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.
Well, don't take my word for it! Just go do it. It's not like you live in some landlocked, open-water-less place. CIBBOWS are much more than just their organized races. Go down to Brighton Beach and join them. Like tomorrow. If you can do their 5K loop (Brighton 4th to Coney Island Pier, back to white house, back to Brighton 4th), you'll be more than ready for LRLS.
I will definitely check this out, soon.
Thanks again for all the advice.
Every time you get into open water, you will learn something. Things about water; temperatures; yourself; wildlife; your emotions; real and perceived things in the water with you; currents; conditions; your ability to handle panic, boredom, changes in mood; drunk boaters...Like others have said, you will have plenty of time to train for and do a 10?K. Right now start with shorter distances and enjoy the adventure!
Couple things that work for me...Nutrition-garbonzos, V-8 Juice, power cookies, Campbells chicken noodle soup, listen to your body-it will direct you to proper fueling. Wetsuits-very "heated" topic, but for my body temperatures under 70 at times over 1hr necessitate a wetsuit. Other than that, sans. Which I much prefer!
Good luck. And most importantly be safe and have fun.
My first open water event was the Peaks to Portland in 2010, a 2.4 mile ocean swim in Maine. I was not sure I could even finish the race and really didn't worry about anything other than surviving. :drown: Well, I pulled through fine, even though after the race I was surprised that I could cover that long stretch across the bay. In 2011 I ramped up my pool swimming and added more dips in local lakes/rivers, nothing more than a 1.5 miles at a time. I also did Peaks again, and added a 10k lake swim. This year I finished the 10mile Kingdom Swim, and just got out of the bay this weekend from Peaks.
Every body is different and everybody is different. You should try to get out into OW more to help get prepared for the mental silliness that will follow as you paddle around that expanse of water. Play with nutrition, as after the first 5k your body will start shifting metabolism and you will need to rely on the fuel you are taking on. During the 10k I "hit the wall" during the last km because my feedings were not enough, so I did research on the intertubes and changed my approach for the 10mile swim and had no issues. YMMV.
Like evmo mentioned, I would think that based on your training you should have the stamina to finish a 10k, but you need to get out and swim for an hour or two (with a buddy or group) to see what non-stamina issues pop up. I love tackling the variables in OW and getting out to see nature in ways you can't from the car or even a boat. For me, I plan to keep building up distances every year, finding new swims and meeting new folks that love taking on these crazy adventures like I do. I am prepared that there will come a distance or temperature that will cause me to say "enough," just have to wait for that time to come. Start your trek now and have fun on the journey - soon you'll look back to that first swim that once was full of nervousness and see that it was a steppingstone in a line of great experiences.
:cheerleader:
Pool swimming can develop conditioning and speed, but won't prepare you for the conditions (water temp, chop, physical contact w/ other swimmers, etc.) you will encounter in open water. Generally I'd say it's inadvisable to sign up for a 10K (even if it's current assisted) if you have little (or no) experience in open water.
The man has spoken. You would do well to follow his advice.
