I have swum a handful or 5K open waters over the past few years and am seriously considering swimming my first 10K next August (National Championship in Little Traverse Bay, MI 8/1/2009). In most all of my 5Ks (even the rough/cold condition ones) I felt pretty good afterwards, could have swum farther, and luckily didn't cramp up at all.
My question for those who have swum a 10K and 5K, how much of a difference are they on a pain/exhaustion scale? Like is swimming a 10K 30% more painful and/or exhausting or is it more like 500% more painful/exhausting.
I am a relatively slow open water swimmer and would be aiming just to complete the swim in or around a time of 3 1/2 to 4 hours (barring any major route miscalculation or dibilitating physical side-effect).:drown:
Thanks for your thoughts!
One big difference is that you will need to feed during a 10K and you may not have needed this in the 5K.
Beyond that, yes, it does take more out of you than a 5K, but how much is a function of how hard you are pushing it. If you are racing to win, a 10K can be significantly more painful. If you are swimming to complete the distance, it won’t hurt as much.
One big difference is that you will need to feed during a 10K and you may not have needed this in the 5K.
Beyond that, yes, it does take more out of you than a 5K, but how much is a function of how hard you are pushing it. If you are racing to win, a 10K can be significantly more painful. If you are swimming to complete the distance, it won’t hurt as much.
