long swim

Former Member
Former Member
training for a 4.2 mile ow swim in june, any tips?
  • "A Training Plan for a Long Distance Swim" forums.usms.org/showthread.php Also browse through other posts in Open Water section for answers to similar or same question. Regards, VB
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Hmm.. 4.2 miles in June. Sandy point State Park in Maryland maybe? Bay Bridge swim. One tip would be to bring a giant spear gun or armored swim suit. Be sure to eat your fav meal before too. www.jaxkayakfishing.com/.../viewtopic.php
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    That 10' 10", 1082lb mako shark was caught a little further up the coast than Maryland, off Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in August 2004 during the Yarmouth Shark Scramble.
  • jsmwbnc, i am no expert by any means and have no tips, but i'll share my current training for a swim across the mackinac straits, which is between 4-5 miles, maybe longer depending on the current. the advice mostly came from ultramarathon swimmer jim dreyer (with some of my own modifications): monday, 2-2.5 miles, tuesday drills, wednesday 2 - 2.5 miles, thursday conditioning or drills, friday off, saturday long swim, 3-5 miles, sunday off. since i am 53 yrs old i alternate my long swims every other saturday so my body can rest. i'm not quite at the 4-5 milers, although i feel i can do it, i don't want to tear up my arms. so i am building up to it. during my swims, i try to crank up my speed at various times. i did more strength and conditioning in the fall and winter. of course when memorial day comes and i can swim in the lake michigan i plan to do so. i'm not an expert by any means, just thought i share what i am doing. what are you doing? mark
  • Here is how I built up for me 3km swim last year and what I am doing for this yrs 3km and 5km. Last year: Had been swimming mondays and thursdays in the pool 3500m since sept. about 6 weeks before I moved out ot lake and swam 3500-4000 in a lake between two buoys 500m apart. resting 10-20 seconds after every 500 to find a new marker and swim back to the other buoy ran, biked or rowed tuesday, wednesday and saturdays 30 minutes rested friday's and sunday's come race day I felt fine, but I had a hard time staying focused for the entire 45 minutes. the water was colder than I figured, the course was not as straight as the 500's I was swimming at home. I mentally gave up around 1700m, but when I got to the 2100m sign I realized i was actually doing better than i thought. wound up going 15 seconds slower than my goal time of 45min. This year I started swimming 3x a week in the fall 3500-5500 Mon, tues & Thurs Bike 5-6 times a week 30-45 minutes will move out to the lake mondays and thursdays about 6-8 weeks before (weather permitting) and swim 4500-5000m both times. the local tri team puts out the buoys at the end of May. I have lost about 25 lbs since last yrs race and plan on losing 5 more before this years. There are several races in one weekend. This year I am planing on doing the 5km on friday night (goal under 1:15) and the 3km on sunday morning (this yrs goal under 42:30). Depending on how my training goes I might do the short 1km on sat just to pass time since the races are 7 hrs from home.
  • Hi MarkM: When are you going to swim the Straits? Jim Dreyer told me that he had to get special permission to do this last year. Sorry it wasn't publicized earlier! Would love to know. Always wanted to do it. Jennifer Parks ("JP") Holland, MI
  • jennifer, i am doing a solo swim. i applied for and received permits for the solo swim from both the michigan department of natural resources and the us coast guard in st igance. my swim isn't associated with jim dreyer. however dreyer did send out an email to people who were interested in how to swim the straits. among the attachments were suggestions for training. mark