Long story short a bunch of people at work are doing a relay triathlon. Some guy just backed out of the swim portion (1 mile) and I said I�??d replace him. I�??m in good shape now (single digit bf and can run 5 miles rather easily) but have never swam other than when I go to the beach.
My question is since I have never done distance swimming can someone recommend a training program I can follow to get ready to do this. I will have access to an Olympic size pool starting tomorrow and already ran 4 miles today at lunchtime. Oh and BTW I have to do it in 21 days from today�?�
Will you be swimming in a pool or in a lake? They are very different environments. You don’t get the chance to rest between laps in a lake! Practice in the race environment, at least a few times. If it is a lake swim, you might want to look into renting a wetsuit - adds buoyancy. A mile in a 50 yard pool is somewhere around 18 laps.
[quote]pushmepullme wrote:
Will you be swimming in a pool or in a lake? They are very different environments. You don’t get the chance to rest between laps in a lake! Practice in the race environment, at least a few times. If it is a lake swim, you might want to look into renting a wetsuit - adds buoyancy. A mile in a 50 yard pool is somewhere around 18 laps.
No training program, but good luck![/quote]
ina 50 metre pool… its about 32 length. 18 would be just over half a mile…
also, forget the running for awhile, I think that it was on this site I read article about “specific” endurance, in other words, swim more and dont count on that your running will increase your swimming considerably.
as a college swimmer who has competed in the mile race in a pool, lake, and ocean… for someone who doesn’t swim regularly, BRACE YOURSELF. This will without a doubt be one of the toughest things you’ve done in a long time. A 1 mile swim for a non-swimmer is an incredibly hard task, especially if you are swimming in open water. I see people come into the pool all the time who are in the best or running shape; soccer players, wrestlers, track athletes, and they all remark at how hard it is to swim 200 YARDS at a respectable(quick) pace without stopping. You should be swimming EVERY SINGLE DAY starting 5 minutes ago up until this race. every couple days have a “recovery” day where you just get in the pool and stretch it out a bit and work on your form. Push the distance every day except on your “recovery” days. and be sure to have a bottle of gatorade on hand before this race, 1 mile in the ocean/lake is alot longer than is sounds.
Trust me I don’t plan on burning out in the first 1/3 mile. My goal is to finish not try to win.
I prob should have mentioned this but I will be swimming in the Hudson River and downstream. From what I hear the current is very strong and will be behind me.
Thanks for the all the advice so far. I am going to the pool tonight and will let you all know how it goes. I will be in the pool everyday though.
[quote]mikepop878 wrote:
as a college swimmer who has competed in the mile race in a pool, lake, and ocean… for someone who doesn’t swim regularly, BRACE YOURSELF. This will without a doubt be one of the toughest things you’ve done in a long time. A 1 mile swim for a non-swimmer is an incredibly hard task, especially if you are swimming in open water. I see people come into the pool all the time who are in the best or running shape; soccer players, wrestlers, track athletes, and they all remark at how hard it is to swim 200 YARDS at a respectable(quick) pace without stopping. You should be swimming EVERY SINGLE DAY starting 5 minutes ago up until this race. every couple days have a “recovery” day where you just get in the pool and stretch it out a bit and work on your form. Push the distance every day except on your “recovery” days. and be sure to have a bottle of gatorade on hand before this race, 1 mile in the ocean/lake is alot longer than is sounds. [/quote]
Ditto, everyone is saying a mile isn’t that far… well in a olympic pool with no current but your competitors it isn’t. Open water swimming is an entirely different story. I swim Mid Distance and all I can tell you is to get some endurance now in the pool while you can. Meaning slowly building up your endurance day by day. If you have never swam before and try to swim a mile in an olympic pool you’ll feel to tired to try the next day. Gradually increase it out so that you’re doing more than a mile if you think its possible. Don’t waste time learning flip turns unless you plan on swimming after this 1 mile swim. Otherwise just keep on swimming.
If you just want to finish and not win, master the sidestroke. If you do that and swim almost every day from now until the race you should be fine. Especially since you’re swimming downriver. That pretty much cuts the distance in half, like a moving walkway in an airport. It will be easier than swimming in a pool, but you should still practice in the river a few times to get used to the chop.
Water is more dense than air, and many people try to “muscle through” water…don’t.
You don’t have a ton of time to train, but if you get a good technique down…simply doing the drills on technique will get you some quality time in the water.
Sorry to hear it’s in the Hudson though.
Be SURE to get some open water swimming in too…in a pool you can see the bottom and there are lanes…open water swimming can be disorienting. If you REALLY can’t get to open water…while in the pool try closing your eyes for a few strokes and then popping your head up to ‘spot’…you’ll need to do that in the open water anyway.
[quote]vazquez wrote:
If your swim technique isn’t good, get help on that immediately! Bad technique in the pool is an absolute killer. [/quote]
Agreed, in swimming technique is everything, if you have a look at the top level swimmers they make everything look so easy, even the sprinters. This is due to their efficient technique. My advice is to get some coaching and learn some drills, if you have a bad technique now then just swimming will reinforce it. Doing drills “breaks” the bad technique and evolves your swimming stroke into something much more efficient.
Because you are swimming in a river maintaining technique becomes very difficult. You get kicked, pushed, swallow water, have to look up to check direction etc. having to look up all the time is probably the worst thing because great swimming technique involves keeping your head down and bodyweight tilted forward to maintain a streamlined position. As soon as you lift your head your legs drop and create drag, which stops your momentum. This probably makes open water swimming at least twice as tiring as the equivalent pool swim unless you are very good at it.
My advice is to talk to triathletes or open water swimmers for any tips they may have to mitigate the above problems.
OK so I went to the pool last night. For anyone who said a mile isn’t that long please go to your local pool and give it a try.
mikepop878: you are right, this will be one of the toughest things I will ever do.
I swam 10 laps (20 lenghts) last night and thought I was going to die. After that i took a 5 minute break and one of the guys who swims for the college (I swim at a local college) gave me a few tips and I did 5 more laps nice and slow focusing on what he told me. That was much easier so when I go back tonight I’ll see how far I can get using better form.
My plan is to swim in the pool today, take off Thursday (pool is closed) and then get in the ocean Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
I’ll post how I am doing here so if anyone needs a good laugh at some idiot who voluntered to swim a mile w/ less than 3 weeks to get ready for it keep reading.
Hehehe, I knew it would be rough on you. Your low body fat will actually work against you with this!
Something that has been bugging me - you said that it is an Olympic size pool - please check to verify that it is 50 meters/yards per length, 100 per lap. A lot of pools are only 25. I don’t want you accidentally doing a half mile and calling it a mile!
[quote]DB297 wrote:
It is 25 meters so i need about 64 or so lenghts for 1 mile.
You are right about the low bodyfat. I need to eat and get more bouyant! [/quote]
The pool you are swimming in is most likely 25 yards not 25 meters…therefore you will need to swim 70 laps (plus 10 more yards)to complete a mile. FYI, from one wall to the other side of the pool is called a lap…1 lap is not there and back…this is if you are talking to a swimmer of course.
Also, gaining more fat in a short period of time won’t help you if you’re not used to carrying the extra weight.
Obviously no one here knows how your form is but, concentrating to much on perfecting your form and not increasing the # of laps you swim each practice session, is the absolute wrong way to train…you only have 3 weeks! Swimming endurance is completely different than running, biking, etc. endurance and only by increasing the number of laps you swim each time you practice will you increase it…
A good training session for you would include a warm-up of 8-12 laps. During this time you should swim easy and concentrate on form. Some drills should also be included if you feel you need them…search the internet for some examples. The rest of your time should be spent on continuous non-stop swimming while increasing the # of laps each practice session.
You should also immediately stop running and save all energy to complete as many laps as you can (without burning yourself out) each session.