Warming up before a swim

On all my OW long swims to date, I've felt like sh*t for the first hour or so. Usually shoulder pain in both shoulders, like I haven't warmed up enough. Then, at around the hour mark, within the space of 5 mins, it's like everything suddenly loosens out and I can settle down and concentrate on swimming, rather than pain management. This is regardless of how much (or how little) dry land stretching etc I do beforehand. For OW, it's usually not really practical to do a swim warmup, so I usually have to hit the water dry and try to hit the pace early on. It's pretty much the same in the pool, but here you can stop a few times during the warmup and stretch it out, so it doesnt normally take as long to "get going".
At the moment, my workload is pretty high (for me) at 35-45Km / week on average, mostly at a good pace, so I'm not rested as such prior to a big swim.
So, am I alone here? Does anyone else have the same problem? Any thoughts?
At the moment, my workload is pretty high (for me) at 35-45Km / week on average, mostly at a good pace, so I'm not rested as such prior to a big swim.
So, am I alone here? Does anyone else have the same problem? Any thoughts?
Comments
http://www.jenschumacher.org
"I never met a shark I didn't like"
If I don't have access to a pool and can't afford to "build into a pace" - e.g., a short-distance OW race - I opt for some light jogging, light bands (stretch cords), and dynamic stretching. Recent physiology research recommends against static stretching in a non-warmed-up state, but personally I like to include some light rotator cuff stretches too.
@jenschumacher, good idea, i'll try it next time.
@sharko, i had to read your post a few times to try and figure out how I was going to do this in the water, until it clicked, do you do this on land?
@evmo, hitting the pace early on goes back (way way back) to when I was fast and competitive. I guess there's still a desire to compete that's hard to fight. If I could build up a pace within a few minutes, I'd be delighted, but all the short distance swims, < 1 hour, I just waste most of it waiting for the pain to go away before I can crack on. I reckon 3 hrs is my ideal swim time. 1hour to warm up, 1 hour to catch up, 1 hour to "make them hurt".
I find doggie paddle pretty good actually, but I suspect most swim organisers would get a bit anxious if swimmers started off a race doing that ;-)
1x500 Easy Warm Up
5x100 (About 1:00-1:15 Rest) @ 100% Effort
4x500 Odds Swim, Evens Pull and Descend @ Best Possible Interval+10 Base
10x50 (About :15-:20 Rest) 25 Easy/25 FAST
It doesn't feel good but then again, maybe it will make the race feel better. Eventually I'm going to start doing this set with no warmup, maybe just some bands and jogging for a more realistic situation. And yes, whenever possible, warm up at the pool before a race.