As I've gotten more precise about measuring distances in open water, I've been shocked to find out how SLOW my open water practice pace is.
The problem is that I don't have a visual cue in open water for how fast I'm going. I swim with other people, but I don't have a consistent OW swim buddy who is near my pace.
A few data points:
In the pool, my long-distance cruise speed is about 1:50/100 yards. I can hold that for at least an hour.
My OW 1K race pace is in the 1:50s--high or low 1:50s depending on conditions and how the course is measured.
My OW practice pace is 2:00-2:10 (Yikes!)
Yesterday, I did an experiment:
OW practice swim with a friend who is close to my pace. We stayed together the whole time and varied the intensity of our practice. Our average pace was 1:55/100 yards.
After he left, I waited about 30 minutes for some other friends to arrive. I got back in the water with them. (We were all in the water together, but not swimming together.) I used the tempo trainer and set it at 1.1 sec/stroke (54 strokes/minute). In the pool, that setting would keep me in the low 1:50/100 range. The chop had died down, and I felt great. I was disappointed to find out that my average pace was 2:07/100 yards.
When I'm pacing off of someone, I can visualize exactly what it will take to pass them. I'm sure I get a little adrenaline boost from the competition, but that's not the main thing. When I see someone ahead of me, my body just knows what to do to pass them. I don't necessarily give it a big physical effort, I just concentrate on letting my stroke close the gap.
I wish I knew more people who swam at my pace and wanted to practice regularly in OW, but I have a hard time finding them. Most of the people who want to get out there regularly are slower triathletes.
So how do you guys pace yourselves if you don't have a buddy to pace off of? I'd be grateful for any suggestions.
Parents
Former Member
The cut-off for that event is 6 hours (36 minutes/mile). I can do one open water mile is 32-34 minutes, but that's too close for comfort. I am not in this to race the cutoff.
Katie,
The the weakest swimmer last year, an older triathlete(close to 60) finished the swim in under 5 hours. He didn't have a wetsuit or what coaches would consider an efficient stroke.
The swim course is easy to follow, plenty of kayaks and escort boats. You shouldn't have any trouble finishing the swim.
If you are planning on doing the 2012 swim, your swimming should be even better by then.
I love the river gorge area. I rode in one of the escort boats for part of the swim last year. One of the best views of the gorge area is on(in) the river.
The cut-off for that event is 6 hours (36 minutes/mile). I can do one open water mile is 32-34 minutes, but that's too close for comfort. I am not in this to race the cutoff.
Katie,
The the weakest swimmer last year, an older triathlete(close to 60) finished the swim in under 5 hours. He didn't have a wetsuit or what coaches would consider an efficient stroke.
The swim course is easy to follow, plenty of kayaks and escort boats. You shouldn't have any trouble finishing the swim.
If you are planning on doing the 2012 swim, your swimming should be even better by then.
I love the river gorge area. I rode in one of the escort boats for part of the swim last year. One of the best views of the gorge area is on(in) the river.
