Hey folk--
I'm planning on doing either the one or two mile September Splash on 9/25. On July 30, I did (for the second time) the 5.25 mile Great South Bay Swim--haven't had a chance to report on that one--so many thoughts on it, hard to do justice to the experience!... to sum it up, had a fun time but not a fast time (training not as consistent as for the first time around, so I was happy just to finish!).
Also, in the last mile of the five miler, I was thinking all sorts of thoughts that had to do with moving to a desert or some such waterless location--but it took only a day before I had a kayaker recruited for next year. (My kayaker this year would have been glad to return with me--except that he now wants to swim next year.) My kayaker told me he thought my last mile or two were my fastest. I think the motivation to finish was getting stronger every moment.
Anyway, with that in mind, I want to improve my training for next year's swim. Given this info, would you recommend my doing the one miler or the two miler.
Or I could go crazy and do both... one starts at 9, the other at 11 a.m.--that possibility hadn't entered my mind until right now--and the fact that it has crept unannounced into my mind now indicates something, but I'm not sure what.
The two mile swim (or the two- plus one-mile swim) could be great practice in keeping alive through the rest of the year the muscle memory of endurance/distance (granted even three miles would be light stuff for some of you, but I hope you'll bear with me). On the other hand, I'd like to improve my speed, and a mile would give a better chance to see how I do swimming harder for a shorter distance.
And I must admit that my swimming was non-existent for three weeks after my long swim--until yesterday when my arms/shoulders reminded me that despite the rest, they had not yet fully recovered and still felt heavy--and my times were pretty slow. So maybe just doing the mile would be a chance to play, relax, enjoy something quick and confidence building.
So if you were me, what would you recommend? Thanks for any thoughts!
W/o knowing where the swims are or any details (freshwater? ocean?), I would recommend 2 miles. One mile you can probably improve in a pool or in OW on your own; 2 miles is a test of endurance and conditioning over time and space. Can you keep up a steady pace.
Adding the one-miler to the 2 miles might detract from the focus.
:2cents:
My vote at this point in the season is to swim one race - go for quality - and the one race that you think you will perform best at. If you think you had a good season at longer distances I would go for the 2 miler. If you haven't been training speed you won't be able to race as well at shorter distances. This is the time of year to have fun and enjoy yourself. Reap the rewards of a hard season's work. If you have been training speed but just haven't been racing shorter distances then go for it.
I vote for both.
Before Fat Rabbit Racing went defunct, their Columbus Open Water Swims featured a 1.5K, a .75K, and a 3K (total of over 3 miles). A good many of us entered all three. Always made the the last part of the 3K challenging since there was plenty of racing occuring in the first two races, but it was great fun and conditioning.
Thanks for the viewpoints! I'm now more and more leaning toward choosing one, interesting as it might be to try both. I'm thinking this will be at the end of a relatively busy week. So as Bob suggests, I think the single race option probably works better for me. Now the one or two mile--may base this on what my swimming is like in the next couple weeks, then post-enter. It adds a little to the entry fee, but keeps my options open.
It's a fun event either way--pretty low-key, kind of a socializing opportunity.
G'day to all!
