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!
When you train or race open water do you use wetsuits?
I've never trained with a wetsuit, primarily because our pools are too hot to do so and I don't have open water nearby to train in. I have recently done my first race in a full-body suit in colder water. While the warmth is certainly nice, I didn't like the restricted feel of a wetsuit. If I end up doing more races that warrant a wetsuit, I'm probably going to try a sleeveless suit.
I have talked with a number of swimmers and triathletes about suits. My general impression is that for the triathletes who came to their sport from a non-swimming background, they tend to love the extra buoyancy of a wetsuit. Most "career swimmers," though, I think tend to prefer not swimming in one. Of course, my sample size of conversations is small and likely not representative.
My near-term goal is to only enter O/W races where the water is warm enough to NOT use a wetsuit. My longer-term goal would be to acclimate myself to colder temps as I'd like to do swims like the Tiburon Mile and Alcatraz sans wetsuit.
When you train or race open water do you use wetsuits?
I've never trained with a wetsuit, primarily because our pools are too hot to do so and I don't have open water nearby to train in. I have recently done my first race in a full-body suit in colder water. While the warmth is certainly nice, I didn't like the restricted feel of a wetsuit. If I end up doing more races that warrant a wetsuit, I'm probably going to try a sleeveless suit.
I have talked with a number of swimmers and triathletes about suits. My general impression is that for the triathletes who came to their sport from a non-swimming background, they tend to love the extra buoyancy of a wetsuit. Most "career swimmers," though, I think tend to prefer not swimming in one. Of course, my sample size of conversations is small and likely not representative.
My near-term goal is to only enter O/W races where the water is warm enough to NOT use a wetsuit. My longer-term goal would be to acclimate myself to colder temps as I'd like to do swims like the Tiburon Mile and Alcatraz sans wetsuit.
