I'm new here, and I know that I am in the minority on this forum, but was directed to this forum when looking for answers to open-water swimming. I live in Dallas, TX and for the most part grew up here with the exception of living in St. Croix for four yrs when I was a young teen. I haven't been back since I left and am making it a goal of mine to swim in the Coral Reef Swim they have every year in October. (i wanted to when I was younger but my mom wouldn't let me. ; ). They have a one-mile, two-mile, and a five-mile (that last one is to Buck Island). Though pretty much all of my childhood was spent in the water, whether it be the ocean, lakes, or rivers (my mom was a Scuba instructor), I am not a technical swimmer at all...never taught correct strokes or anything like that. I really would like to train for a 2-mile though, to start...but not sure of the steps I would need to take to do that. Also, my endurance is nothing right now (I said I'm in the minority here, right?) and part of this goal is a goal to get into better shape. I also have mitral valve regurgitation, which is fairly mild but has increased my heart rate and lowered my stamina considerably. I am planning on seeing a cardiologist to hopefully get on meds for that though. Is it unreasonable, knowing all this info, to train for a 2 mile for next year?
www.mayoclinic.com/.../DS00421
According to the Mayo Clinic, mitral valve regurgitation can 'act up' just from being horizontal, even without exertion. Forum advice and books on pool-swimming or open water swimming will NOT be safe to follow unless you factor in your particular condition, what ever that might be in actuality (even the most considered opinion from a qualified heart/exercise specialist can be flat out wrong, even when coming from a world expert). Moreover, a diagnosis is just a categorization and that a categorization might be a poor fit even though it might be the medical establishment's best fit for you. The bottom line is that you will need to find out for yourself (by direct experience) how your body responds to 1) prolonged exertion, then 2) prolonged exertion while horizontal.
It will be nearly impossible to safely test those 'waters' in open water because when things go south out there, they tend to go south quite rapidly, often with dire consequences, even with 1st rate oversight/escorting.
I urge you to use dryland training to test how your body handles prolonged heavy exertion. Test your body's physiology in that much safer environment. Use jogging, biking, treadmill, elliptical, rowing machine or whatever your preferences might be to build your aerobic endurance on dryland. Confine your swim sessions to the highly controlled environment of a pool with a coach who knows your condition, and work solely on swim technique until you are in good aerobic condition via dryland training. At that point, add endurance training to your pool sessions.
merely my two cents, of course.
www.mayoclinic.com/.../DS00421
According to the Mayo Clinic, mitral valve regurgitation can 'act up' just from being horizontal, even without exertion. Forum advice and books on pool-swimming or open water swimming will NOT be safe to follow unless you factor in your particular condition, what ever that might be in actuality (even the most considered opinion from a qualified heart/exercise specialist can be flat out wrong, even when coming from a world expert). Moreover, a diagnosis is just a categorization and that a categorization might be a poor fit even though it might be the medical establishment's best fit for you. The bottom line is that you will need to find out for yourself (by direct experience) how your body responds to 1) prolonged exertion, then 2) prolonged exertion while horizontal.
It will be nearly impossible to safely test those 'waters' in open water because when things go south out there, they tend to go south quite rapidly, often with dire consequences, even with 1st rate oversight/escorting.
I urge you to use dryland training to test how your body handles prolonged heavy exertion. Test your body's physiology in that much safer environment. Use jogging, biking, treadmill, elliptical, rowing machine or whatever your preferences might be to build your aerobic endurance on dryland. Confine your swim sessions to the highly controlled environment of a pool with a coach who knows your condition, and work solely on swim technique until you are in good aerobic condition via dryland training. At that point, add endurance training to your pool sessions.
merely my two cents, of course.
