Would any swimmers like to help me beat DH?

[MyNameIsInigoMontoya]

Just wondering if there are any good swimmers here (especially outdoor/distance swimmers) with good advice!

We have both signed up to do the Great North Swim in mid-June (1 mile, in Windermere). So far, swimming has been the ONLY sport which I am better at than DH - he is much fitter than me generally (runs, bikes, climbs, etc etc and can wipe the floor with me at any of those), but my swimming technique is better, thanks to swimming club in my schooldays, so I can usually beat him at that.

However... lately he has been getting into triathlons, so has been doing much more swimming training (and general exercise), and has improved quite a bit and already done several open-water swims, up to 1500m. Meanwhile, I have not been doing much swimming at all... and am not especially fit, nor used to open water. So I want to make sure he doesn't sneakily overtake

I have already done 1 mile without stopping in the pool, so I know I can do the distance, although of course open water is a bit different. Also got a wetsuit sorted. But as I've not trained properly in a long time, I'm not really sure of the best way to improve my speed or prepare for it. I'm hoping to manage maybe 2 sessions a week, unlikely to fit in much more than that though.

I've had a look for training plans online and found lots of plans for getting up to 1 mile, but not much to help you do it faster. So thought I'd see if anyone here has any good tips as I will be slightly gutted if he beats me! Thank you!

I do distance swimming, yes to strength training etc but you do really need to practise in an outdoor situation. It is very different to oil swimming. Colder, the wet suit etc makes it harder. It will be a shock to your system if you haven't practised beforehand. Honestly just the shock of the cold, the squash at the beginning if their are lots of you running into the water etc. It will all affect how you feel, your breathing etc which will make it much harder work.

How much outdoor swimming has your dh done?

Wow, the thread has got busy

I'll reply properly later as just off to (ironically) take the DCs swimming! Not going to go in at the same time though, as too much of the pool is roped off/full of learners to really swim. But I might have a chat about masters' sessions and so on while we're there if I don't get too distracted!

If your boys do lessons be aware swimming clubs are often separate from centre run lessons. Unless they're in a learn to swim section of a club, likely they won't know about masters sessions- clubs just have use of the pool, the centre won't know what they are actually running...

Some good tips on here about converting to an Open Water swimming technique
www.swimtrek.com/swimming-training-plan

Sorry I've not been back to the thread for a bit! Been a bit crazy with work etc, so I've not had much chance to update - or to swim but hoping to make the most of the weekend now. Let me try to reply to all the points..

CMOT thanks, I will look into magnesium, will be good for after dancing too if it works!

Summer I will look into this, although it's not something I'd have time to do as a regular/long-term thing (unless I gave up something else); but if there's one that I can dip in and out of it might work.

Micah am in Ncl area. I did ask about the Masters sessions when I took the DCs for their lesson the other day, I vaguely know the guy who runs them and he seems good - unfortunately there are 2 a week but both at times that would be VERY difficult due to other commitments, DCs etc. Might ask around at other pools in the area though.

Look up swim smooth - all sorts of tips there. Apparently a big thing to work on is pacing.

Oh also I looked at a local swimming club but it was VERY expensive and looked like you had to be very committed too! But maybe there are others around.

5mad I will do some sea swimming when we go on holiday in a couple of weeks if that counts. No starting practice obviously, but I don't suppose I'd get that anyway without doing another actual event first... but cold water and wetsuit swimming at least.

DH has done about 4 or 5 triathlons now. I was better than him at swimming round the lake on our last holiday though! But he's probably got better since then.

Kaffiene, that is really interesting, thank you! I have seen some of the tips before but several were new to me.

Right, I have got back in the pool today after not managing for several days - though I did do some cycling/gym/dancing over the weekend instead, so at least that should help.

Did about half an hour tonight as I was a bit tired and also getting cramp a bit, which has reminded me to put magnesium on my phone shopping list! But it was a good session I think, I had a go at breathing every 2 or 4 strokes which was fine once I got used to it (4 was a shock at first after having alternate breathing drilled into me! but OK after a few lengths of it and getting in the rhythm). Also some catchup arm drills which I read about somewhere, and a bit of secretly racing the guy next to me, who was actually quite good

Also - DH has found some outdoor training sessions fairly near us! So I am hoping to sign up for at least one or two, although won't be able to do it every week. There's even an option of coaching too, so I will have a think which to go for (though in a way, I think just having a go at swimming round in a pack without stopping might be more useful). Will be good to test the wetsuit as well. Also hoping to manage some sea swimming over half term when we are off on holiday!

How is it going?

I have a 1:1 lesson in a local lake on Thursday, then a group session as part of a women only tri training event on Sunday. Am hoping this time next week I'll be a lot more confident

How's it going...well could be better. Work (which is currently crazy), DCs, and DH being a bit poorly over the weekend have got in the way of swimming for the last week or so.

Still, I am hoping to hit the pool again tomorrow, maybe Thursday too. Then next week we are away so probably won't get a chance to go to a pool BUT we are hoping to fit in some sea swimming

Then will try to get one of the outdoor training sessions sorted out for after we get back, assuming I can sort out for someone to have the kids.

Your lesson and the weekend session sound good! Hope you enjoy them.

Hmf was a bit rubbish today, tired and it seemed like very hard work. But hopefully that's just because I've not been for a little while - and possibly due to dancing too much last night as well! Onwards and upwards, or something...

Well have had 2 sea swimming sessions now and given the wetsuit a test! The first one was quite hard work as it was very wavey and we were getting buffeted around quite a lot; but the wetsuit seemed to work well and I wasn't cold at all. Today was better as it was less choppy.

The bad news is that the wetsuits do seem to equalise us quite a lot so I had much less advantage over DH than usual! Hopefully it will be better in the lake though, as it was hard to get in a smooth rhythm with all the waves. It did seem to make me breathe harder than usual, and also I got a bit dizzy sometimes especially when we stopped. But it was definitely good practice.

Need to give the wetsuit a good wash down when we get home as it's mega sandy now!

Try kicking less when you are wearing the wetsuit - so little propulsion comes from your legs, and you don't need to kick for floatation. As you use big muscles to kick, it takes a lot of oxygen.

The one thing I would do is practice in wetsuit as much as poss. I found I had to totally change my stroke as the wetsuit lifted my bum up my higher in the water than I'm used to.

I have been having some open-water coaching recently. One tip our coach gave was to make sure that you have as much 'glide' as possible in your stroke. The buoyancy of the wetsuit means you have to do far less work to stay afloat, so you need to make sure your energy is directed at forward propulsion rather than keeping you up. You can do drills in the pool by leaving your leading arm in front of you until your moving arm is just entering the water. Adding a second or two's pause with both arms in front of you helps adjust your stroke.

I also saw a champion open water swimmer demonstrating at the Triathlon show and noticed that his stroke was very much as I have described above- his leading arm literally stayed out in front until the other hand was breaking the surface of the water. I have started doubt this myself and would say it has added 10% to my speed.

Not sure where in the NE you are but google Ellerton Water, it's lovely clear lake which is set up for outdoor training, many clubs train there in the lead up to GNS. It's near Northallerton and I know people from Northumberland who use it too.

Don't just think if a distance set as long and slow, do some interval training but without stopping. Something like 400m warm up, then 400m doing alternate lengths sprint, cool down, 100m legs, 100m arms, then the same back down. 2k work out. Get used to changing speed mid length too, you'll need to be able to accelerate quickly without a push off. Plenty of leg work, don't leave them trailing.

Back online again... please excuse the delay in replying!

Thanks for the wetsuit tips everyone, they sound good, especially the kicking less hard, I can see the sense in that.

I forgot to mention I tried doing a bit of breast-stroke in the sea too but that was really hard in the wetsuit, my legs were too floaty so it was really difficult to get a good kick (feet kept trying to go up out of the water)! I was a bit gutted, as usually my breast-stroke is actually pretty fast, so I was thinking if I started getting tired I could do a bit of that as a "rest" in between if necessary (that works well for me in the pool or when I've done longish swims in the past). But it doesn't really work without a good kick! I did try keeping my head more out of the water than usual though to get my feet down more, which did help a bit. I suppose lake water is a bit less floaty too, right?

Thistle is that what I saw somewhere as "catch-up" drill? I tried that a bit in the pool one time, it was good!

Hoping to get one more open-water/wetsuit-trying session in before the day, it will depend if MIL can have the DCs though! Have looked up Ellerton but it's a bit far for me... I think we'll try to get to this though if possible, which is nearer.

Yes, the salt water and wetsuit combo is very floaty! My nearest lido is salt water, and if I go there to swim in my wetsuit its v bizarre.

You can't really do breaststroke in a wetsuit for the reason you experienced. There is just too much buoyancy in the legs. Apparently there is one specialist brand of suit that is designed for breaststroke but otherwise is becomes a very inefficient stroke.

I think what I described is as you say a 'catchup' drill. The other things to be aware of are to stretch out the stroke before you enter the water and keep your point of entry away from the centre line- aim for slightly wider than your head.

Eek, only 4 days to go and I have not managed that much training lately... but we are going to the open-water training thing tomorrow after work at least, so at least that should be good practice. Then need to get everything else ready after that, as we are meant to be going over on Friday and camping all weekend with the DCs before the races on Sunday...

The latest email from the organisers says it is likely to be very cold and they advise booties and gloves, neither of which I have at the moment, so will have to think about that. But hopefully if it stays sunny till then that might help a bit. Also must remember to keep taking the magnesium to try and avoid cramp!

DH just did another triathlon last weekend though, so he is probably feeling pretty confident... at the moment I am still more stressed about packing for camping and then the logistics of getting us all (with DCs) to the right places on time on the morning, so in denial a bit about the actual swimming part!

If you order from Wiggle today, you could get the booties etc tomorrow. I think if the organisers are recommending them, you'll really appreciate the difference.

Good luck, I'm sure you will do great- and let him organise the dcs!

Not managed to order any booties but apparently you can buy them at the event if necessary so that will do.

But we had our training swim today and that was actually not too cold at all (yes I know Windermere will be colder though!). DH was beating me at the start, I think because he was more confident and it took me a little while to get in a rhythm. Later on I think I was just ahead though, although I need to work a bit on going straight for the buoys which was harder than expected! But I suppose if there are more people on Sunday that will help with going the right way... We were definitely quite close though but DH said he owes it all to his wetsuit and that I would still beat him in the pool...

There was one person who had a freakout or something right at the start, not quite sure what was the matter but luckily there were a couple of experienced people near him who knew what to do and got him calmed down and to the side (he hadn't gone far).

Not so good things - it did take me a while to get into a rhythm and I think I was breathing a bit too hard at first. Also DH kept crashing into me! We were meant to swim with a buddy but I think that made it harder in a way as we had to keep looking for each other, or getting in each others' way. There were some shallow weedy bits too which I didn't like much, but just kept going till we got out of them...

Good things - wetsuit was fine and I wasn't cold; and once we'd got to the other end of the lake and only had to come back (and once I'd got into my stride) I actually enjoyed it and after going once round the lake we did another mini-lap round the smaller course too! Felt very sporty afterwards too. No way I could manage a bike ride and run after that though, very impressed at everyone who does!

Oh also DH has got another rip in his wetsuit and all his armpit hairs were poking out which made me Think he really needs a new one now!

Well. I got round... I did NOT manage to beat DH though and took rather longer than I had hoped. Not sure why really... probably being really tired did not help (2 nights' rubbish sleep in a tent, plus slogging along the road for miles with the DCs and heavy bags to get to the event - DH went ahead as his wave started early). Also I think DH is better at steering straight for the buoys, so I might have done a bit of extra distance - and realistically he has done quite a bit more training. I was a bit gutted though to take nearly 40 minutes when I can do a mile in the pool in around 35.

Still, I was in the top half which is not too bad I suppose. Had one or two interesting moments (at one point there were 2 big blokes swimming one on either side of me, and then they decided to meet in the middle.... hmmm! But I managed to fend them off...) but kept going and got round. The friends we were with were also a bit disappointed by their times too so it wasn't just me. I also saw one of the staff from my pool who was helping out

A big thankyou to everyone on the thread who's given me so much advice, I have learnt loads of things even if it didn't quite get me past DH and I will definitely work on those things more if/when I do anything like this again. I do have a couple of friends who were talking about signing up for next year... so who knows

Well done! Swapping to open water and wetsuit swimming is a huge change from the pool, and one you don't get to grips with straight away. FWIW I was also 2-3 minutes off my with-wetsuit pool time (I train in an outdoor pool) for my weekend open-water swim….I think bashing into people and zigzagging a bit takes up a fair bit of time and causes you to lose rhythm.