New to this forum, so hello!
I want to enter my first 1 mile open water swim event on July 9th, but I'm not sure if I'm ready. I've been swimming recreationally all my life but only recently have decided to get into this, so I've been training seriously for 2 and a half weeks. I can definitely do 25 laps nonstop in a 25 meter pool, and pushing myself can do 30.
Any opinions on if this is enough time? Am I fit enough or should I wait for a later event?
I'm going to train as if I'm going to enter and then see how I feel. Any recommendations for workouts in the three weeks till the event? If do three workouts a week, that gives me nine workouts.
At what point in those three weeks should I be able to do the necessary 70 or so laps?
Any recommendations on wetsuits?
Thank you so much,
Manny
Former Member
Thanks for all your advice and encouragement. Just thought I'd post that I completed the one mile ocean swim last weekend. I managed to get a couple ocean swims before hand by myself that gave me some confidence. Wow, quite a feeling of accomplishment- it is awesome to look back and say, yeah, I swam that. Definitely hooked. I want to do this for a while. Also quite humbling to see how slow I am and how much I have to learn, especially sighting and swimming straighter.
Question - do you open water swimmers practice sighting when you are in the pool? Does it become second nature or does it require constant practice?
Do you have an "open water" stroke or style and a "pool" stroke or style because of visibility and water conditions?
Congratulations!
When you sight, try to keep your head as low as possible--only your goggles should come out of the water. Don't breathe while you're sighting. I like to sight right before a right breath. I exhale while I'm sighting and then lower my head and turn to breathe in one motion.
I've found it extremely helpful to maintain a rhythm of sighting. I breathe every 3 strokes and sight every 6--before every right breath. If I don't keep a rhythm, I tend to sight less when I get tired. I don't veer off course much, but I need to sight regularly to keep a good mental state.
I practice sighting in the pool too. Sometimes I compare my times for sighting and not sighting.
I'm slower in open water than I am in the pool because I tend to zone out. I've been making a lot of progress on that by swimming with faster people. They don't have to be faster than I am--just fast enough to push me. Sometimes we'll do sprints from one buoy to the next.
I don't have a Garmin, so I like to keep to the same routes. I time pretty much everything I do and log the results. My times are all over the place because of conditions, but the data is still useful. I like to keep track of my average 100-yard pace for each open water swim. That gives me a clear sense of progress. It also helps me avoid unrealistic expectations.
It is definitely exciting to swim in open water.
You mention swimming 25 laps, maybe 30. In your definition, is 1 lap = 25 yards or meters or 50 yards/meters? Some people define 1 lap as one length, others two. 25 laps to me is 600 yards or meters, not 1200. The reason I ask is to help gauge your fitness level.
Personally, I stress out about my open water swims even when I swim 3-5K in my workouts. I would want to be able to swim the distance of the event plus some in order to have confidence going into the race. If I have not swum 5 miles, I would not swim a 5 mile race until I know I can do it.
If you have not swum 1 mile strait, I would wait and get your conditioning acclimated to the event just to be on the safe side. An open water swim is more challenging then the same distance in the pool, both physically and mentally. Knowing your conditioned will help. You will enjoy it more.
