I've never really been a "swimmer"--I ran cross-country and track throughout high school and planned on competing in both sports in college.
A recurring injury in my knee, however, prevented me from running in college and I turned to swimming instead..... initially just as an 'activity' that was safe enough for my knee and as something to fill the void of not running.
It's now been about a year.... and although I have not yet entered any swim races, I swim 6 miles 2-3 days a week (and I'm increasing each week). In short (and as I'm sure I don't have to explain why or how to any of you here) I've fallen in love with swimming....
I'm naturally a 'distance' girl and I tend to get competitive.. I'm also the sort who needs a goal or race to train for and look forward to.
Right now, my goals and plans are to swim Around Key West next summer and (possibly?!) Tampa Bay in 2012.
Notes and questions:
a) I would not be racing to win.
b) I'm pretty confident that my body would be able to handle the training....I haven't had any swimming-related injuries and my body has been able to handle my current/past mileage pretty easily (increasing a moderate half mile to a mile each week).
1) I know there probably isn't a simple answer, but about how long should I be able to swim before 12.5 miles and 24?
2) These are both open water races... I currently train in a pool. How/where do I go to train in open water? How much open water training/experience is necessary? (I live in New Orleans).
3) In general, is this realistic?
4) I've been looking at several calendars for long-distance open water events, but... are there any other swim races that are 20+ miles long? (other than Manhattan, claro)
5) Why is Tampa so expensive, and is there any way that the cost might come down (or that it might be bargained down) by 2012? I really can't afford the fee.. but I would hate to have to...remove it (or any other longer distance race) from my goals and thus have my swimming and abilities limited by financing.
6) Any other feedback/advice would be greatly appreciated...
**With regards to number 5, I understand that organizing and running a 24 mile swim race would be MUCH more expensive than, say, organizing a 26.2 running marathon (swimmers must have escorts, etc.). Nonetheless, I don't understand why the 12.5 miles race around Key West costs 135, while 24 miles costs 750 (slightly less than twice the distance but almost 6x the cost?).
Also...why aren't there more people competing in Tampa each year? Is it because of the difficulty of the swim alone, of the entry fee, etc.? Would it be cheaper if more people joined? ...if I were to, say, convince some of my friends to swim it in two years, would it be possible to discount the price?
Sorry for the ranting on this point; I just really don't want to have to let go of my....dreams.
Thank you! Sorry for the long post...
Are you currently swimming 6 miles each practice 2-3 per week or 6 miles total per week? If you are swimming 6 miles at a time you won't have any problems taking on either of the distances you reference. I swam a 25K (15.5 miles) race in 2008. I had a base of about 9K yards/week before starting my training for that race. I trained for about 14 weeks increasing from 15K yards/week to 30K+ over the first couple months and holding steady at 30K+ for a month. I managed to squeeze in 43K two weeks before the race but a lot of that yardage came during one 15K training day. Prior to that I never exceeded 10K (or 40% the race distance) in a day. It's mind over matter with most marathon swims.
My biggest advice would be to incorporate open water swimming into your training regimen. OW is nearly a different sport than pool swimming. Once a week in open water would be good but even once or twice per month will help you get used to the intricacies of OW swimming (navigation being the most critical.) Also, make sure you "practice" hydration and nutrition while treading. I didn't realize how different this can be rather than taking breaks during practice on land while drink or eating. During my 25K I got nauseous from many factors but one was swallowing too much air while drinking and treading. You should try your best to replicate race conditions with navigation, glare, turbulence, drafting, etc.
Good luck!
Are you currently swimming 6 miles each practice 2-3 per week or 6 miles total per week? If you are swimming 6 miles at a time you won't have any problems taking on either of the distances you reference. I swam a 25K (15.5 miles) race in 2008. I had a base of about 9K yards/week before starting my training for that race. I trained for about 14 weeks increasing from 15K yards/week to 30K+ over the first couple months and holding steady at 30K+ for a month. I managed to squeeze in 43K two weeks before the race but a lot of that yardage came during one 15K training day. Prior to that I never exceeded 10K (or 40% the race distance) in a day. It's mind over matter with most marathon swims.
My biggest advice would be to incorporate open water swimming into your training regimen. OW is nearly a different sport than pool swimming. Once a week in open water would be good but even once or twice per month will help you get used to the intricacies of OW swimming (navigation being the most critical.) Also, make sure you "practice" hydration and nutrition while treading. I didn't realize how different this can be rather than taking breaks during practice on land while drink or eating. During my 25K I got nauseous from many factors but one was swallowing too much air while drinking and treading. You should try your best to replicate race conditions with navigation, glare, turbulence, drafting, etc.
Good luck!
