Hi all,
MY 1st post! I'm thrilled I found this site. I hope you can help. I'm a good swimmer (12+ years of year-round competition when I was a kid), but have taken a LOT of time off. I'm 34, been back in the pool for about a year and feel great! I've been doing about 2000+/- yd workouts, some easy long sets, others short quick, little rest time. I have been staying in shape otherwise -- running, weights, yoga.
Here's my question: I'm doing a 1-mile open swim in June. I'm clueless about workouts. I've never trained for a distance like this. I can do a mile in a 25-yd pool in about 22 min -- pushing it hard. But I'd like to improve that time.
I dont' know how this translates into open water time. And I don't know how to train for this. I'd really like to be able to run, lift and yoga as well.
I'm looking for a 3 day per week program (is that enough?). I just want to get my speed up. I'm perfectly comfortable with the distance, so I'm not concerned about that.
Any ideas would be very much appreciated! Thanks so much.
Parents
Former Member
Erin,
Good luck with your first open water swim. You might want to visit some triathlon sites like beginnertriathlete.com or triathlonweek.com to see what those folks say since open water swimming is intergral to the sport.
I'm new to open water swimming and have to say it is really different, and imho much more difficult than swimming in a pool. The hardest thing is keeping a straight line so learning to spot is important.
You didn't say where you were swimming but if the water temp is going to be below 70 you might want to consider a wet suit designed for swimming. You might also check to see what the race rules are regarding wetsuits as they may not be permitted above certain temperatures. A lot of triathletes that compete here in Ohio use the sleeveless kind since the water temp isn't that low in summer. Another advantage to wearing a wet suit is buoyancy. If you don't want to buy a wetsuit the local tri shop might rent them. And don't use vaseline. There are special antichafing products you can buy that won't damage the neoprene. And practice in it before your swim.
Sounds like the distance won't be a problem for you. But if you want to get faster you'll need to do some interval training mixing short very high intensity intervals with longer moderate intensity ones.
Hope it goes well.
Erin,
Good luck with your first open water swim. You might want to visit some triathlon sites like beginnertriathlete.com or triathlonweek.com to see what those folks say since open water swimming is intergral to the sport.
I'm new to open water swimming and have to say it is really different, and imho much more difficult than swimming in a pool. The hardest thing is keeping a straight line so learning to spot is important.
You didn't say where you were swimming but if the water temp is going to be below 70 you might want to consider a wet suit designed for swimming. You might also check to see what the race rules are regarding wetsuits as they may not be permitted above certain temperatures. A lot of triathletes that compete here in Ohio use the sleeveless kind since the water temp isn't that low in summer. Another advantage to wearing a wet suit is buoyancy. If you don't want to buy a wetsuit the local tri shop might rent them. And don't use vaseline. There are special antichafing products you can buy that won't damage the neoprene. And practice in it before your swim.
Sounds like the distance won't be a problem for you. But if you want to get faster you'll need to do some interval training mixing short very high intensity intervals with longer moderate intensity ones.
Hope it goes well.
