Out of curiosity, how much time does an average open water swimmer spend training each week?
And what distance events do most average open water swimmers participate?
On a weekly basis, I'm grateful when I can swim three times for an hour and fifteen minutes (4500 m). Last summer I did my first two open water events, 1.5 and 1.0 miles. I'm wondering if a longer event would be reasonable? But spending less time with my family, or at work, or asleep, are not options.
What's your approach?
I'm training for 3 mile swim.
I do three swims a week. Currently I'm at about 11K yeards per week.
1) Distance swim - really slow. Alternating ***, back, free, and my pitiful kicking.
Right now, it's at about 5K yards - in 3 hours. Continents drift past me.
I'll likely get up to 6K or 7 K about a month before the swim, then I'll speed it up a little.
The kicking isn't for speeding me up or anything - it's to help prevent leg cramps. Strikes me that is the biggest preventable risk in open water.
2) Pacing swim. A warm up, a (for me) fast mile or 1.5 mile, a wind down. Takes between 50 and 75 minutes depending.
3) 100 yard intervals, followed by 50 at slow pace. about 12 right now. Less than an hour, but not much. Will probably build up to 20 X 100.
I'm training for 3 mile swim.
I do three swims a week. Currently I'm at about 11K yeards per week.
1) Distance swim - really slow. Alternating ***, back, free, and my pitiful kicking.
Right now, it's at about 5K yards - in 3 hours. Continents drift past me.
I'll likely get up to 6K or 7 K about a month before the swim, then I'll speed it up a little.
The kicking isn't for speeding me up or anything - it's to help prevent leg cramps. Strikes me that is the biggest preventable risk in open water.
2) Pacing swim. A warm up, a (for me) fast mile or 1.5 mile, a wind down. Takes between 50 and 75 minutes depending.
3) 100 yard intervals, followed by 50 at slow pace. about 12 right now. Less than an hour, but not much. Will probably build up to 20 X 100.
