5 mile swim workout plan

One thing I will suggest is to work on your hydration and feeding. In the 4k (2.5 mile-ish) it’s not as much of an issue. But on a 5-miler you will need to feed and hydrate more. If you haven’t done the feeding before…you should practice, and see what you prefer for it. If you have a kayaker accompanying you, and they will be handing you the food/drink…they need to practice their part too. Personally…with regard to protein…I didn’t think that having to ‘chew’ something would be practical. So, instead of any chewable food, I take protein shakes…like bottles of Ensure.  — Dan

Thanks Dan. Good advice.

JP

I would very much train like running a marathon -- the most important part as far as I understand marathon training - gradual consistent long "runs" for you swims - ideally one every week, maybe start one every 10 days - work your other workouts around that long swim. Goal is guessing about 3.5 hour range - you should be near there about 2 weeks prior to meet. Build a simple plan - 90 min long swim now - add in 2-3 60 min swims.  Next week 95-100 min -- and so on -- if a week is a struggle - keep at that level - body needs time to adopt... 

I would also add support work - thats a long swim - lot of arm rotation - get some habit of solid stretching and shoulder support strength - them muscles that we don't use in swimming. 

Very helpful Erik. Thanks much!

Channel swimmer here. Since you completed a 4km swim (2.49 miles) in 1 hour, 39 minutes, that puts you at around 2 miles per hour, so that anticipates a 5-mile finish time of 3 hours, 18 minutes, but I'd plan on at least 3.5 hours because open water is so unpredictable due to wind speeds, currents, and other conditions that will affect your pace and finish time. 

The rule of thumb is that you can swim in a day what you typically swim in a week. Do you have access to open water? How often can you access that open water for training swims? Do you have access to a long course (50 meter) lap pool? Or are you limited to 25 yard/25 meter lap pools? Swimming long course laps will help prepare you for open water races. 

If you aren't already swimming with a masters team (which I assume you are, being an USMS member), then definitely join one to improve your speed and sprinting ability for when you have to swim against currents/waves. 

Try to do an open water swim at least once every two weeks if you can (but it's OK if you can't). Swim for time, not distance, because distance accuracy can be iffy even on the most expensive Garmin watches. Since it may take you at least 3.5 hours to complete the 5 miler, I would build up to 2.75-3 hours max (75% of the race distance), either in the pool or open water. Try to do two of these 2.75-3 hour swims in the weeks before the race. 

As for fueling, I would go with sticking gels in your swimsuit so you can easily access them and do fast feeds. Slow/long feeds can add a ton of time to your finish time. If you have a kayaker, you can do feed bottles tossed to you on a rope or retractable (and locking!!!) dog leash clipped to a carabiner clipped to a whelping puppy collar buckled around a squeezable bottle, or carabiner clipped to a chug bottle which usually has a way to clip the carabiner on. If you don't have a kayaker, then go with isotonic gels that you don't need to take with water, such as Maurten, SiS, or Precision. I use all three and purposely buy them for long training swims on my own so I don't have to haul around feed bottles.

Maurten gels are my favorite, although expensive, because they have the consistency of unflavored jello and go down easily. However, Precision just came out with jumbo 90g carb gels which I've been using on long training swims so I don't have to carry as many individual gels. These jumbo gels aren't isotonic but I haven't had any problems taking them without water. You could take a Maurten or other gel every 30 minutes (and also take one before you start the swim), so given the 3.5 hour finish time, you'd need 7 gels (which includes one extra gel in case you go long or lose one). Or 2-3 of the jumbo Precision gels.

When I Googled 5 mile open water swim training plans, quite a few popped up. I briefly glanced at a few so I can't vouch for any of them. I make my own training plans/logs using Google Sheets. If you'd like to talk more offline or get a sample training log, feel free to message me. I hope this helps!

Great stuff.  I appreciate these insights and I’ll definitely take you up on your offer for follow up questions later!