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Another slow swimmer question
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 2006-01-26 7:46 AM |
Extreme Veteran  483   St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands |  Subject: Another slow swimmer questionI was perusing the race rules of my "A" event and see that the swim cut-off time is 1hr after the wave start. I have swam 1.2 miles twice recently once yesterday and again two weeks ago. My times were almost identical - 55 mins - I probably lost a couple of minutes due to turnaround stops and goggle drains (thought these things happen during the rac, plus I don't need to sight on these swims which are parallel to the beach). I am comfortable with the distance, but worried about how close my times are to the cutt-off, both my recent swims were in perfect conditions, add a swell or waves, wind and current and I'm thinking that I don't have much margin to play with. Obviously I continue to try to improve my times - but I find that I can pretty much swim at my current speed well beyond the required distance, but whe I try to speed things up - exhaustion is almost instantious. I took last years results and averaged the swim times - 42mins. Is a 1hr 1/2IM swim cut-off about normal? |
| 2006-01-26 8:02 AM in reply to: #332189 |
Expert 1070 North Carolina | Subject: RE: Another slow swimmer question 1 hour - 15 minutes is what I have been use to seeing. |
| 2006-01-26 8:11 AM in reply to: #332198 |
Cycling Guru 15134 Fulton, MD | Subject: RE: Another slow swimmer question Same thing, right over an hour. Will your HIM be in a place that allows wetsuits? That alone will give us less experienced/slower swimmers an advantage and time boost (at least from everything I have heard). I personally would not worry about the swim time so much. You have already done the distance (twice) which is a huge confidence boost to begin with, so you should be fine. |
| 2006-01-26 8:21 AM in reply to: #332189 |
Giver 18427 | Subject: RE: Another slow swimmer question One thing to think about is swimming in a huge group of swimmers creates a kind of river effect, sort of like drafting in the middle of a large pack of cyclists. Even if you're trailing near the back, the water will be moving with you. So you should be able to swim faster than if you were swimming by yourself. |
| 2006-01-26 8:44 AM in reply to: #332189 |
Extreme Veteran 483 St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands | Subject: RE: Another slow swimmer question Thanks guys, wetsuits are allowed, but wearers are not eligible for prizes (don't think this is a concern) - I may consider this closer to the race if my times don't improve. I would feel more comfortable with a sub 50 min time which I'm work towards. I plan on doing the distance every 10 days or so to monitor the time - I have 14 weeks so hopefully things will improve (btw I did a 3.5 mile swim last year - I correlated the times - that swim would have been 57 mins for 1.2 miles).
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| 2006-01-26 8:57 AM in reply to: #332253 |
Elite 3088 Austin, TX Gold member | Subject: RE: Another slow swimmer question If you have 14 weeks, you should be able to get the time down a bit. I'm no expert swimmer by any means, but 50 and 100 repeats done well above your current pace with minimal rest in between can do wonders I'll let the real fish chime in. |
| 2006-01-26 9:30 AM in reply to: #332189 |
Expert 1213 Los Gatos, CA | Subject: RE: Another slow swimmer question Wet suit will help a lot, amounts to minutes for me on that distance....since you are a solid steady swimmer, you should insert some speedwork in every swim. If you do that for 14 weeks, you are guaranteed to be faster imo. Something as simple as 5*50 yds sprint with 30 seconds rest in between....breaks up the monotony as well.....slow and steady is great for base and endurance but it doesn't help your speed much.... |
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