Hi All,
I've been swimming for about a year now, and the last few months I've started to take much more of an interest and kicked up my routines.
I do 2-3k (yards and meters; pool switches) 4-5 times week, and I usually average about and hour for 3km.
I just signed up for an OW mile in 1.5months, which I don't think I'll have too much trouble with, but I'm also considering a current assisted 10k (they say it swims like a 6k, avg times are about 2hrs) at the end of Sept, which gives me just about two months...so:
1. Is it feasible to train for this kind of race in that amount of time?
2. What kind of diet is optimal for this kind of training? I've been operating in a 500kcal deficit for the last few months, but I sort of think that I should be eating more in preparation for an event of this kind.
3. Water temps should be 65-70F for these races - is a wetsuit necessary for this kind of temp?
I've searched these forums and the net for answers, but in the end it seemed prudent to just ask, as the other resources weren't yielding much. Thanks in advance.
Just to echo some of the things already said on this thread... I did a lot of lake swimming in a non-competitive status over the years (BSA mile swims; workouts at local inland lakes; even a couple of mile-swims in Lake Michigan) before I signed up for my first open water race, 2.4 miles. I was very comfortable in OW and still found that first OW race intimidating. I wouldn't sign up for anything over that if it's going to be among your first OW experiences. I plan on working my way up to 10K, 10 miles and beyond now that I've done 5K, but as James says, start small.
As far as diet, you don't need to put in "more" calories (though I wouldn't run a "deficit" on hard workout days, or before/after long swims). More important than quantity is quality... get your vitamins, complex carbs, proteins, but avoid the simple carbs and fats. I've just gained ten pounds in the last 4 months, all muscle I can assure you :afraid: yeah, right... I should follow my own advice! Swimming is not a license to eat whatever!
Just to echo some of the things already said on this thread... I did a lot of lake swimming in a non-competitive status over the years (BSA mile swims; workouts at local inland lakes; even a couple of mile-swims in Lake Michigan) before I signed up for my first open water race, 2.4 miles. I was very comfortable in OW and still found that first OW race intimidating. I wouldn't sign up for anything over that if it's going to be among your first OW experiences. I plan on working my way up to 10K, 10 miles and beyond now that I've done 5K, but as James says, start small.
As far as diet, you don't need to put in "more" calories (though I wouldn't run a "deficit" on hard workout days, or before/after long swims). More important than quantity is quality... get your vitamins, complex carbs, proteins, but avoid the simple carbs and fats. I've just gained ten pounds in the last 4 months, all muscle I can assure you :afraid: yeah, right... I should follow my own advice! Swimming is not a license to eat whatever!
