This year has been a good one for me swimming-wise.
I found a target to aim for: competing in the 43rd annual Waikiki Roughwater Swim on 3 September. Putting in the entry form was the easy bit. Even the training was mostly OK. The hardest part was getting from the hotel to the starting line (oh my god, what was I thinking?
3.8 kilometres!).
I started training in March but wasn’t sure what kind of program to follow.
I assumed I’d have to do a lot of very long, boring sessions of continuous freestyle. Luckily a friend, who’s also a bit of a superstar swimmer, set me straight. She said it’s all about swimming interesting sets; building up your endurance by keeping your heart rate at the 75% threshold; establishing a rhythm and maintaining the same pace; trying to decrease your stroke rate to under 50 per lap; and breathing steadily and comfortably. Lots of things for me to think about as I swam up and down the pool.
I added an extra session on Friday mornings to my usual Sunday swim and actually started enjoying it. Then I bumped it up to three sessions a week. It was a real revelation to learn that endurance training on your own can be relaxing. There’s no pressure to do lots of sprint work and I could focus purely on getting my rhythm and pace right. Having said that, training through winter in an outdoor pool sucks.
The race course starts at the Diamond Head end of Waikiki beach and goes straight out 700 m, turns right and follows the shoreline for
2.3 km, then turns right again and finishes at the Hilton Hotel beach. From the starting line the Hilton looked a long way away. Add to that an unfavourable (read ‘nasty’) current and strong winds whipping up a swell. It wasn’t encouraging.
My nerves disappeared once the race started. And while I had to really fight the current, I felt fit enough to just keep going. Crossing the finish line was superb. Exhausted, thirsty, relieved, happy … and craving ice cream.
Australians have won this event or placed 2nd or 3rd for at least the last five years. Me, I finished quite a bit further down the results list but I was really happy with my time. And the T-shirt’s pretty cool too.
An iconic open-water swim in a fantastic setting. What a ridiculous way to start a holiday in Hawaii!
Third bit from the right 
Well done you! I wonder how many kilometres you have actually swum since your began to swim? mmmmhhh To Hawaii and back!
That was a brilliant effort but you know what would have really capped it off … a post-race cocktail celebration. Maybe you should work more post-race activities training into your regular swimming training. You could smuggle in tequila in your Speedos. And don’t thank me, I still haven’t got the last thank-you voucher.
Like your training program.
How far can you swim under those conditions without drinking fresh water?
Not sure about max. distance without water. Certainly during the 10 km swim at the Olympics, swimmers had ‘feeding sticks’ (food and drink) poked at them regularly. Instructions for my swim were to drink a lot beforehand and also immediately after. Didn’t notice being thirsty while I was swimming but my tongue felt funny from the salt water for a couple of days!
Fantastic effort – and I love the hints about keeping your heart rate at 75% – good to know