Hi everyone-
I’m still pretty new to the forum and had a question specifically for someone new to open water swimming. Over the past few summers I’ve swam a lot of .5 to 1.0 mile open water pond swims. My main problem is breaking out of my routine and going longer distance like the 5k to 10k races.
I’ve been reading how some people train by jumping in and just doing non stop distance. It kind of appealed to me as I was reading about a swimmer who does a 1 mile pool swim (no breaks) 3 times a week.
Right now I’m sort of used to training on a pyramid 100,200,300, 400,500. However I’ve been thinking possibly the non stop mile swims may be better from the endurance standpoint?
Thanks again everyone. Let me know if your looking for a training partner in Massachusetts!
I generally swim a few 1M to 3M o/w swims each year (maybe 3 to 6, depending upon the year). Unfortunately, I rarely get the chance to train in open water prior to those swims, so all my training is in the pool. I don't do any long swims in the pool prior to O/W swimming for two reasons:
I just get too bored and lose count swimming any repeat distance much over about 500 yards in a pool. Sometimes our master's coach makes us do 600s or 800s, but, rarely.
I find that, once in an open water race, there are so many variables at play -- adrenaline / excitement of the race, strategizing as to when to draft/when to pass, sighting, etc. -- that my mind is so engaged in the event that I don't notice the lack of prior long swims.
Now, if I had a body of open water where I could consistently train, I'd probably change my mind ... but I don't think I'll be adding long swims in the pool anytime soon.
I generally swim a few 1M to 3M o/w swims each year (maybe 3 to 6, depending upon the year). Unfortunately, I rarely get the chance to train in open water prior to those swims, so all my training is in the pool. I don't do any long swims in the pool prior to O/W swimming for two reasons:
I just get too bored and lose count swimming any repeat distance much over about 500 yards in a pool. Sometimes our master's coach makes us do 600s or 800s, but, rarely.
I find that, once in an open water race, there are so many variables at play -- adrenaline / excitement of the race, strategizing as to when to draft/when to pass, sighting, etc. -- that my mind is so engaged in the event that I don't notice the lack of prior long swims.
Now, if I had a body of open water where I could consistently train, I'd probably change my mind ... but I don't think I'll be adding long swims in the pool anytime soon.
