I'm training for my first 10K swim, in October. I have planned and am sticking to monthly yardage increases and a couple of longer "long swims" each month. In May my "long swims" were 3.5 miles, this month I'll bump that up to 4.0
Here's my question. I'm trying to see which of my training habits from other sports translate well to swim training. Specifically, I also do ultra-distance trail running, and when I am comfortable doing a "50K weekend" (30K Saturday, 20K Sunday) then I know I'm ready for a 50K race.
Will the same be roughly true for my swimming? If I'm comfortable doing a 3 mile swim one day and another 3 the next day, am I ready for 6?
Why don't you do a long swim every week, or every other week? Just like a build-up for a marathon in running, I've been slowly increasing my mileage on my weekly long swim with a step-back week every third week. I did a build up this spring (over about 4 months) from 4K to 12K as my long swim... sounds like you have plenty of time to get ready before your 10K, you could do it. And unlike with running I find I'm much less "beat up" the day after a long swim than I used to be the day after a long run, so you could actually swim your distance before the big day and have that added confidence.
Why don't you do a long swim every week, or every other week? Just like a build-up for a marathon in running, I've been slowly increasing my mileage on my weekly long swim with a step-back week every third week. I did a build up this spring (over about 4 months) from 4K to 12K as my long swim... sounds like you have plenty of time to get ready before your 10K, you could do it. And unlike with running I find I'm much less "beat up" the day after a long swim than I used to be the day after a long run, so you could actually swim your distance before the big day and have that added confidence.
