I am 30 years old and decided to do the 1 mile bay bridge swim in Maryland. The event is June 10th. When I get a chance I have been swimming in the pool. I have worked up to a 1/2 mile in about 30 mins. That is with taking breaks. I was wondering how to train for an event like this. I can not get to the event site to practice, so what should I do in the pool so I am ready? How many days should I swim? How far? I am clueless and can use any advice. Also, do you think getting a wetsuit is a good idea?
Jaime
Parents
Former Member
You are up to a half mile with breaks, You will need to be able to swim at least a mile and a 1/4 in the pool better yet a mile and a half without breaks. The good news is that you can take your time. Keep that in mind at the event so you dont tire your self out. The reason is waves in open water and currents. Its quite different then pool swimming. At the start let the pack get away a bit so you can relax and swim.. Not quite a "winning " concept but a finishing concept and thats what you want to do for your first open water event. Keep at your workouts regularly and build up your distance. Practise "sighting" raising your head to see where you are, you will need to do that in the open water swim. One thing about open water is that you need to do the distance in practise and thats a lot of swimming. A wetsuit will help you with staying afloat, there are a little like a life jacket in a way that they hold you up in the water a bit. They will keep the cold out of you. equally important is a good swim cap to keep the heat in . That swim I have heard has water temps that ranges from low 70,s to mid 60,s depending on how the weather has been up there.See www.geocities.com/.../coldwatercaps.html for details on open water swim caps. You should practice with any gear you get in the pool to get used to it. That can be hard with wetsuits because most people rent them as posted above. There expensive about 300-400 dollars. If theres any way you can swim at the site two weeks before that will also help a lot.
You are up to a half mile with breaks, You will need to be able to swim at least a mile and a 1/4 in the pool better yet a mile and a half without breaks. The good news is that you can take your time. Keep that in mind at the event so you dont tire your self out. The reason is waves in open water and currents. Its quite different then pool swimming. At the start let the pack get away a bit so you can relax and swim.. Not quite a "winning " concept but a finishing concept and thats what you want to do for your first open water event. Keep at your workouts regularly and build up your distance. Practise "sighting" raising your head to see where you are, you will need to do that in the open water swim. One thing about open water is that you need to do the distance in practise and thats a lot of swimming. A wetsuit will help you with staying afloat, there are a little like a life jacket in a way that they hold you up in the water a bit. They will keep the cold out of you. equally important is a good swim cap to keep the heat in . That swim I have heard has water temps that ranges from low 70,s to mid 60,s depending on how the weather has been up there.See www.geocities.com/.../coldwatercaps.html for details on open water swim caps. You should practice with any gear you get in the pool to get used to it. That can be hard with wetsuits because most people rent them as posted above. There expensive about 300-400 dollars. If theres any way you can swim at the site two weeks before that will also help a lot.
