How to Train For OW 10K

My $0.02, for what little it's worth... Since you can do 5k, you CAN do 10k. However... 1) Dave's comments about feeding are spot on. 2 hours is about the limit for anyone. You CAN finish a 10k without feeding - been there, done that - but it is miserable. 2) Get familiar with doing some longer swims at race EFFORT, not pace. You are trying to figure out the effort you can sustain since pace varies so much in the pool to OW transition. 3) Assuming that you aren't trying to set any world records, there are 4 physiological abilities that you will need to consider as part of your training plan: a) The ability to go from a stop up to race speed at the beginning of the race. b) The ability to maintain a decent pace for a long time in the middle of the race. c) The ability to increase your effort for relatively brief periods of time in the middle of the race to overcome conditions or competitors. d) The ability to finish strongly at the end of the race. It's b & c that you will be most interested in since that is where you will be spending most of your race. Since exercise/stress adaptation is fairly specific, a reasonable training program will include the type of things that help train those abilities. IMHO, longer paced swims (per Dave above and any number of variations), longer intervals (or shorter intervals with less rest) and the like are good for b. For c, I like doing longer swims where I throw in bursts every once in awhile. For example, 1 hour, sprinting 50-100 yards on every 5 minute mark. Or 2 hours, sprinting 200-300 on every 10 minute mark. Another trick I've used is to get to the pool about 30-60 minutes before master's practice, fill that time with a fairly hard continuous per one of the above and then do the master's workout, too. Rotator cuff injury prevention lifting is good, as is core strength exercises. Work your technique relentlessly - I always suggest watching the FIRST "Karate Kid" movie for this - the part where the old man has the kid paint his fence, wax his car and sand the floor is pretty much all you need to know about practicing technique and why. Plan ahead and BUILD towards the race. There are no awards for being in the best shape of your life in February only to be injured/sick/burhed-out by summer. I would guess that a 1:27 5k ability, with proper training and some feeding support during the race will get you in the 3:00 - 3:10 range; perhaps better. You CAN do it! Don't let the pool ballerinas tell you otherwise. -LBJ

What 10k are you doing? Can you arrange to have gatorade on one of the boats, if that's not what they serve? Are you ok with Gu? A couple of gu's up my suit works fine for me My hope is to place some gatorade on the boat. Unfortunatley, Gu was one of my failed experiements. Anyone else have the elevated bp, nausea, and weakened legs after one of these? The one I will be attempting is the double-crossing of Pensacola Bay. So while my best 5K time is 1:18, I did it in calm lake water and not choppy bay water. I will count a finish in the 3 hour range a success. Could be interesting. I used to only swim distances at cruise pace. I've begun to mix occasional sprints in and some entire workouts which are IM or sprint based. I've seen my cruising pace quicken as a result. Cut off a full 5 seconds per hundred so far. I usually never have difficulty finishing strong. Once I get within 800 yards of finishing, the mental aspect takes over and I tend to swim really hard just to finish whether I like to or not. My barriers are always around 1/3 to 2/3 mark. That second third of any long swim is a mental killer for me. Unfortunatley, due to limited budget and schedule, all of my training will be in a 25y pool for this one. I might get in a warm up swim in Pensacola Bay the day before to acclimate to choppy conditions, but that will be it.

Never had that with Gu, luckily. If you can maybe get your own drink bottles on the boat, maybe try perpetuum instead of gatorade (or as well as)? one or two drinks of that would do for a 10k. I switched to it this year and it doesn't taste great but it seems to work. Probably won't work if you have to carry all your own stuff, although I know a couple of people who mix it into a very strong paste which you could possibly carry on yourself.

Others may disagree, but I think your yardage is fine. I would just add a bit more rest between swims and work on swimming faster. Get into OW as much as possible. Throw in a couple of 10K training swims. I find them useful for confidence building. Decide on feeding and practice. I have done one with as little as 4 gel packs tucked into my suit (I take at least 6 now) i only do this workout once every two weeks, other workouts are a mix of zone 2,3 and 4 swimming effort. the pool is so boring, i would to get into open water but lakes are still in 40's here, need another month then gradual phase in from 98% neoprene to 0% over 2 months. a little more detail would help on the gel packs. what type of suit are you wearing? (brief,jammer, trisuit,?? ) where are you sticking 6 gel packs in? pre-opened? i would have a hard time seeing 6 gel packs with those sharp edges shoved in the front of a brief. :afraid: also the gel packs do float and i've been told by a race director that anything that floats can't be used in their usms swim event in minnesota....still waiting to hear from her on foam ear plugs.....quite extreme interputation aye :)

i only do this workout once every two weeks, other workouts are a mix of zone 2,3 and 4 swimming effort. the pool is so boring, i would to get into open water but lakes are still in 40's here, need another month then gradual phase in from 98% neoprene to 0% over 2 months. a little more detail would help on the gel packs. what type of suit are you wearing? (brief,jammer, trisuit,?? ) where are you sticking 6 gel packs in? pre-opened? i would have a hard time seeing 6 gel packs with those sharp edges shoved in the front of a brief. :afraid: also the gel packs do float and i've been told by a race director that anything that floats can't be used in their usms swim event in minnesota....still waiting to hear from her on foam ear plugs.....quite extreme interputation aye :) I use GU. I started with Espresso Love but switched over to Vanilla because it leaves no after taste. I wear Jammers so I can tuck the packs down the sides of my hips and thighs. GUs are small so that's another reason I use them. I thought that the sharp edges would stick me, but if I carefully put them in (don't place one on top of the other) then I never feel them. I don't open them ahead of time but I have thought of cutting a bit of the edge so I could open quicker - although I've never had a problem. Can't take them because they float? I would call them buoyant neutral.

My club is putting on the 10K ow National Championships next summer. I like ow swimming and think I would like to try the 10K. I have completed several ow 5K's with no problem at all (I've enjoyed them) My best time is 1:27 and i'm 54 years old. I swim about 15,000 meters/yards per week. How much more would I need to swim to complete the 10K? What type of training should one do to get ready for a 10K The course is an easy double loop in a lake that tends to be non-wavy. Any advice would be appreciated. If you think it would be a bad idea for me to do it please say so. My biggest fear is shoulder injury and burn-out! :confused: your about in the same boat i'm in on time,training and age i and continue to find little detailed workouts for the 10k. hear is one i've been building to if it helps. i try to do it every other week.. march 1x500 2x400 3x300 4x200 5x100 all with 10 sec recovery per 100 april 1x600 2x500 3x400 4x300 5x200 6x100 May 1x700 2x600 3x500 4x400 5x300 6x200 7x100 June 1x800 2x700 3x600 4x500 5x400 6x300 7x200 8x100

your about in the same boat i'm in on time,training and age i and continue to find little detailed workouts for the 10k. hear is one i've been building to if it helps. i try to do it every other week.. march 1x500 2x400 3x300 4x200 5x100 all with 10 sec recovery per 100 april 1x600 2x500 3x400 4x300 5x200 6x100 May 1x700 2x600 3x500 4x400 5x300 6x200 7x100 June 1x800 2x700 3x600 4x500 5x400 6x300 7x200 8x100 Others may disagree, but I think your yardage is fine. I would just add a bit more rest between swims and work on swimming faster. Get into OW as much as possible. Throw in a couple of 10K training swims. I find them useful for confidence building. Decide on feeding and practice. I have done one with as little as 4 gel packs tucked into my suit (I take at least 6 now)

leonard janson is right you dont want to go all out to swim to much at first, I am at the moment working with a swim trainer who has helped people cross the english channel . I am also traing for a10k in june and 10k nationals in july. you want to build your distance slowlly to avoid injurie, Also doing drills to streanghen your core is good too. My trainer has me doing alot of dirll work to make my stroke rate lower, such as counting strokes each leanght in the pool to keep a even tempo so then when your stroke rate increase you know your slowing down, but by doing this you build a natural even tempo in open water. He says to slowlly build till the day of so your not worn out. Also he has me bike some days to keep up cardio but let body rest. you will do great!! At first I though I had to do each week a 3 mile swim twice and then that same week a 6mile. Turned out I was over training too soon, each week or ever other he gives me longer swims to do. So by race day you dont drop your speed casue if you trained supper hard for 4 months or so you would not set the best time. Talke to leonard he is great when it comes to smart training:)

I use GU. I started with Espresso Love but switched over to Vanilla because it leaves no after taste. I wear Jammers so I can tuck the packs down the sides of my hips and thighs. GUs are small so that's another reason I use them. I thought that the sharp edges would stick me, but if I carefully put them in (don't place one on top of the other) then I never feel them. I don't open them ahead of time but I have thought of cutting a bit of the edge so I could open quicker - although I've never had a problem. Can't take them because they float? I would call them buoyant neutral. do you roll on back to get them out of jammer? or just stop and thread water? do you pull them out from bottom or from waist? i will practice in pool this week with 2 and work up to 4 maybe.

The hardest part for me eating is making sure I do it. If you are on someone's feet you'll need to eat fast and catch up. Rolling on your back? Treading water? There are probably plenty of ways to get it out of you suit but mine goes something like this. First I have my gel packs lined up on the sides of my upper thigh. As my right hand pulls down to my waist I stick my right thumb under the waist of my suit on the side, I reach over with the other hand and put my thumb under my suit next to it. I reach into my jammers with my right hand and pull it out. (Frankly this is the first time I have thought about it, but it seems natural to me). During this time I usually still have my face in the water and start to slowly roll over. My feet naturally start sinking. I just ignore them. I rip it open, squeeze as hard as I can. Realistically if you are not on someones feet or stoking arm for arm there is no need to rush the process, but even then it should be quick and deliberate. It should only take a few seconds. If someone is on your feet you should easily catch up with them. If they are not carrying any nutrition then you are ahead of the game. Which brings me to one of my favorite OW drills in training. Sets of 100s w/ 5 seconds rest. 50 slow/50 fast; 25 slow/50 fast/ 25 slow, 50 fast/50 slow. I do 3-4 sets of 3 (9-12 total). I have found these invaluable Don't forget to put the used gel packs back into your jammers FLAT.