Training for prolonged races presents a few challenges
Watching swimmers complete a long open water occasion clearly properly reasons many Masters swimmers to surprise how they did it. There are loads extra to it than going to the pool or frame of open water each day and grinding out a big amount of yardage.
If you suspect an extended open water race is something you’d want to strive, right here are a few matters to keep in mind to help you end with a big smile in your face.
Planning
Swimming lengthy isn’t something you may faux. You have to be each bodily prepared and mentally prepared. You have to begin by using choosing out the race you want to do and paintings backward from there. Here are a few key elements of planning.
Time until your race: Ask your self how tons time you’ll want to move from in which you are to wherein you need to be to definitely experience they enjoy. Keep in mind this doesn’t appear overnight or over just more than one weeks.
Training plan: U.S. Masters Swimming’s website has an awesome phase of online workouts written by way of a number of our top coaches, and one of these sections is devoted to just lengthy distance swimmers. Take time to observe these workout routines and get a feel for what kind of education you’ll want to do that allows you to be successful and compare it to your contemporary schooling. If you’re no longer geared up to jump into the long-distance workout routines right away, they are able to constantly be modified to get you there through the years.
Nutrition: Swimming a long manner sincerely impresses upon you the idea that food is fuel. You’ll need to experiment with what you devour and how you experience earlier than, at some point of, and after workout routines to certainly first-rate-song what makes you sense exact and carry out nicely. If you’re swimming a longer open water race, ensure you propose and exercise feeding and hydrating.

Training Considerations
Wouldn’t it’s great if you could spend as an awful lot time as you wanted at the pool? For maximum people, the reality is that we’ve got a constrained quantity of training time and if going long is your purpose, you’ll have to in shape up your schooling with the relaxation of your life schedule.
Here are a few things to keep in mind whilst growing your training.
Your training can be the exercises from USMS’s internet site or from a knowledgeable instruct. Whatever you do, make certain it works for you. Pay careful interest for your frame and the way you feel as you construct to your race distance.
The technique is a massive part of the equation. While increasing the volume of yards you’re swimming, strive no longer to slide into any horrific behavior and try to regulate your stroke to maximize performance. Make sure you’re getting the most out of each stroke without burning all your power.
You’ll nevertheless want to swim speedily. Just due to the fact you’re swimming lengthy doesn’t mean which you must pound out lengthy, slow units all of the time. You might also want to boost up to complete strong or hold off a competitor and if you don’t practice that during training, it received’t be there in a race.
Train in the surroundings you’re going to race in. If you’re doing an open water race, ensure you try in open water as regularly as you could. If the water goes to be bloodless, get used to swimming in bloodless water. If you’re going to put on a wetsuit for the duration of the race, use your wetsuit during your training.
Mental Preparation
You’re the individual that controls whether or not you’ll have an amazing day or a horrific day racing, and a whole lot of that has to do with mental preparation. Here are a few recommendations to be able to get you within the right mental area to perform your quality.
Confidence: Confidence comes from knowing you probably did the whole lot you could to prepare for an outstanding swim. How do you gain self-assurance? Swim the gap greater than once. The numerical fee of the swim in meters or miles is much less intimidating in case you understand you’ve achieved it earlier than.
Be at ease inside the environment: This is going back to education as well. If you’ve swum in a cold pool or lake or ocean, that surroundings gained’t intimidate you. Also, be sure to exercise how lengthy you’re going to be in the water. Are you doing an 8-mile swim? That’s a long term within the water, which means you’ll face chafing, needs for refueling, cold or warm temperature, and extra.
Rehearse: This is both mental and physical. You’ve been thru the education and completed the gap. Go over it to your thoughts numerous times, from packing to the post-race birthday celebration, to make sure you’ve addressed all of the details that go into a fantastic race experience.

Final Words of Wisdom for a Great Race
Regardless of distance or venue, there’s one easy rule to live via: Don’t do something new in the course of race week or, especially, on race day.
If you spent all that time prepping for a race, why mess it up with the aid of trying a new sports drink or eating place and having your digestive system not tolerate it or, worse, go berserk? You may be at an exquisite location with first-rate sponsor swag and even brilliant food locations, but you’ll need to store that for after the race.
Similarly, don’t shop a brand new race healthy or wetsuit or goggles for that more race mojo. More regularly than no longer, the unusual ends in extra tension and overall performance troubles (chafing, leaks, negative suit, etc.) than that more mojo receives you.