuring lots of conditioning sets, various drills, etc., as is typical for a pool swimmmer. What else should I do in the way of training to prepare for a 10 mile river swim? Any special prep needed for open water? 2. In-race refueling & other logistics. You can swim 3000 straight in a pool without stopping for anything, but I'll bet you can't do the same for 10 miles. What in the way of drinks, gels, ham & cheese sandwiches, etc., should I have on the kayak? Should they be taken on a schedule? What else should be on the boat? 3. What am I missing? It would be better to know what the problems are now, three months out, than to discover something novel in the last week. What should I read? Any comments welcome!

There may be a few more logistical details to work out, but ... I think I'll do this. I have some questions for the crowd: Background: In the past year I've competed in the 800 SCM & LCM, the 1000 SCY twice, and the 1650, finishing in 21:09. I've also done many (over a dozen) 3000 yard continuous swims in a SCY pool, complete with 119 flip turns, which takes me about 41 minutes. I think my technique and endurance are adequate to attempt this. But I've never done any open water swimming, or any endurance swimming longer than 40 or 45 minutes. I have three months to prepare. 1. Training. Currently I do about 15,000 to 20,000 yards a week in various pools, featuring lots of conditioning sets, various drills, etc., as is typical for a pool swimmmer. What else should I do in the way of training to prepare for a 10 mile river swim? Any special prep needed for open water? 2. In-race refueling & other logistics. You can swim 3000 straight in a pool without stopping for anything, but I'll bet you can't do the same for 10 miles. What in the way of drinks, gels, ham & cheese sandwiches, etc., should I have on the kayak? Should they be taken on a schedule? What else should be on the boat? 3. What am I missing? It would be better to know what the problems are now, three months out, than to discover something novel in the last week. What should I read? Any comments welcome! Caveat: I've done a number of OW races, but only up to the 5K distance Get some OW race experience prior to this, preferably some cold water experience I'd personally amp up your weekly yardage, but do so by swimming longer rather than more frequently (e.g., if you're doing five 4K workouts a week, go for five 6K workouts or four 7k to 8k workouts) and having your sets be longer If you can, do some OW lake or river training Read chaos's blog (forums.usms.org/blog.php and his race reports to understand feeding. Even though he goes longer than you will, he gives some great advice.

Wookie, I didn't realize that you were that close to me. Our club got the notice for this yesterday. I'm not up to open water yet, but it does sound fun! I think several of our members are training for it.

I'd personally amp up your weekly yardage, but do so by swimming longer rather than more frequently (e.g., if you're doing five 4K workouts a week, go for five 6K workouts or four 7k to 8k workouts) and having your sets be longer. If I may quibble, I'd recommend approaching it sort of like training to run a marathon. One long workout or steady swim at a long-distance pace per week, approaching and maybe exceeding race distance. Two other medium workouts and two shorter workouts, one of each at a higher intensity than the other. Three weeks hard, with the long swim increasing each week; then one week lighter. So to build from your current program over three months you might start the first month by working in one day per week where your workouts get longer by 1000 or 1500 per session, with the last week a lighter rest-ish week. Second month increase the long day from your prior month, and bump up two other days too. Third month same pattern as the last hard week of the second, and do your last pre-race long swim about 10-14 days before the race itself. Do be sure to get some OW experience to feel comfortable navigating, and also to be sure you can handle as much time as the race will require in water at the temperature the race venue will be. Also consider complementary drylands, especially shoulder work to avoid injury when you ramp it up and work to strengthen the low back. 2-4 hours swimming without a flip turn can give you a backache if you are not strong in the lower abs and spinal extensors.

www.swimlv.com/slam-the-dam.html No leaves, just water. And Las Vegas is nearby after (or before) you swim. Three different distances, also the first year for this event.