That "Dam" Swim in Alabama

Thank you all very, very much for the fantastic advice and tips. My coach also thinks that 30 to 35K is enough. He sort of cringes when I say doubles. Rob, to your point, I noticed when I trained for triathlons that the longer workouts helped me more than the doubles (I feel because there is no 6 hour rest break during the race!) I feel better about what I'm currently doing. I'm a bit nervous b/c of the distance and because I'm used to training 5K to 6K 6 days a week for a 500 free race! (I swam my 500 in 5:23 in Feb 2006.) It's good to know I don't need to be doing 15K a day - at least to just finish. I'm irritable anyway - but all the other tips on overtraining were great. I will monitor very closely how I feel and possibly stick to 35K a week. Up until April, I would training 5 to 6 days a week about 5 to 6,500 yards a session. I felt good. Then I switched to triathlons and only did about 1 to 2K twice a week from mid april to a couple of weeks ago. So Randy, just to clarify my swimming base, I have a swimming base but it's a bit rusty with my switching to triathlon and focusing on the bike and run (like doing 40 mile bikes followed by 6 K runs - nothing too crazy). No more tri training until after this swim though. I want to focus on having a good swim. After tri training I love swimming even more - it's much more rewarding in my opinion. I remember swimming every summer morning at 6 am as an age grouper and loving the zen like feeling. I'm trying to recapture that feeling - and it's working! In reading other posts Leonard, I did go to Dover Solo and already enjoyed doing 2x2000 at about a 1:20 pace. It took some laps to get into it, but then I really relaxed and kept going and it felt great (this was my second practice of the day - but I will most likely cut that out and increase the 1 practice as Rob suggested.) I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes. I'm certinaly a bit worked up about the swim but I'm very excited about it and happy to just enter it! You guys were awesome! I feel much better! Thank you again! Kristina

You are doing enough yardage to finish. If I read the previous posts correctly you were swimming 33k per week, without a problem, and now are at 40k.....all without a swimming base? This is plenty for this event. Just remember Rob's comments about overtraining between now and the swim -and Leonard's about going out in a comfortable pace.

Hi Rob and any other distance swimmers out there, I wanted to throw out my training plan for the 12 mile swim (this is what it's shaping up to be) and see what you guys think. I'm swimming 6 days a week. Swimming 5K in the morning sessions. Then, I'm doing a double twice a week (also of 5 K). I'll get in at least one 10K straight before the race - which is yeah, 20K. Total yardage per week is 40K. I'm thinking about adding a double for a third time each week for a total of 45K per week; however, then I'm concerned about my shoulders starting to hurt (so far so good and I've never had any swimming injuries as a kid.) Usually, my morning sessions are more intense and with a masters group while the afternoon session is more relaxed and just getting in yardage. Thanks for any feedback. (I'm expecting people to say this is just too little for this swim . . . but I'm going to just go with what I can do in 8 weeks time.) Kristina

Kristina - The total yardage is (more than) enough to get you through a carefully paced and well-though-out 12 miler. I would urge you to consider two things: 1) Make sure you have some variety in the distances/types/efforts of training. If you start dreading some workouts you probably are doing too much/too soon (overtraining) or are getting into a rut. If you are overtraining, you will find that you have specific symptoms that may (or may not) include things like: Trouble sleeping, listlessness, irritable, low level health issues (sore throat, colds, etc). If you are in a rut, you probably won't have overtraining symptoms, but just don't want to do the workout. This is often because, by doing the same thing over and over, you tend to try to push yourself to surpass what you have done before all the time, which can cause anxiety. The days have an ebb and flow to them and so should you. I suggest that you look at Marcia Cleveland's site and lookup some of the workouts she recommends and then adapt them to your own level/speed/distances. Her site: http://www.doversolo.com 2) Keep in mind that you DON'T improve while training. Rather, it is getting adequate rest between training sessions that causes the actual improvement. Therefore, be sure that some of the variety includes easier/less distance days. You MUST recover adequately to avoid injury/burnout. As I said in my previous post, better to go into the race slightly undertrained than slightly overtrained. Also, a rough rule of thumb for distances that has worked for me both when I was a racewalker and now that I am swimming, is that during an "average" training week, whatever I could sustain for X distance, I could sustain for about 2X distance when rested and tapered to race. Good Luck, LBJ

One more thing: Let your kayaker or boat do the navigation for you. It is exhausting to try to keep looking up/forward to either see where you are going or to see your kayaker/boat. For example, for me it works best to have the kayaker/boat on my right side (my preferred breathing side although I can easily breathe to the left if needed), have them 3-5 yards away and have the middle of the boat/kayak centered on my head. In that way, when I roll to breathe I only have to see where they are to know if I'm going straight or not. If they are ahead, you have to look up and if they are behind you, you'll have to do all the navigating. I go over this with the kayaker/boater at least twice before the race. Keep in mind that you are mostly only going to be seeing out of one eye and have no real depth perception, so if you can just see the entire boat/kayak, you can use any apparent changes to tell if you are wandering a bit or not. i.e. If in one breath you can just see the boat and then on the next breath you can only see part of it, then either you are getting closer (wandering) or they are trying to turn you. If you have some sort of agreement like this in place ahead of time, it usually only takes a little time (maybe 15-30 minutes) for you to get in synch with your boater/kayaker and saves a lot of strain on your neck and shoulders. Good Luck, LBJ

Rob, Where can one find the entry form for the Peachtree City meet? Where will the meet be held? Thanks! John

I have been the race director for "That Dam Swim" for the past three years. We have had only one swimmer DNF and she had a bug the week before the swim. We provide drinks, ice and any special food request you have as long as we know in advance. We want you to have a good time and not worry about the details. You will not find an open water event that takes better care of you than the Shoals Sharks. I also think as a solo swimmer, you should use a kayak escort. If you have any questions, my email is on the entry form.

tzuelke, Can you please post the link to the entry form. I am interested in doing this next year. I am already booked in September this year, but this 12-mile swim sounds really good. Thanks, Diana

go to: www.shoalssharks.com you can find additional information and entry form. hope to see you next year.

khaden, Thank you very much. I am going to bookmark that site for next year. You may just see me next year, if my shoulder starts cooperating. Good luck on this year's event! Diana