How is the Olympic Distance Swim? (First Time at St.Anthonys)
483
Member
217 days
jsk85 posted 19 weeks ago.
I'm no expert, but I'd just work on throwing in some long (2000m or so) pieces in the pool at sub racepace to just get comfortable at a longer distance. Also, try to hit some open water at least 1x beforehand, if possible. Get rid of the all open water questions you may have that don't involve the hoards of people so that they are the only varying factor come raceday.
My blog: http://jsktri.blogspot.com
55
Member
1374 days
rlauredo posted 19 weeks ago.
St Anthonies swim usually does not involve much in terms of waves, but often a kind of nasty chop. Like swimming in a washing machine. Annoying.
38
Member
278 days
Kwschs posted 19 weeks ago.
Thanks for the responses so far! I'm not looking to race it all out btw, I'm new to Olympic so I just want to do it to finish and have a good time :D
20
Member
203 days
AGFlorida posted 19 weeks ago.
If you're not trying to break any records on the swim and you're worried about the thrashing bodies around you, just move toward the back of the pack before the start of the race. 2000 meter workouts are plenty for an Olympic swim. Do some intervals and if possible do an open water swim for about 1-1.5 miles.
643
Member
1050 days
deepbluex posted 19 weeks ago.
The oly swim looks longer from the spectator's viewpoint than from the competitor's viewpoint. I did some sprint raceswith 1/2 mi swims where there was also an Oly distance on the same day - just different waves. From the beach, the oly turnaround buoys looked to me really really far away. Then I tried an Oly distance and the swim wasn't as bad as I thought. I paced myself a little more but it was not as difficult as I initially thought it would be. There's more than plenty of fuel left for the bike and run. The nice thing is that there is more spacing out of swimmers so the washing machine doesn't follow you around too much (unless you're an elite athlete I suppose).
2333
Member
1228 days
Triguy98 posted 19 weeks ago.
Pray for good weather. In bad weather, the swim sucks big time. If youre swimming 2k- 3k yards a session in the pool 3-4x a week, dont worry about the distance, youll be able to do it. The atmosphere at St. Anthonys is cool, becusae its such a large race. Though I would never recfommend it to a first time triathlete or Oly-er. Its TOO big!
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
27
Member
139 days
tholosophy posted 19 weeks ago.
Just an idea, try swimming with a training snorkle (centerd on your head). Helps with your lung capacity, and it will help get the most out of each lap. Its gonna feel weird at first because there is resistance when you breathe. It will help maintain your body position and allow you to focus on your stroke without worrying about the whole breathing portion...wouldn't hurt to try it...
510
Member
629 days
Ironmom posted 19 weeks ago.
If you've only got three weeks, I'd focus on some distance sets with plenty of pulling yards thrown in. If you can get in some open-water training sessions in, that's a really good idea, too.
My favorite Oly or Half-Iron main set is:
6 x 500, Descend x 3
In other words, swim an easy 500, followed by a medium 500, then a fast 500. Repeat, but the 2nd time through, see if you can make each of them slightly faster than the first time through. This will work on your pacing and endurance. If you find yourself slowing down instead of speeding up, then I would do more distance work. I will also throw in a 1000 Swim, 1000 Pull into my workouts leading up to an Oly or HIM race.
Blue Skies, -Robin-
http://ironmom.blogspot.com/
828
Member
1385 days
catwood posted 19 weeks ago.
My favorite set is 6x800 on some somewhat challenging interval where I get about 30 sec of rest (for me, 12min) but if I haven't done much then I build from 3x800. I generally descend by 200s within each 800.
So its getting real close now, and to be honest im kind of getting scared about the swim.
I have been treating swimming like it's not important which was is wrong, i know! I swim 400's in the pool like nothing, but I am worried about doing the .93mile swim in the open water with thousands of people around me.
I don't wanna exhaust myself on the swim, because I am a REALLY strong biker and a decent runner since I do a lot of bricks.
Can anyone recommend a training plan for swimming that will take me from the 5th of April to the 24th?
I know it's short but I want to get a bit of good swimming in before the race, and I know many of you are going to recommend a swim coach, and yes I will be getting one (starting PYP swim team at the YMCA) but until next month I can't fit it in with my job schedule, so this is a temporary plan!
Thanks for your advice, and helping me with the swim!
-Kevin