- 20 week training plan targetted for 8-12 mile Open Water competition as A-Race (inland lake). If doing a big water swim (Great Lakes or Ocean) that has more current and surf, this can also be used for an 8-9 mile race.
- Athlete should have a swimming base that includes 2-3 swims a week, each swim 3500 yards or more, as a starting point.
- Plan covers: pool workouts for pacing and technique, open water workouts, dry land conditioning and mobility work, and some cross-training
- For pool workouts, swimmer should have fins or zoomers (short fins), paddles, buoy & kickboard. Swim snorkel is highly recommended
- Open water swims assume an inland lake with minimal current or surf. If you are taking your OW swims into "big water", reduce the distances by 20-25%.
- Workouts are written on a "Perceived effort" scale from 0-100%. And pacing is set based on Critical Swim Speed (with a workout early on to test and calculate that).
- Links to YouTube videos provided for swim drills.
- Plan progresses to a peak week of swims >6miles.
I’ve been helping endurance athletes overcome their challenges and crush their race goals for over 12 years and dozens of endurance athletes in different sports.
Whether conquering a new sport/distance, getting over injury, balancing training & life, or getting off that plateau you're stuck on, I'll help you put together all the puzzle pieces to make sure you finish strong & with a smile.