1. Open Water Swimming

2. WHENEVER PEOPLE AGREE WITH ME I ALWAYS FEEL I MUST BE WRONG (O W quote)

3. WHAT IS OPEN WATER SWIMMING
Just like a 50M free is not like a 1500M free, Open Water swimming is very different from pool swimming. POOL COACHES MUST RETHINK THE EVENT.
WHY?
Irregular surface swimming compared to regular surface swimming
Aerobic threshold training compared to lactate tolerance training
No defined technique for the entire race
Different water conditions, temperatures, and course dimensions in every race

4. WHAT IS OPEN WATER SWIMMING
Body position changes
Environmental changes as well as personal comfort levels
Race plan is more open to change (thinking on your feet)
Positioning within the race
Training an attitude

5. WHAT IS OPEN WATER SWIMMING
Personal contact with swimmers, animals, and objects
Heads up swimming
Feeding/drinking
Economy of energy plays a much bigger part then in pool swimming

6. SUCCESS IS STUMBLING FROM FAILURE TO
FAILURE WITH NO LOSS OF ENTHUSIASM
Winston Churchill

7. The Race 5K World Championships 25K World Championships
10K Olympics, World Championships, Pan Am Games, Pan Pac, and World Cups
15K and longer is a Grand Prix race
*10Ks at World Cups compared to Olympic and World Championships 10Ks can be very different races

8. Racing the 10K
“It’s not how fast you go a 10K in the pool it’s how easy you can go the first 7K in Open Water that’s important”
Knowing the swimmers in the race, the number of swimmers, and the number of strong and stronger contenders
Knowing the conditions of the race and how they play into the structure of the race. Waves, chop, temperature, salt or fresh water, currents, wind, etc.
Knowing the race course 8 laps, 6laps, 4laps, 2laps
Where are the feeding stations, how many are there, are they on or off the course, the size of the station, etc.
When to feed and what to feed.
How fast is your swimmer going? A swimmers stroke rate can determine their speed or effort.

9. Important things to remember during a 10K race
Stay in the race 2.5K 5K 7.5K
Position yourself to feed and get back in the race
Know your feedings times, and alternative plans
Spare equipment (goggles cap etc.)
Know exactly where your “safe” feeding space is and where your coach will be.

10. Important things to remember during a 10K race
Position yourself to view for a lead pack break away
Position yourself to be easy
Know your strengths and weaknesses when the pack starts to break up (6K-7K) and who you are racing in the last 1000M, 500M, and 100M
Stay “cool” relaxed in the race

11. THE MEN’S OLYMPIC RACE Richard Weinberger’s Olympic Race
(also Melloui, Lurtz, and Gianniotis)
(6LAPS (1.666K)
1500 M TIMES
1st nd rd th th th
16: : : : : :00
100 M PACE
1: : : : : :04.0
Training pace before the Olympics:
K4 1: Race Pace 1:05.4-1:04.0
K2 1: Race Pace 1:04.0

12. Points of interest
Daniel Fogg GBR was 5th 32 seconds back from 4th place. He was not able to go with the top 4 from lap 4 to 5. That is, he had trouble moving from 1:06 pace to 1:04 pace. (His best 1500 time is 14:55 or 59.7 pace)
Although Richard’s best 1500 time is 15:37 he was able to move from 1:06 pace to 1:04 pace and had the fastest 100 meters at the end of the race which was probably the fastest 100 meters in the race.
Another example of a finish where the slowest swimmer pulled away from his two rivals near the end happen in the US at their World Championship Trials. Alex Meyer 15:26 went on to beat Sean Ryan 15:01 and Andrew Gemmell 14:52 for the win.

13. WOMEN’S OLYMPIC RACE LAP 5 FINAL LAP 6 FINAL TIME
Eva Risztov HUN : : :
Haley Anderson USA : : :57:38.6
Martina Grimaldi ITA : :08: :57:41.8
Ker-anne Payne GBR : : :57:42.2
13 within 10 sec after 4 laps
7 within 15 sec after 5 laps PACE 1:10.4
4 at the end after 6 laps PACE 1:08.8
Angela Maurer (5th) : :57:52.8
PACE 1:09.4

14. MEN”S OLYMPIC RACE st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 16:19 17:10 16:45 16:40 16:03 16:00 1:05.3 1:08.7 1:07.0 1:06.7 *1:04.2 1:04.0 * race starts 6668 (3332m left) WOMEN”S OLYMPIC RACE 17:27 17:48 18:01 17:51 17:37 17:10 1:09.8 1:11.2 1:12.1 1:11.4 1:10.5* 1:08.7 *race starts7664 (2336m left )

15. OLYMPIC MEDALISTS COMPETITIVE AEROBIC THRESHOLD
MEN : :03.0 (in a 50m pool) ?
Medalists being able to move from 1:06.7 to 1:04.0
WOMEN : :07.8 (in a 50m pool) ?
Medalists being able to move from 1:10.4 to 1:08.8

16. TRAINING THE RACE

17. IT IS NOT ENOUGH THAT WE DO OUR BEST SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO DO WHAT IS REQUIRED WINSTON CHURCHILL

18. POOL DISTANCE SWIMMING VS OPEN WATER
Today pool distance swimming 800 / 1500 meters is based mainly on lactate tolerance training
** Open Water training is not just 1500M training plus more meters**
Open Water training is based on extending your aerobic threshold.
Some questions are:
Do we need to work on any “sprinting”?
How do we develop finishing speed?
What strength work outside or in the pool is needed?

19. TRAINING FOR OPEN WATER IN THE POOL
Training sustainable swimming (aerobic threshold)
Avoid too much rest, continue to tighten intervals
Even pace swimming
Active recovery
Body position changes (6 types of pulling )
Legs (freestyle kick)
Changes in speed

20. TRAINING FOR OPEN WATER IN THE POOL
Finishing speed
Heads up swimming
Feeding (consumption of drink or food)
Develop a feel for the race and distance “seamless training”
Even pace swimming
Designing intervals
Freestyle kick in workouts
Developing economical swimming

21. Simulating pack swimming
Strength development in the pool

22. 3 X 600 SWIM-KICK-SWIM ON 8:20 KICK 800 (4 x 50 bursts) on 13:30 PULL 6 X 150 K-T on 2:05 6 X 150 K-B on 2:00 6 X 150 P-T on 1:55 SWIM 3 X 300 on 3:40 3 X 300 on 3:35 3 X 300 on 3:30 (time last 100 & 50 and get stroke rate on last 50) 200 easy TOTAL: 8200 M
POOL WORKOUTS

23. POOL WORKOUTS SWIM 24 X 400 on 4:50-10 progress
(get AVERAGE TIME and finishing 50 with stroke rate)
400 easy
TOTAL:
Get average time
Get finishing time 100 and 50
Get stroke rate last 50

24. } } POOL WORKOUTS SWIM 6 X 250 on 3:00 progress 1-3 KICK 20 X 50 on 50
PULL 3 X 400 3(4)-5 on 5:20 PB / KB / B
SWIM 2 X 400 (200 N – 200 HUP) on 5:10
SWIM 4 x 200 K4 on 2: X2
SWIM EO 50 HUP on 2:40
SWIM 4 X 100 K2 on 1:15
SWIM 50 HUP on X2
SWIM 50 build to stroke rate on 40
200 easy TOTAL: 8700 } }

25. Wednesday night (8 days from World Cup)
Swim 400 on 4:40/5:00 Kick 2 x 400 on 6:20/6:40 Eric averaged Hup 2 x 100 on 1:20/1:25 Swim 8 x 300 on 3:30/3:50 3:09.0 Swim 8 x 150 on 1:50/2:00 1: easy Total: 5400 last 50 of last

26. POOL WORKOUTS
SWIM 400 on 4:40 KICK 3 X 200 on 3:20 KICK-SWIM-KICK 6 X 200 on 3: 00 progress by 2’s PULL 10 X 100 on 1:20 KB 10 X 100 on 1:15 PB SWIM 750 on 9:10-10 HUP 3 X 50 on45 SWIM 4 X 200 on 2:30 EVEN PACE 4 X 150 on 1:50 EVEN PACE PROGRESS 4 X 100 on 1:10 EVEN PACE PROGRESS 4 X 50 on 35 EVEN PACE PROGRESS 200 easy TOTAL: 8200
} x2

27. PRINCIPLES OF OPEN WATER WORKOUTS
Practice starting fast and bring in active recovery
Seamless continuous style
Work freestyle kick
Pull working different body positions
Stress even pace swimming
Build into the workout a race feel
Train heads up swimming
Fit in changes of pace
Progress Paces K4 K2 etc.
Work finishes meter a few times a week

28. Because your fast in the pool could you win a 10K. 1500M vs
Because your fast in the pool could you win a 10K? 1500M vs. Open Water 10K
Remember that the 1500M training of today is mostly lactate tolerance training and 10K Open Water training is aerobic threshold. * Because you can do a 1500M in 14:40 it does not mean you can hold 1:04’s for 4K at the end of a 10K easier than a person that only can swim a 1500M in 15:20.
Because you have the fastest 50/100/200/400 of any of your competitors it doesn’t mean you can finish a 10K faster.

29. MEASUREMENTS OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRESSION
How can one measure progress in the major competitions?
Time from 1st place
Time from the first pack
People you beat that you haven’t beaten before and the other way around
Number of Olympic or World Championship top 15 etc. that you beat and that beat you
Percentile example 54 start the race and you were 23 therefore you are 23/54 = 42.6 percentile
All these things can give you some ability to assess a performance or see improvement.

30. EXPERIENCE IS THE NAME EVERYONE GIVES TO THEIR MISTAKES (O W quote)

31. EXPERIENCE
2013 World Championships average age of a medalist in the 10K
MEN WOMAN 29.9
How many big race’s have these medalists competed in? 5 of the 6 have been in over a 100 races. Only 1 swimmer has been in about 20 races.
With race experience comes comfort.(the first 7K becomes easier.
Your ability to adapt to the race environment of the day and the continuous unforeseen small and large challenges is directly related to that experience you have developed.

32. OPEN WATER AGE GROUP DEVELOPMENT
Remember the age of most good Open Water swimmers is in there mid to late 20’s It is important that a swimmer doesn’t try to get into Open Water too soon
Only swim 2-3 “Open Water” sessions a week. Kick, pull, and swim free. Learn hup technique.
Make them continuous seamless 5-7 K
Train the race! Define the race and incorporate it in your workouts)
Practice swimming your 1500’s negative split
Begin to learn about 5K and 10K race patterns, dynamics, feeding, positioning, and pre-race preparation .

33. OPEN WATER SENIOR DEVELOPMENT
Swim 6 workouts working all sessions seamlessly 7-9K
Incorporate HUP training
Stress even pace swimming
Play with different body positions in pulling
Work on non lactate stroke rate development a few times a week
Learn all the differences between the 5, 10, and 25K
Learn your strengths and weaknesses Swim to your strengths
Develop race experience with your coach

34. How we make Open Water swimming better in Canada
Get a few more coaches involved
Have a program not just go to competitions
Better use of the great competitions that we have in Canada
Develop Junior and Senior National teams with appropriate ages. Example 21 and under (juniors)
Have Open Water training Camps and Clinics
Develop a ranking system / This can be used for selections and will bring about more race experience