When you trian for a logn distance swim, how far do you go in your longest training swims? How do you find the balance between risk of injury and not going far enouhg?
Parents
Former Member
I used the Penny Dean book Open Water Swimming to prepare for a race recently. It depends on the length of the race. She says that for race distances of more than 6 miles, "you need not train more than 80 percent of the total swim mileage unless you feel it is necessary for your mental satisfaction" (p. 116). She also recommends weekly distance increases of 5 to 15 percent. (p. 123) So you need to pinpoint the race date, figure how long you want to taper and count back from there to plan each week.
I talked to a marathon runner who said that in practice she was to train only for 20 miles out of 28, so that seems to be roughly an 80 percent rule as well.
How long is your event?
I used the Penny Dean book Open Water Swimming to prepare for a race recently. It depends on the length of the race. She says that for race distances of more than 6 miles, "you need not train more than 80 percent of the total swim mileage unless you feel it is necessary for your mental satisfaction" (p. 116). She also recommends weekly distance increases of 5 to 15 percent. (p. 123) So you need to pinpoint the race date, figure how long you want to taper and count back from there to plan each week.
I talked to a marathon runner who said that in practice she was to train only for 20 miles out of 28, so that seems to be roughly an 80 percent rule as well.
How long is your event?
