You are reading a single comment by @Sainsburys_Ed and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
-
As @kl says you will sweat a lot more at 30 vs 20 something, but at 5k in a pool id say the biggest factor is boredom, the whole getting out thing will provide a bit of a break and at least 50m you're not constantly turning.
Training wise, like any endurance event make sure you get a mixture of steady long distance swimming and more threshold type work to build strength. I presume that you haven't got ages to work too much on stroke improvements, but adding a few 100m of drills (catch up drills, finger dragging, etc.) into your sessions will make small improvements for you to improve efficiency and help alleviate the boredom!
Sainsburys_Ed
Thanks for the advice. Yes it's in a pool so no wetsuit. I was also under the impression that water temp makes a big difference. For example I was regularly swimming 3 km odd at Gospel oak lido in the summer before work and what stopped me hitting 5k was fatigue. My arms were just exhausted and I felt I couldn't really continue. That's why I thought a sip of energy drink every km might help. Also the lido at the time was 24 which seemed perfect. I expect the pool to be closer to 30. How does that effect things?