Distance Swimming
Ms_J1
Posts: 253 Member
I'm not a distance swimmer. I'm a sprinter and know nothing about distance swimming. But today, I did something unusual for me. I was doing my 300yd freestyle warm-up and when I finished my last lap (6th lap), I decided I could do another 2 laps (because I never end on an odd number of laps) and make it 8 laps. Then 8 turned in to 10 which turned in to 14 which turned in to 20, then 30, and I finally stopped at 40. I guess I just wanted to see how far I could go without stopping. It turns out I did 40 laps (2,000yd) in 40 minutes. The only reason I stopped was because I could feel my equilibrium getting off. If it hadn't been for the motion sickness, I could've kept going.
So... I have 2 questions. First, is 2,000yd considered to be a "distance swim" (or is there any such thing as "short distance swim" and "long distance swim" and if so, what would 2,000yd be)? And second, what's a decent time for 2,000yd for women?
I'm not kidding when I say I know nothing about distance swimming other than that I've never been one.
So... I have 2 questions. First, is 2,000yd considered to be a "distance swim" (or is there any such thing as "short distance swim" and "long distance swim" and if so, what would 2,000yd be)? And second, what's a decent time for 2,000yd for women?
I'm not kidding when I say I know nothing about distance swimming other than that I've never been one.
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For pool swimmers, 2,000 yards is definitely distance. Open water swimmers might disagree, but that is definitely a distance set in my opinion. The longest pool events you're likely to find are 1,650 yards or 1,500 meters.
40 minutes for that swim is certainly a respectable time, especially for a sprinter. For comparison, the fastest women swimmers I know personally will do a 1,650 somewhere in the low 20s.0 -
2000 YD is about 1.14 miles or 80 lengths in a 25YD pool.
I swim 70 lengths or 1 mile in 35 to 45 minutes.0 -
For pool swimmers, 2,000 yards is definitely distance. Open water swimmers might disagree, but that is definitely a distance set in my opinion. The longest pool events you're likely to find are 1,650 yards or 1,500 meters.
40 minutes for that swim is certainly a respectable time, especially for a sprinter. For comparison, the fastest women swimmers I know personally will do a 1,650 somewhere in the low 20s.
I wholeheartedly agree, this is definitely a distance swim. When I do my 1500 yard sets (60 lengths in a 25 yard pool) I run around 28 minutes or so.....0 -
Thanks for your responses. I have to admit, I was quite shocked that I could keep pulling through 50yd laps quite comfortably for such a sustained period of time. When I started swimming again 4 months ago (I hadn't swam laps in about 30 years), 2 laps of freestyle wiped me out and I would have to take a couple of minutes to catch my breath before starting another interval. And when I started doing sprints 3 months ago, my fastest 50 freestyle sprint was something like 56 seconds. It's hard to believe that since then, not only is my paced freestyle only 4 seconds slower than my sprint but I can maintain it for 40 laps. I should probably recheck my freestyle sprint and see if it's improved.
I wish I knew what I was doing right so I can concentrate on doing more of it. I'm sure some of the things I do in the pool are probably pointless... like breast kick drills. But hey, I suppose anything is good as long as I'm moving.0 -
What you're doing right is very simple - you've been swimming consistently. I've noticed that the endurance doesn't build uniformly (like adding 1 lap per week), it builds exponentially (adding 1 lap the 1st week, 4 laps the 2nd week, 15 laps the 3rd week, etc.). Everything you've been doing since you started back up has been building the endurance, you just didn't know it because you hadn't tried to do it before this. Everything you've been doing has been helping build your strength, speed & endurance, you got it exactly right when you said anything is good as long as you're moving.....
Great job, keep pushing yourself!!!!!0 -
What you're doing right is very simple - you've been swimming consistently. I've noticed that the endurance doesn't build uniformly (like adding 1 lap per week), it builds exponentially (adding 1 lap the 1st week, 4 laps the 2nd week, 15 laps the 3rd week, etc.). Everything you've been doing since you started back up has been building the endurance, you just didn't know it because you hadn't tried to do it before this. Everything you've been doing has been helping build your strength, speed & endurance, you got it exactly right when you said anything is good as long as you're moving.....
Great job, keep pushing yourself!!!!!
You're making me want to go back to the pool for a second swim. Thanks for the encouragement!0 -
Well done on the distance swim! I think you managed it because you simply decided not to stop. That's how I found out I could do distance and I went from starting by being out of breath every 2/3 lengths of crawl to swimming in a 5km (3.1mile) event only 6 months later. Now do 2km each morning before work and feel great.0
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Well done on the distance swim! I think you managed it because you simply decided not to stop. That's how I found out I could do distance and I went from starting by being out of breath every 2/3 lengths of crawl to swimming in a 5km (3.1mile) event only 6 months later. Now do 2km each morning before work and feel great.
Thanks, Panda. I think I'll go for 2.7km (3,000 yards, 60 laps). Maybe not today since I need to get my sprints in. But the more I think about it the more I'm convinced that I really should have two goals - a sprint goal AND a distance goal. I never had a distance goal simply because I never thought I could do distance.
I do have another question though about distance swimming. Even though I didn't get tired enough to want to stop, I did feel a little bizarre when I finally did stop and got out of the pool. I wouldn't say I was dizzy or feeling faintly but I did feel like the ground was moving under my feet and I was a little worried I might fall over. It was like my balance was off. I just got back in the pool and stood at the wall for a couple of minutes until it passed. Is this common after a distance swim? I've had the feeling before when doing sprints but only after doing many of them.0 -
Do you do flip turns? I've heard of that happening to some folks after doing a lot of turns.0
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Do you do flip turns? I've heard of that happening to some folks after doing a lot of turns.
I do!0 -
Maybe try with open turns next time and see if it continues.0
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Well done on the distance swim! I think you managed it because you simply decided not to stop. That's how I found out I could do distance and I went from starting by being out of breath every 2/3 lengths of crawl to swimming in a 5km (3.1mile) event only 6 months later. Now do 2km each morning before work and feel great.
Thanks, Panda. I think I'll go for 2.7km (3,000 yards, 60 laps). Maybe not today since I need to get my sprints in. But the more I think about it the more I'm convinced that I really should have two goals - a sprint goal AND a distance goal. I never had a distance goal simply because I never thought I could do distance.
I do have another question though about distance swimming. Even though I didn't get tired enough to want to stop, I did feel a little bizarre when I finally did stop and got out of the pool. I wouldn't say I was dizzy or feeling faintly but I did feel like the ground was moving under my feet and I was a little worried I might fall over. It was like my balance was off. I just got back in the pool and stood at the wall for a couple of minutes until it passed. Is this common after a distance swim? I've had the feeling before when doing sprints but only after doing many of them.
I alternate days with 2 workouts - the first is my distance day, 6500 yards of all freestyle split into sets. My other workout is 5500 yards where I take out my 2 longest sets in the middle of the workout & do some individual medleys to work on my other strokes & get some shorter burst work in. I wouldn't say sprints (I don't think "sprint" is part of my vocabulary anymore) but I do get my heart rate up. It's good to mix things up a bit.....
It could be from the extra exertion, I get that when I first get back in the pool after being away for awhile whether I do open turns or flip turns. Even if you aren't gulping air like after sprints, you did get your heart pumping for an extended period & you'll feel the effects of it.....0 -
If it persists you may want to check your blood sugar levels!
Perhaps also a bit of carb loading if it's a constant issue!0 -
Macstraw! That is some crazy yardage you cover in those workouts of yours!!! How long does that take you?0
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I'm in the water for anywhere from 2 hours & 10 minutes to 2 hours & 25 minutes, depending on how many days I've missed, how tired I am, how much time I need between sets. That doesn't affect what I log since I have the times for each set I do & log based on that. My yardage will be way down until September when I start going back to the gym, but my walking mileage is up for the summer....0
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Good job!0
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That seems like great time to me . . .I know I am doing 1650 in about an hour . . .and you are right, just upping the ante was how i learned i could do it. Some days you just feel like the workout is perfect and you want to keep going. i did that really only once, and that was when i did the 800 in the outdoor pool. my breathing was right, the sun was right, and i just felt like i could go and go . . .glad i didn't as i didn't know i was frying my buns!!!
You are doing great!0 -
I've had conversations with other swimmers at my gym, they've asked about the distance I do & how I can go that far. What I told them is that I started with what I could do & just kept adding. What I found is that, at first, I could only add a lap or 2, but then I was able to add 5 laps when it was time to push it, then it was more the next time, & then even more than that the next time. I've found that the increases don't come at the same rate, they become almost exponential (although there are times that the next increase becomes less than the 1 before it). The key is finding how far you can push yourself, & how often you can do it.....0
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I agree.
The first time I swam 5 km I couldn't believe it!
Now my regular swim 3 or 4 times a week is half that including lots of IM!
So it is true that the distance does increase exponentially.
And they say that what you can swim in a week you can swim in a day. So I should be targeting 10km for my next long swim.
What gets me is the monotony, but once I get my hands on a Neptune Finis or equivalent, then that last barrier will be gone!0
