Swimming

I don't think I want to swim 10k in a pool but something like the Dart10k is very tempting. Like cycling and running for me swimming is exponentially better outside with changing scenary, actually going somewhere etc.

This year I swam the Bantham Swoosh which was fantastic. It's about 6km as the crow flies but based on my stroke count and comparing to swims without tide assist was more like 3.6km so I haven't really swum further than you. I had a bit of wetsuit rubbing under one arm which was unexpected and hurt for a week after but I assume the pool is skins so that isn't a problem for you.

I think I'd be cautious with energy drinks unless you are used to them in training? I find things sloshing around in my tummy can make me feel worse. Do you really need it for a couple of hours anyway? Just get really hungry and then eat a massive meal afterwards works for me :)

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?

The Marathon Swims website has some training plans on it. Worth looking at them for details of the warm up and cool down routines, plus the individual drills.

The checks for stroke count are useful too. Anything less than 1m/stroke and you need to look at your technique (see the comments on Week 6 and Week 8 of the 10 weeks to 10k plan).

You will sweat a lot - you don't notice when you're swimming, because you're already wet. You should replace some fluids, but for 5km, you shouldn't need too much.

When I did double-ironman (7.6km pool swim), I had water, energy drink and Clif Shot Blocks, but then was also fuelling for the rest of the event.

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!

Oh with regards to swimming I have been swimming regularly before work for about 3 years now. I tend to mix up endurance and interval based training as part of my routine. For example I did 120 lengths of a 30metre pool this morning, mixing up intervals and endurance all front crawl. I'm def not concerned with stroke count as it is around 24 for the 30 metre pool (I have long limbs which seems to make a difference)
As for boredom, I'm not sure it will be a factor as I have a full on job, two young kids etc totally stressed most of the time. I can spend hours in the pool as it is the only time no one can hassle me :D

I shall look at the training plan on the website and see how what I am doing compares to that.
If I complete it in a respectable time I shall let you know and may even see about doing longer next time.

My only real concern was pacing myself and getting over the last 1km+ that I have never swam in one go before. For example should I swim a 5K before the event to see what it is like I guess is my biggest question?

30°C is way to hot for swimming! A typical 25m council pool is around 28°C while a 'proper competition' pool like Stratford is more like 26°C.

1h13m for Swim Serpentine 2 mile. Slightly slower than last year but hardly any training. Felt really good and got into a nice rhythm, enjoyed it even.

Will aim for sub 1h next year I think (especially if I plan on doing that Marathon Swims 10k in November next year).

I took part in the London swim marathon today. It's a brilliantly organized event with 1, 5 and 10k distances and relay events. I competed in the 5K and finished in 1:42:40 which I was very pleased with as it was the first time I had swam such a distance and I was optimistically aiming for 1:45.
I'll definitely be back next year. Whether I could ever do a 10k is a different matter.

Good work!

Thanks for the reminder, will look out for the signup for next year...

Impressive, well done!

Thanks. I am totally rinsed now. God knows how one would go about a 10K

Very impressive.
I got up to 4k as part of IM training. Then the swim was cancelled for Hamburg. 3.8k now feels daunting all over again. 10k would take me the same time as running a marathon...

I got overtaken at one point by a young woman who was steaming along, I kind of thought wow, she is going to set a fast 5K. Turns out she was doing a 10K and set a time of 2:28:53. Truly astonishing, how is that even possible? The whole place was on their feet for her

https://resultsbase.net/event/4654/results?round=10669&gender=F

That is quick, more than 20 minutes quicker than anyone else on the day.

How? Technique and miles in the pool, but mostly technique.

I got my Swim CSS (rough equivalent of FTP) from 2:00/100m down to 1:30/100m a few years ago (i.e. 20min/km down to 15min/km). Once I got my technique dialled in it was a case of doing more and more swimming with hand paddles to build up the arm/shoulder strength needed to keep going for more than an hour at that pace. It quickly goes though.

How did you improve your technique?

I swim several times a week and can swim a reasonable distance (eg 3km in a river) but I'm slow and almost certainly have a terrible technique. Any pointers for suitable classes or should I join a masters club or something else?

I had years of coaching when I was young so a lot of it is in my brain, I just need to remember to do it all properly (being lazy is easy).

Coaching will definitely help, my local tri club does weekly pool sessions that are far from 1:1 but will get you there eventually if you keep at it. Most of it is knowing what you should be doing and recognising when you're not doing it.

You'd probably get a lot from a single private lesson at your local pool. I did this a couple of years back, they gave me 5 or so things to concentrate on (rather than telling me everything that I was doing wrong) and it helped no end. Most instructors will be able to give very good advice (one of the instructors at my local pool is an ex-national swimmer, she is scarily fast and it looks effortless).

Speaking of fast and looking effortless, the cheapest option is just watch this video every time before you go swimming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3HhNlysFDs

Look at the glide and pushing the hands forward for the catch, it's not over-reaching and the body (especially the head) is staying nice and straight. Push/stretch too much and you twist your body and waste energy.

The angle of the hands through the pull is important. You want to be pushing the water behind you, not down to the bottom of the pool.

Very useful thanks. I would like to go back next year and improve upon my time.
Also now that I know I can swim 'competitively' I am motivated to enter the London Triathlon next year

If you want coaching, Red Top Swim are great. They do about 1:6 coaching. Please of drills, plenty of conditioning.

Also now that I know I can swim 'competitively' I am motivated to enter the London Triathlon next year

You certainly don't have to be able to swim competitively to compete in triathlon.
Amongst most people I'm a really good swimmer. Amongst most triathletes I'm a pretty decent swimmer. Amongst age groupers I'm decidedly average.
Amongst actual swimmers I'm atrocious.

But because I can ride a bit and run a bit then I end up fairly competitive in [non serious] triathlons.

If you can swim 5k then your swim fitness is waaaaay ahead of most people's, and a bit of work on technique would see you out in the top 25% in most triathlons.

Most of it is knowing what you should be doing and recognising when you're not doing it

I'm not really very good at knowing what my body is doing without someone telling me or lots of mirrors, hence looking for some kind of coaching.

my local tri club does weekly pool sessions

Hmm. maybe it's time I stopped thinking about it and went and visited Trent Park Running Club.

Red Top Swim are great

Thanks, I'll contact them.

I've been going to my local lido as I got membership for my birthday. I go most evenings, last Saturday there was a bunch of young girls having an evening out and a bit of a swim.
I was plodding up and down the pool, and they would absolutely fly past me, closest I can equate it to was being in a pool with dolphins. I have no idea how they did it. A few times they would pass me and change direction in front of me whilst swimming breaststroke. I'd get to the end and they'd be there chatting and giggling. They were clearly amazing swimmers having a jolly, but jeez, their technique and speed were impressive.

local lido

Next level lido. #nice

Next level lido. #nice

24.68m pool.

Y tho