Q: I’m fortunate that I live and work near a lake, so I’ll be able to swim after work throughout the summer. Currently, I’m simply swimming for time and/or distance.  Are there any structured workouts I can do that don’t depend on laps and sets? Does it really matter?  Has anyone trained exclusively with open water swims?  I can’t quite trade a beautiful lake swim for a 5 am YMCA workout.

A: Coach Patrick [www.performancetrainingsystems.com/blog] I can’t blame you for not wanting to trade a lake swim for a pool workout, I wouldn’t want to trade it either!! Don’t worry, there are plenty of workouts to do that don’t depend on laps and sets. And yes it does matter. If you have been swimming in a pool long enough, you should know about how many strokes it takes you to cover a certain distance, 25 yds for example, which will be very helpful when trying to figure out total distance of a swim.  Your training will reflect your A race distance and race day goals, but in general I recommend three swims a week, each anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes.

Drills: 45 mins

During this swim, you should warm up and cool down as usual, but during the middle part of the swim you should be incorporating various drills instead of swimming harder. Concentrate on form, technique and breathing. Progressively lengthening these swims during training can be very useful as, especially when it comes to longer swims on race day, most people lose concentration and technique before fatigue settles in.

Intervals: 45 to 60mins

Think Fartlek workout in the water. The goal is here to build your strength as well as help you differentiate between your easy and hard swim pace. As training continues and you make progress, increase the number of strokes you swim hard/easy for (ie., swim hard for 100 strokes and easy for 100, swim hard for 150 strokes, swim easy for 150).

• Warm up for 10-15 minutes.
• Then swim hard for 50 strokes and easy for 50 strokes, or 50 “on” / 25 “off”, etc.
• Cool down for 10-15 minutes.

Long swim: 60 mins

You will build over the course of the season from shorter intervals to fewer longer intervals to a continuous swim set approximately as long as your race.  The goal with these longer swims is to start smart and finish strong…each workout is a chance to learn proper pacing, etc.

• Warm up for 10 minutes.
• Swim at a strong pace for 4 x 8 mins with 2′ of rest / treading water after each.
• Cool down for 10 minutes.

Swimming in the open water has its ups, but it also has its downs. For instance, you do not always have the luxury of having someone watching over you to make sure you are okay. My intention is not to make you scared of swimming in open water; instead it is simply to make you aware so that you put your safety first. Another easy trap to fall into is letting the calm and quiet atmosphere relax you to the point where your training swims are not up to par. Use your off days to splash around and go for a short or long leisurely swim…don’t forget swimming is fun. Stay safe and focused!