Workouts for Open Water Swim??

Well first open water is alittle intemidating.If you had not swam in open water, ina while . In apool you have 4-walls aceling and afloor. In other words everything is square. But assuming you are aperson who can do amile or two, nonstop in apool , would not be to diffcult. For you to do open water swim. Just pace your self. once you get going you will be fine. Dom.

Elaine .One more thing. My work out in a pool is the equvlent of open water swim. I swim in a pool . Because, Idont have near by access to a lake or the ocean. But never the less, this is how I work, so that if I ever get backto open water I wont have much trouble. I have a three phase workout. First 100 laps is moderate speed. 2nd. 50 laps is distance the next 50 laps is endurance. This is done in a 25 meter pool. All aus. crawal or free style. I do this mon, & fri.

www.triathletemag.com/story.cfm This article inspired me into open water swimming. Kostich's recommended workout is the basis for how I now train, although alter it for my ability and time. I suggest scaling the distances based upon the distance you intend to swim. I shorten each swim by 100M, but only swim events less than 2 miles. Paddles scare me based on the shoulder war stories I've heard. Hope this helps...

You guys are scaring the crap out of me. My training in the pool as a first time long distance swimmer is between 1500m daily and over 3,000 daily. I mix it up but the way that article sounds I am doomed to fail in my swim coming up in June of 4.5 miles(Bay Bridge swim). I do a longer swim once a week of 2 to 3 miles. My goal is to finish and now I am freaked out that my training isn't enough. :confused: :eek: :p :D

u352, Last spring I decided to do a 5 mile open water swim in late June. I'm a pretty ordinary Masters swimmer and was swimming ~3000 yds/day 4x/week . For about 5 weeks before the swim, I upped the yardage to 4000-5000/day 2x/week and 3500/yds 2x/week. Just long steady, boring stuff. Finished the swim tired, but not anywhere close to exhausted. Was first in my age group You can do it.

U352 - I have no doubt that you can make it based on your training. Admittedly, if the Bay swim is your first, I might have suggested something a little shorter, but you are fine. The thing that you need to remember is to R-E-L-A-X and don't get caught up in the details. Just swim and keep swimming, take a moment here and there to enjoy the view and when you finish you'll have earned some goodie/treat (ice cream, beer, whatever - indulge!). The only information that I would be certain to get before the start of the race, is the direction and expected speed of the tide as it can sweep you under the bridge span if you are on the wrong side. They usually announce this over the loudspeaker before the race. Pace it, don't race it! -LBJ

U352, I apologize if my reference to Kostich's article scared you. The article motivated me into open water swims and provided a structure I use for my work outs. Swimming a "ladder" while targeting efforts too gave my workouts something new. It seems the swimmers near me either go straight for an hour, or do 50's and 100's on some interval for an hour. Hopefully you and others will find something positive in the article. Those responding to your post gave great advice too. Pace yourself, acknowledge the potential effects of currents, reward yourself, etc. The swimming you've indicated is sufficient preparation to complete the event. Don't over do the start, swim your own speed, and your first experience will be great. Feeling a bit jittery is normal. And many will question if they should have trained more, or if they trained too much, regardless of their experience and performance. So have fun preparing for, and finishing, your Bay Bridge Swim.

While this may not apply to open water swims it is also good advice for avoiding sharks. I grew up on a barrier island off the coast of Georgia. Sharks would follow the schools of bait fish into shallow water at high tide, then as the tide went out/at low tide the sharks often got caught/ trapped in the water between the beach and sand bar. Be very aware when in water like that. PS In all the years I lived on St. Simons I never once heard of anyone getting attacked by a shark.

No need to apologize. i guess I failed to say that it was a good article up until that point.

Originally posted by u352 You guys are scaring the crap out of me. My training in the pool as a first time long distance swimmer is between 1500m daily and over 3,000 daily. ] That's ok- they scared the heck out of me, as well!! I did find the article useful, especially the reference to the sharks. One of the things that really frightens me is having a run-in with a shark... gulp... any advice on that one? :eek: peace...