Hey folks,
I have been swimming a long time, but the last year or so I have gotten into running a lot more. I still want to do the open water races I love so much (Donner Lake!), but I'm just no getting in the pool a lot.
What is the best way to train for distance if you don't have a lot of pool time? Should I do intervals, long steady swims (I used to do lots of 3500s), long fast/slow swims (50 fast/50 slow for a couple of miles)?
I think I am fine with aerobic training, I run a lot, but my arm strength is gettng kind of weak.
Parents
Former Member
Hey Rhoda, I just wanted to say not to underestimate how much faster you can go when following someone, part of it is the draft but a big part is that you can keep your head down and swim without having to sight. I did the SwimTrek trip in the Greek Cyclades (highly recommended!) and I could keep up with our guide when drafting, leaving all the sighting up to her, I could never have kept that pace swimming on my own. At a local open water race I have a friend of roughly equal speed but who is much better at sighting than I am, in the last race I drafted the first half of the race, keeping up easily, then we got separated a bit and I wasn't able to get back to him, and he left me in the dust from that point onward. I guess the other approach is to practice sighting a lot, perfecting your ability to get a look with minimal disturbance to your stroke. I don't do enough of that.
Hey Rhoda, I just wanted to say not to underestimate how much faster you can go when following someone, part of it is the draft but a big part is that you can keep your head down and swim without having to sight. I did the SwimTrek trip in the Greek Cyclades (highly recommended!) and I could keep up with our guide when drafting, leaving all the sighting up to her, I could never have kept that pace swimming on my own. At a local open water race I have a friend of roughly equal speed but who is much better at sighting than I am, in the last race I drafted the first half of the race, keeping up easily, then we got separated a bit and I wasn't able to get back to him, and he left me in the dust from that point onward. I guess the other approach is to practice sighting a lot, perfecting your ability to get a look with minimal disturbance to your stroke. I don't do enough of that.
