Just wondering what everybody does for openwater swim workouts?
I’m training for OLY and HIMs and have easy(jump out my window) access
to both a great pool and lake ontario. Should I be doing more long lake
swims or speed work at the pool? Anybody ever heard of speed work in
a lake?
My pace is ~1:50.
Thanks everybody!
Brent
The harder you work, the luckier you get
I think that openwater workouts become more important once your base fitness is established. There are some people on the board with year-round access to open water and I am sure that their swim times benefit from it. I say get in the water at least once a week to build strategies/competencies with water entrance, run out, loops, navigation and bridging.
Speed work in a lake? Yes! If you don’t have clear navigation points, do it based on time, but remember to rest between sets.
Is that 1:50 pace per 100m? Pool work is great for technique focus (safe, easy to measure sets) and you might want to join a masters team to help you break through that time.
Are you in Toronto? There are lots of swim groups. http://masterswim.blogspot.com for my swim group.
Speed work of course - try and use some buoys with you.
Other things: sighting, obviously. Practising running out of the water and getting your wetsuit off fast for T1.
Swimming in groups can be really great for working on drafting and group coordination.
Avoid swimming at the same default speed all the time, mix it up.