yesterday I swam a 1500 to get a sign up time. it's been nearly 6 months since i have swam anything over 400m. I had no idea how I should swim it, or how it would feel during. took off way too fast 1:15, then 2:25 at the 200 and 5:20 at the 400. but then averaged about 1:25-1:26 for the rest and ended upw ith 21:10.
it got me thinking about a 5km run. I don't run, but it seems that almost every spring I decide it's time to start and i do run 3-5 times and I always use a 5km as a test/goal distance.
my goal for the 1500 in 3 weeks is to be under 20:00 so I have 3 weeks to learn how to hold a 1:20 pace, as well as to prepare mentally how it feels to swim that long. but I find it funny that my goal for the 5km has also been to run it under 20:00
anyone else have similar times for the 1500 and 5km? (1650yd vs 3 miles)
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Slug for what it is worth, I am pretty involved in the production of triathlons and (sadly), I can tell you that the swim at most triathlons are short. Favorable current aside, if a lot of people are swimming the open water 1500 in less than 19:00 at just about any triathlon, the distance is short.
The production company I am affiliated with has a reputation of having "long" swims. In reality our distance are accurate but people are accustom to short swims.
It makes sense that the swim would be the least accurately measured part of the race. I've definitely noticed a lack of consistency in the "feel" of triathlon swim distances over the years, even the same race from year to year. Of course, even if the swim is accurately measured you still have other variables like sighting, drafting, current, and interference from other swimmers. Those are what make open water swimming so much fun!
Slug for what it is worth, I am pretty involved in the production of triathlons and (sadly), I can tell you that the swim at most triathlons are short. Favorable current aside, if a lot of people are swimming the open water 1500 in less than 19:00 at just about any triathlon, the distance is short.
The production company I am affiliated with has a reputation of having "long" swims. In reality our distance are accurate but people are accustom to short swims.
It makes sense that the swim would be the least accurately measured part of the race. I've definitely noticed a lack of consistency in the "feel" of triathlon swim distances over the years, even the same race from year to year. Of course, even if the swim is accurately measured you still have other variables like sighting, drafting, current, and interference from other swimmers. Those are what make open water swimming so much fun!
