Swimming into the sunset might look romantic, but it takes a lot of work
2. CONVERTING YOUR ENGINE Having come from a very competitive Olympic-distance triathlon background, my physiology over the years has developed to being that of a high-revving engine, capable of sustained eff orts at high intensities for up to two hours. To perform well at much lower intensities for signifi cantly longer periods of time (in the region of 10-plus hours), I have had to totally change the way I train. For many endurance athletes this seems to come to them very naturally. For me, I had to really slow things down initially and tap into what I felt was a sustainable all-day pace, then train for at least 80 percent of my training volume at, or slightly above, this endurance threshold. I had an initial goal of completing the 20km Rot nest Channel swim in February 2009 in less than fi ve hours. To do that I needed to be able to swim very comfortably at just faster than 15 minutes per kilometre, or 1'30" per 100m. I started this fi rst phase of my programme with simple sets like 4-6 x 1000m at exactly 1'30" per 100m pace, with 60 seconds rest between each. Despite how easy this pace initially felt, I had to control the urge to push on faster. This takes a learned control of the type that is so benefi cial during a Channel crossing. It's easy to get carried away and push on at the start of such a session without realising the ramifi cations of such an eff ort for later in the set. Get it wrong a few times (as I did) and you rapidly start to tune into that all-important skill of pace awareness. Not only is this skill essential for the big day, but if you constantly
make a hash of your pace in training, you'll never fully develop your aerobic "diesel" engine to its fullest. Gradually, my ability to hold 1'30" per 100m, dropped to 1'28" per 100m, then 1'27", 1'26" and so on. Last week I completed an 18km training swim at an average pace of 1'21" per 100m (including drink stops), which was a good indication that this endurance threshold has been progressing nicely. It's not a fast process though and you should expect to plateau off at various steps in your development along the way. At these points seeking to go longer at this threshold point is key. Aiding me in my development of an effi cient pacing strategy have been a Wetronome pacing device for the pool and a Garmin 310 XT for the open water. In the pool I use the Wetronome to beep at me every time I should be at each 25m marker, This keeps me on track and works like a virtual training partner, spurring me on as I get tired.
TYPICAL TRAINING WEEK (FINAL SIX MONTHS) Day
Session Detail Monday Tuesday
Very easy 2-3km swim including a range of drills to ensure good injury management, or rest day
Moderate 6-7km pool swim including drills and a solid 4-6km main set of 10-15x400m at 1'24" per 100m pace with 21s rest between each 400m (guided by my Wetronome).
Wednesday Tough 9km pool swim all on a 43-45 second per 50m cycle, i.e. 20x50m, 10x100m, 5x200m, 2x500m, 1x1000m, 2x500m, 5x200m, 10x100m, 20x50m. The cycle time includes any rest, so the faster you swim the more rest you get. I would typically average 1'18" per 100m for these sets.
Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Moderate 10km cold (15ºC /59ºF) open water swim at an average pace of 1'24" per 100m, including drink stops every 2km for 15-20 seconds.
Steady 4-5km pool swim focusing on drills and technique work.
Hard 8-12km cold (15ºC /59ºF) open water swim in rough water, aiming to hold close to 1'20" per 100m.
Goal session: 14 to 25km cold (15ºC / 59ºF) open water swim with paddler to practice food and drink stops every 2km.
WHILE WE CAN’T CHOOSE THE WEATHER WE CAN CONTROL HOW WE TRAIN AND PREPARE
I set the Garmin to beep at me every 500m in the open water to break down the longer swims into manageable chunks, thinking only ever about the next 500m. When I get home I'll download this data to see how and where I could have improved that particular swim.
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