There may be a new 10K OWS in my area next year and it's a swim I'd like to do if it actually materializes. However, I need to train for that. THe longest open water swim I have done is a 2 mile cable swim this past August. I've since swum 2.5 miles in a pool. (mentally boring but a good mental training for that very reason). I'm also planning on a 5K swim next spring as the next step in increasing how far I am going to swim in open water.
Come next spring, I can do longer swims in the Hudson with my husband accompanying me on his paddleboard. I haven't done that yet because I just learned about place where one can do that. Now that it is getting colder, I am restricted to the pool. Any suggestions how one can train for a 10K in a pool and then what is recommended in open water once it is warm enough again?
Any advice on feeds in a 10K would be great too. I can swim 45 minutes before I start bonking unless I've had a Hammer gel before a workout (then I'm good for longer than that.)
Thanks all for any tips, advice or other words of wisdom! :)
Hi, DC, I'm interested to know more about the lap-counting watch... how does that work, how often did you take a look (I'm a big fan of zoning out, but also like to keep an eye on my pace).
The way I used the watch for the long swims was simply to check the total on each feed break. That way I could estimate my pace and figure out how long I would need to swim after the last feed to make my total distance. I used the pool pace clock to determine when to take a break and an occasional pace spot check (though that was as much for something to do as any reason)
I do open turns (never learned flip turns) so can occasionally sneak a look at the watch on a turn, but mostly don't bother.
Swimming for time and just spot checking your pace is probably just as a good a way to do things, but I am anal enough to want to know how far I actually swam rather than estimating.
Hi, DC, I'm interested to know more about the lap-counting watch... how does that work, how often did you take a look (I'm a big fan of zoning out, but also like to keep an eye on my pace).
The way I used the watch for the long swims was simply to check the total on each feed break. That way I could estimate my pace and figure out how long I would need to swim after the last feed to make my total distance. I used the pool pace clock to determine when to take a break and an occasional pace spot check (though that was as much for something to do as any reason)
I do open turns (never learned flip turns) so can occasionally sneak a look at the watch on a turn, but mostly don't bother.
Swimming for time and just spot checking your pace is probably just as a good a way to do things, but I am anal enough to want to know how far I actually swam rather than estimating.
