So I'm nearing the end of my second season of open water swimming, and regardless of whether I ever get better or not, I'm hooked. I love the scenery, I love the challenge, and I love the feeling of being able to move freely in large bodies of water.
But. . . I would also like to get better. My race times haven't shown significant improvement. Where conditions are calm with little current, my 100 pace was at 1:28 for the first race I swam last year and 1:28 for the most recent such race I swam this year. I'm guessing my swim workouts need a change up to make progress here.
Initially my goal was getting over the mental barrier of swimming longer distances so my workouts (4-6 times per week) have been full of yardage, but little in the way of drilling or intervals.
Typical workouts include about 8 500's with an easy 50 in between each or sometimes I do a pyramid by 100 up to 500 and then back down with a kick set or pull set afterwards. At least twice a week, I do a long non-stop swim of 4K or so. Clearly, I haven't put much rhyme or reason into yet. What's worked for the folks who have improved in their 100 pace on long swims? I would love to get mine under 1:20.
My OW speed has improved significantly since I started focusing more seriously on pool races, specifically on the 100 back and the 400/500 free. My team has a lot of people who like mid-distance and IM races. I kick a fair amount. Aside from OW races, I do long-ish nonstop swims only about once a week, when I swim with my friend at a local beach. Our normal course is only about a mile.
If you can swim a long way at a steady pace without stopping, you won't lose that ability if you switch your focus more to working on your speed. To swim faster in races you have to swim faster in practice, which I think means that you need to use the clock and get your heart rate up out of the 4000-yards-without-stopping comfort zone. Use the "workouts" and "blogs" sections for ideas, and don't concern yourself about whether the workouts are for "pool" or "OW" racers.
My OW speed has improved significantly since I started focusing more seriously on pool races, specifically on the 100 back and the 400/500 free. My team has a lot of people who like mid-distance and IM races. I kick a fair amount. Aside from OW races, I do long-ish nonstop swims only about once a week, when I swim with my friend at a local beach. Our normal course is only about a mile.
If you can swim a long way at a steady pace without stopping, you won't lose that ability if you switch your focus more to working on your speed. To swim faster in races you have to swim faster in practice, which I think means that you need to use the clock and get your heart rate up out of the 4000-yards-without-stopping comfort zone. Use the "workouts" and "blogs" sections for ideas, and don't concern yourself about whether the workouts are for "pool" or "OW" racers.
