One of the most common emails I receive is from people who are looking to do their first, or their second, or their 10th open water swim and who would like advice on how to train for it. The truth is, myself and others are still trying to figure that one out!  It also depends on each individual person, their goals, strengths, and opportunities for improvement.  Even so, here are some general guidelines for training.

A) Get your technique in order! There is no use pouring your heart, soul, and energy in the water if all you do is thrash around and churn up water.  Watch videos, read articles, seek out private lessons, attend clinics,  and join a swim team.  There are plenty of  opportunities for coaching out there, and for those in the Indianapolis area, I train a couple of times a week with Indy SwimFit and coach a Master’s Training Group at Lifetime Fitness in Castleton.  I am also available for private lessons.

B) Don’t let yourself get bored! I am a notorius cross-trainer, and have been known to mix yoga, running, weightlifting, and kickboxing into my training regimen.  Same thing goes for the pool, too!  Although you will most likely be swimming just freestyle in an open water swim, mix in some of the other strokes for a better workout and to keep yourself engaged.

C) Keep Track of Your Progress! I like to repeat specific sets (which I call test sets) once a week or every other week.  These oft-repeated sets should be structured so that it is easy to see progress, either by dropping the interval, improving the pace, increasing the repeats, swimming all-outs for time. For example, my Master’s Training group does the same set of 50s every 2-3 weeks.  They are always on the same interval, and the first time we did 12, the second time 16, the third time 20, and so forth. Also, keep a training journal and not only record your distance and sets, but your pace and how you are feeling. Don’t forget to revisit your journal so that you can analyze it!

D) Swim Open Water! Although this seems very obvious, it is often overlooked.  Open Water is a completely different sport with a different set of challenges than pool swimming.  Getting in open water even once before a swim can make a big difference.  Make sure you are safe and have a swim buddy or a boat escort.  Some people experience panic attacks in open water.  Previous experience in open water can go a long way to minimize this.  In the event that you do panic in open water, roll over onto your back and kick moderately until the feeling goes away, and call for help if you need it.

E) That being said, Don’t forget about your poolwork! Being an open water swimmer does not doom you to practice after practice of non-stop swimming, in fact, I advise against it!  Save your non-stop swims for the lake or ocean, but once you are in the pool, go for the speed.  It surprises many people that while training to swim the English Channel I never did more than 8,000m in one practice. While I don’t recommend this either (I now do long swims in Morse Reservoir on the weekends) it just goes to show that you don’t have to swim 21 miles a day to complete a 21 mile swim.  During these practices I never did anything longer than repeats of 800s and I did everything FAST!  At the end of my workouts, I was more tired than if I had done a moderate-paced swim of 20km or more. I also would frequently block workouts together, and one of my favorite tricks is to lift weights before I swim so that I get used to swimming tired without having to swim 3 hours to get to that point!

I asked Erica Rose, the coach of the Swim For Kids’ Sake skills clinic and former open water world champion to write a few examples of practices for each of the distances and for swimmers that are swimming to “make it” and also swimmers that are looking to be competitive.  Sometimes the workouts are the same for both of theses, so keep in mind, it is what you make of it!  Ask yourself, “Can I go even faster on these 100s?” Challenge yourself, but always listen to your body.

½ Mile “Make it” Workout

200 warm up, relaxed pace

4 x 25 stroke drill, working on one particular aspect of the stroke (high elbows, alternate breathing, etc.)

400 straight, moderate pace

4 x 25 kick, descend 1-4

200 warm down, mixing backstroke and breastroke in and making sure the heart rate goes down

Total = 1,000

½ Mile “Competitive” Workout

200 warm up, relaxed pace

4 x 25 stroke drill, working on one particular aspect of the stroke

8 x 50 – 5-10 seconds rest, HARD pace

6 x 25 kick – 5-10 seconds rest, descend 1-3, 4-6

150 easy warm down

Total = 1,000

1 Mile “Make It” or “Competitive” Workout 1

200 warm up, relaxed pace

3 x 50 stroke drill, each one a different drill to work on something different in the stroke (finger-tip drag, catch-up, single-arm, “Tarzan,” fist drill, etc.)

8 x 100 – :15 seconds rest (Descend by 2s – 2 easy, 2 moderate, 2 strong, 2 sprint)

3 x 50 kick, each one faster than the one before it

200 warm down, relaxed pace

Total = 1,500

1 Mile “Make It” or Competitive Workout 2

300 swim / 200 pull / 100 kick

500 strong effort

4 x 50 kick, descend 1-4

200 warm down, easy pace

Total = 1,500

5k “Make It” or “Competitive” Workout 1

400 free / 300 pull / 200 kick / 100 IM or backstroke

8 x 50 (25 stroke drill/ 25 perfect form)

6 x 300 strong pace, :15-20 seconds rest (hold steady pace for all 4 x 300s)

8 x 100 kick – :15 seconds rest, descend 1-4 twice

8 x 100 pull – :15 seconds rest, descend 1-4 twice

20 x 25 – :5-10 seconds rest, mix of strokes

200 easy warm down

Total = 5,500

5k “Make It” or Competitive Workout 2

600 (200 swim, 200 pull, 200 kick)

12 x 50 pull – :10 seconds rest

2x (500 / 400 / 300 / 200 / 100) – all strong, about :15 seconds rest between each distance

4x (100 kick moderate, 50 kick sprint) – about :15 seconds rest after each round

4 x 125 (100 free / 25 fly strong!)

200 easy warm down

Total = 5,500

10k  Competitive Workout 1

300 swim / 300 kick / 300 pull / 300 swim

12 x 50 pull - :5-:10 seconds rest

6 x 800 swim, :20 seconds rest between each, slight descent from 1-3, larger descent 4-6

4x (100 backstroke easy, 50 kick strong)

16 x 25 – :10 seconds rest (every 4^th 25 SPRINT)

400 swim easy, breath control

Total = 8,000

10k  Competitive Workout 2

8 x 150 warm up (100 free / 50 back)

12 x 50 pull - :5-:10 seconds rest, steady pace

8x (300 moderate, 200 strong, 100 sprint) – rest about :15 seconds between each distance and wait an extra :30 between each set

200 easy

4 x 400 pull (#1 last 50 hard, #2 last 100 hard, #3 last 150 hard, #4 last 200 hard) – :20 rest between each 400

200 easy

Kick: 4x (150 moderate, 100 strong, 50 sprint) – rest about :15 seconds between each distance and wait an extra :30 between each set

200 easy

Total = 10,000