I'm entered in my first long swim, the Potomac 7.5 mile race, on Saturday and have some last minute questions. Goal is to finish (I don't care if I'm last or if I set a new record for slowest finish; just want to get from one side of the river to the other).
I've never done a swim long enough to require a taper. When should I do my last long swim, or should I do only enough short swims and cross training to prevent lactic acid buildup? (I did 5 miles on Saturday, two on Sunday, took yesterday off). Should I take the two days before the swim off completely or do some easy swims/ cross training?
How often to stop for hydrating and feeding? I know some stop every half hour to hydrate and every hour to feed, but that seems like a bit much. Would every hour for both hydrating and feeding be OK, or is there a psychological benefit in stopping every half hour? And is it better to stop more frequently just in case? And what have you used for feeding? I've tried gel packs and Power Bars and Larabars at different times and they all seem to work OK. Would bringing some sort of hot or warm drink help with preventing hypothermia? And any advice on what to eat right before the swim?
My plan is to start out very slow and easy, about a 45 minute mile pace (don't laugh); I can pick up speed later if I want to and can. (I did a two mile race last Sept. at about a 38 minute pace). I'll probably do some breastroke to spare my shoulder and save energy, and going at a slow pace will save me for any current/ chop/ waves at the end. Fortunately there are no time limits on this race!
I appreciate any advice any of you have. Thanks!
Sandra
Sandra,
There are a number of threads that go into detail about feeding. You may want to check them out.
When should I do my last long swim, or should I do only enough short swims and cross training to prevent lactic acid buildup? What do you consider a long swim? Usually the days before a long swim I would try to get in a 45 to 90 minute swim every day, preferably in the open water. Swimming an easy pace with a couple of moderate 5 minute swims in the middle.
As for feeding, do you have a kayak escort , power boat or are there feeding stations? My usual advice is to race with the same fuel that you train with. For my marathon swims, I would train and race with Endurox. In escorted races, I would feed 24 ounces every 30 minutes, every 4 hours I would include liquid Advil. I never did solids or gels during a race.
For pre-race meals I would usually go for carbs and protein (steak and pasta) the night before and for race morning I’d go with plenty of fluids, bananas, power bar, bagels with peanut butter and oatmeal for cold swims.
If you have a kayak escort, make sure all drinks are premixed and ready to go. Also warm/hot liquids don’t do much to prevent hypothermia (it is a psychological boost), 16 ounces of hot liquid at 120F will raise your core temperature by about one tenth of a degree. If your boat crew can warm your drinks then by all means have them do it, but if they don’t have an on-board stove, then don’t worry about it.
Note the best way to stay warm is to burn calories by maintaining a decent pace. Starting out very slow and easy may not be the best strategy in cold water.
And most important… HAVE FUN and Good luck!
Rob and Lane - Great advice for any OW swim - Thanks!
I agree with lanehog - tapering does not mean you don't stop swimming and take a couple days off (IMHO).
However, with that in mind, I think you need to ask yourself when do you feel the strongest - is it after taking one day away from swimming? 2 days? No days? For me personally, I feel like crap when I've even taken 1 day off, let alone 2, so it really is a personal thing. Plus "they" say that the longer distance you are swimming, the shorter the taper.
Let us know how you do, I think you will really surprise yourself. I know it is a cliche, but it is true - Just swim your own race. Good luck!
Generally, when I taper, I cut back on the quantity of swimming, but I like to get in the water each day. For me at least, it's important to really maintain the feel of the water. So my suggestion would be to get in each day before the race and do some short swims -- maybe 2-3 miles on Monday/Tuesday, and dropping to a mile by Friday. Lots of easy swimming, maybe a few short sprints. I would say don't do any cross training (or at least any strenuous cross training) in the week before the event.
I'm not an expert on feedings/hydration, as I haven't done any swims longer than 4.5 miles (that might change this summer!), but I would really, really recommend hydrating, with fluids, at least every half hour, if not more than that. You probably don't have to eat as often, but fluids -- water, gatorade -- are really important, especially if it's hot out. I've made the mistake of skipping feeding stations in the first half of a race because I was doing fine at that point, but by the end, I really felt it.
Someone more knowledgeable than I can probably discuss gel packs and other such stuff -- I'm still figuring that stuff out! :) Good luck on the swim, and let us know how you do!
If your 2 mile pace was a comfortable 38 minutes without a wetsuit, then I would hazard a guess that your 7.5 mile pace with a wet suit would be about 37 minutes (yes, faster). The wetsuit and salt water will aid greatly.
Unless you really blew up during the 2 mile swim, I would suggest that you try to swim at that level of effort and tempo for 7.5 as well. Pace really becomes irrelevant due to the event conditions, so focus on technique, tempo and effort.
And a note about wetsuits…Since you are new to wetsuits, it is really important to find any possible hot spots (points where the suit rubs your skin). During a 7.5 mile swim and especially in salt water these hot spots will rub raw and get real painful. BodyGlide or Pam are highly recommended (make that essential).
And if you haven’t done much salt water swimming I suggest you try to get in a easy hour swim (in the wetsuit) at the race site, just to get completely comfortable with race conditions.
Good Luck
Lane, Rob, and Susan,
Thanks so much for the advice - I appreciate it!
I'll have a support kayaker. The race director is giving a pre-swim supper the night before, and sent me his email, so we can go over feeding/hydration and race strategies before the race. I think I'll go with stopping every 30 minutes for hydration and maybe a gel pack every hour.
Been training with Gatorade and gel packs. As long as it's not a sickly sweet flavor, the gel packs seem to work OK. Have some Gu, but not sure about trying it (I spaced out and didn't get it until yesterday, so maybe I should just go with Gatorade since I've been training with that). I'll take bananas and power bars, but it's hard to imagine solids during a swim (will see how I feel during the race).
Water temperature will probably be in the 60's, so I'll be wearing a wetsuit for the first time. Past two days I practiced swimming with it, but had to stop at 2000 meters because I felt like I was getting overheated (the Y pool was 80 degrees). I'll probably do the same today, and then maybe take the day before the race off. I tend to feel strongest after a rest day. Actually, after I missed over a week of swimming, I felt stronger than ever when I got back in the water.
One more question - how much should your pace drop on a long swim? I did a two mile lake swim at a 38 minute pace, so what should I aim for on this 7.5mile river swim? When I applied, I estimated that it would take five and a half hours (based on a 45 minute pace), though of course this will very depending on current, wind, chop, etc.
Wish me luck on Saturday...
Sandra
Thanks, Rob. Hopefully I'll be able to get there early enough today to do a short practice swim. Now I wish I had started training with the wetsuit sooner - it does seem to make me a little faster on freestyle, but breastroke is harder (found your old post on changing breastroke technique with a wetsuit - it worked!) Did a one mile swim in the pool yesterday, and yes, I did neet the Body Glide, even on such a short swim.
I dd the two mile swim at a comfortable pace, except for the last half mile, when I really pushed it. After that swim, I thought I could have pushed harder. We'll see tomorrow. I'll repeat "technique, tempo, and effort" to myself like a mantra tomorrow... wish me luck.
Sounds like you've got all nearly all contingencies thought out - good luck!
P.S. My advice is to forget about whether you should or shouldn't have been training with the wetsuit - what's done is done and you need to keep your positive mental attitude going. When I say similar things to my husband, he always replies that there should be some element of surprise on each race to make it exciting. I don't really agree with him, but it always makes me feel better when he says it. You'll do great!
