@JustSwim said:
Interesting that you chose to go for the Cold Half instead of the Clean half.
because the Clean Half may be a bit too hot for me (expected temperature 26°C), and because my dream is to do channel swimming, and this is the best training opportunity.
@j9swim said: @miklcct - there is no way to achieve a big goal without breaking it into smaller pieces and you've done that. Overall it looks strong and well thought out. A couple of comments - is there anyone around who is swimming marathons to mentor you, keep asking around, sometimes we're well hidden. The swim smooth coach (im a fan of their approach) is great for technique but a triathalon is very different than a marathon. Don't increase you're weekly goals by more than 1k each week...that's how you get hurt. Listen to your body - the plan is an outline, how you feel matters more. and any events you can do before the big one? will you need to feed during the event, if so start experimenting with foods to find what fuels you and what you can drink in the open water. how is the event run - do the swimmers have boat/kayak support or is it buoy's? depending on the answer that will be another skill/experience to train for. and after all is said and done - do you love swimming in open water, does it make your heart sing? because this is hard and time consuming and a little crazy so you'll need to be all in. welcome to the group!
I don't know any open water swimmer around me before this year, but I have just met a channel swimmer in my university triathlon club, and there are many swimmers in my university triathlon club doing clean half / cold half relay. However, there are so few people who do solo - there were only 6 last year in cold half solo - 1 male naked, 2 males suited, 2 females naked and 1 female suited, therefore, although this is a competition my target is only to complete it within the cut off, and this is an indicator whether I can continue to do channel training.
The race is kayak supported, and feeding is essential for an 6-hour event, just like doing channel swimming.
Is this training plan feasible? Is the time for gradual build-up reasonable? Please give advice whether this is a good year plan from my current beginner level to 15 km cold half.
This no doubt a feasible goal & plan. Volume more than enough. Like others have said, it seems you're well planned. I have a few suggestions (since you've asked):
(1) Get your pace up. Even though it appears your goal is to finish, improving your pace will be of great benefit. Slower pace = more time in the water; more time in the water = more exposure. No only does this increase your risk of hypothermia, but cold water drains your energy. And a 2:00 pool pace puts you at risk of cut-off times for many events. Spend a lot of time in group/coached practices and surround yourself with good swimmers. Osmosis is the best training aid, IMHO.
(2) Re-align volume. Your total volume is fine (if not high), but I think you'll benefit more from 3 short days (1 hour @ 3k) and 1-2 long days (2 hours @ 6k; 3 hours @9k) with a specific focus for each workout (speed/technique on short days, endurance on long). In other words, keep the volume, but re-apportion it so that you have 1 or 2 critical/push it swims and 3-4 easy/recovery/technique/drill type workouts.
(3) Be sensitive to your body. Going from beginner to 30K/week is going to put stress on your joints. If you start to feel pain (esp. in shoulders/elbows), ease up. At your age, you should be fine, but be careful. An injury will ruin your plans quickly.
Good luck!
"Lights go out and I can't be saved
Tides that I tried to swim against
Have brought be down upon my knees
Oh I beg, I beg and plead..."
Is this training plan feasible? Is the time for gradual build-up reasonable? Please give advice whether this is a good year plan from my current beginner level to 15 km cold half.
This no doubt a feasible goal & plan. Volume more than enough. Like others have said, it seems you're well planned. I have a few suggestions (since you've asked):
(1) Get your pace up. Even though it appears your goal is to finish, improving your pace will be of great benefit. Slower pace = more time in the water; more time in the water = more exposure. No only does this increase your risk of hypothermia, but cold water drains your energy. And a 2:00 pool pace puts you at risk of cut-off times for many events. Spend a lot of time in group/coached practices and surround yourself with good swimmers. Osmosis is the best training aid, IMHO.
(2) Re-align volume. Your total volume is fine (if not high), but I think you'll benefit more from 3 short days (1 hour @ 3k) and 1-2 long days (2 hours @ 6k; 3 hours @9k) with a specific focus for each workout (speed/technique on short days, endurance on long). In other words, keep the volume, but re-apportion it so that you have 1 or 2 critical/push it swims and 3-4 easy/recovery/technique/drill type workouts.
(3) Be sensitive to your body. Going from beginner to 30K/week is going to put stress on your joints. If you start to feel pain (esp. in shoulders/elbows), ease up. At your age, you should be fine, but be careful. An injury will ruin your plans quickly.
Good luck!
My current pace already puts me between the top 1/3 - 1/2 in local aquathon races - but in the triathlon club swim squad I am nearly the slowest in the slow lane. My local friends think that I'm fast, but in reality I am slow when swimming with my local OWS group. (I'm in the middle of the slow group normally, but in recent weeks everyone else is putting their wetsuit on except me, so I can only barely catch them up by drafting).
The 2:00 pool pace is a large barrier for me that I still haven't overcome yet, even after nearly 3 months of squad training 2 times a week, and someone (not my coach) is suggesting me to add gym training into my routine, thinking I can get great performance jump by that. I will do the gym training for 4 weeks (45 minutes, 3 times a week), and once the 50 m pool reopens I will evaluate again how much I have improved after these
2 months of training.
Every time when I opens my training log, I am extremely unhappy about my slow rate of improvement:
For 100 m - 2016-06-21 1'56"; 2016-11-28 1'37", and no improvement afterwards
For 200 m - 2016-06-21 4'10"; 2017-06-27 3'51"; 2018-10-03 3'39"
For 400 m - 2016-06-21 9'3"; 2016-12-07 8'22"; 2018-10-04 7'49"
For 1500 m - 2018-05-08 35'9"; 2018-11-30 31'42"
(I started squad training at the end of October 2018, and I am waiting for the pool to reopen impatiently in order to see if the squad training is really useful for me by comparing the time to the above)
Moreover, it is difficult me to arrange a long pool session because of the pool opening times: I can either do a maximum of 2 hours after work (which I am planning to do this summer), OR do 2 and a half hours before work (which I am planning to do the coming winter), and I need to do OWS on weekend.
The squad I am in is a triathlon club swim squad - most of the members are triathletes, and the club is "swim heavy" - most of the coached sessions are swimming, the coached running sessions are gone, and there is no coached biking sessions in my club. There are also a few marathon swimmers, including channel swimmers in my club as well.
Just my two cents. Everyone is different. I don't think there is one or even ten "right" ways to train, and all the "methodology" in the world won't make you the swimmer you aren't. I am finding more and more that marathon swimming specifically, is incredibly unique to the individual participating. That's part of why I love it. You don't have to do it like the next person. I pool trained.....almost exclusively... 5k a day six days a week.....mixed in a 10k every other week.....and put in three outdoor swims of 13k, 16k, and 13k leading up to my first ever outdoor marathon race, which was the Swim around Key West last summer (12.5 miles). I swam it in 6:15:45 on a day so hot that 5 of the seven swimmers in my age DNF'ed. I beat a guy with three Iron Man tattoos on his leg. No bricks, no staggering, no professional system. I just did it. Heck....according to his pilot, the guy that was the overall winner in around 4 hours was eating THC gummies and drinking Corona during his feeding breaks! I don't think that's in anyone's training plan! Everyone is different. MY two cents would be don't worry about what everyone else is doing and just do you. Do what makes you happy, and comfortable, and makes you feel like you are getting stronger. Know your body and your limits and stick with it. You'll get faster and stronger incrementally. Just do it because you love it.....not because the guy or girl in the lane next to you is faster. All the best!
Speaking of training. Had the honor of training next to (more like in the shadow of the ever swimming past me) world class marathon swimmer Melodee Nugent yesterday. Talk about an eye opener. Like having a graceful sea creature swimming next to you. People who can truly swim (not a plow horse like me) are fun to watch and learn from.
@miklcct said:
I am new to long distance swimming. I have already set a very concrete goal for myself - complete my first marathon swimming race (>= 10 km) before March 2020. My target race is cold half, solo non-wetsuit (15 km, expected water temperature ~16 - 17 °C, time limit 6 hours) in Hong Kong - not this year, but next year (January or February 2020).
Wow- you have a very detailed plan. I think that if you have good swimming skills, and are around strong swimmers and/or coaches who can offer feedback as needed to improve skills and prevent any injuries, you should be fine. You are giving yourself a lot of time, and may find that you are ready to go sooner. 15 km, expected water temperature ~16 - 17 °C, time limit 6 hours sounds good-- I'm not a fast swimmer, and my personal goals shift from trying to gain speed to making sure I can go the distances I like- IF you are able to swim as often as you indicate, great- if you need to shift to land work now and then, you will still maintain cardio conditioning and general fitness, and be ready to transition back to swimming as the opportunity arises. Swim in water like you want to swim in for your event when you can- I'm much happier in open water, and am very focused on my local body of water for most of my short term goals. I'm lucky- once the ice melts around late March or April. . .
Just try to trust yourself, how you feel, and know that what works for other people may or may not work for you. There is a huge amount of information, and a lot of it works in a wide range of situations, but always remember- YOU are the one swimming- you know if you feel strong or steady. Keep an open mind, and keep working toward your goals. You CAN get there. I'm sure of it.
Now it has been about a month I try to follow my plan, but I am now very worried because I cannot follow it as expected - the sea never gets below 19°C this year, while I was expecting to try up to 2 hours / 5 km in 16°C.
16°C is the norm in winter in my place. If it is still 19°C next year I have a large confidence in making it; but if an intense cold surge comes within a month before the race day, bringing the water temperature down from 19°C to 14°C in few weeks (as in 2008), I am afraid I will be totally f**ked. I have never swum seriously before last year, and I absolutely have no idea how I perform in anything less than 18°C.
In December last year, the pool I used cooled down to 17°C just before the annual closure, as I was desperately trying to meet a time goal then, I did 1500 m T/T in that pool, but I didn't feel comfortable from the beginning and got 34'20" on that day, while I was doing 31'42" (my PB) in the exact same pool, same time, and same day of week exactly 2 weeks before when the pool was 22°C. But I no longer have a second chance to see if the temperature was really the reason the time increased by nearly 3 minutes over 1500 m. Moreover, December was before the start of the cold water season, and I had never swum seriously before, so I was probably not acclimatised below 21°C by then (At that time I considered 21°C my best-performing temperature for around 1500 m as demonstrated by various T/Ts over a course of a few months, but now probably should be around 19°C - 20°C. The best-performing temperature is the temperature that I can sustain my highest intensity sustainable for a given distance without feeling myself heating up at the end of race, and also without getting cold to the extent that weaken my muscle)
In 2016 I had access to water down to 15°C or even 13°C due to weather, but it was a pity that I wasn't up to the speed required to join swim training. Therefore I didn't do anything serious. I headed to the beach when I saw the weather report and swam casually, and I didn't leave any useful training log and couldn't remember the exact time - should be somewhere around 20 minutes but I am not sure and I no longer have the chance to reproduce, and absolutely no idea how long I covered.
You really should try and get used to swimming in water a bit cooler than what you are hoping for. If access to cooler water is difficult then there are other ways to help your body acclimate to cold water. I used a plunge pool at a sports centre used by athletes. It was 13 degrees. I lasted about 20 seconds the first time. A year later I was able to spend 45 minutes with no problems. The main thing is to do it regularly. Cold water acclimation takes time. Other possibilities are using an ice vest although I haven't used one myself. Similarly cold water baths.
@Aquanut said:
You really should try and get used to swimming in water a bit cooler than what you are hoping for. If access to cooler water is difficult then there are other ways to help your body acclimate to cold water. I used a plunge pool at a sports centre used by athletes. It was 13 degrees. I lasted about 20 seconds the first time. A year later I was able to spend 45 minutes with no problems. The main thing is to do it regularly. Cold water acclimation takes time. Other possibilities are using an ice vest although I haven't used one myself. Similarly cold water baths.
As mentioned in another thread, it is not possible for me to get cold at all due to the extraordinary warm weather this year (the observatory just got a record temperature for Chinese New Year this year), so I don't know what I should do now. In the past year I would try to swim as often in cold water as possible, but I didn't have any structured training at that time and didn't have the ability to do long distance (I was swimming only up to 1.5 km) at that time so it was basically useless for my current stage of training.
When I was prepping for Issyk Kul the second (successful) time, for about 3 months prior to the swim, I'd end every shower with a gradual lowering of the water temp. At first it was horrible, then by the end, I'd spend a good amount of time at the end in pretty damn cold water, even finishing up my washing in the cold. Sure as hell helped for the swim.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
As mentioned in another thread, it is not possible for me to get cold at all due to the extraordinary warm weather this year (the observatory just got a record temperature for Chinese New Year this year), so I don't know what I should do now. In the past year I would try to swim as often in cold water as possible, but I didn't have any structured training at that time and didn't have the ability to do long distance (I was swimming only up to 1.5 km) at that time so it was basically useless for my current stage of training.
Hi- You still have until next March to be ready- lots of time. It might help to remember that you have two goals- the distance of your chosen swim and the temperature you may face there. Don't let the difficulty of one aspect discourage you from training for the other. I'm trying to hold the thought of your year long climate, figuring if you can get some open water swimming in at the cooler times, even months away from your swim, it will still be useful. The cold showers and such that others have mentioned are certainly worth a try, although the idea makes me want to cry. I swam in my lake until just before it iced over, and hope that I'll be able to tolerate the cold again shortly after it melts. Even if it isn't right at the time of your swim, it can be useful to know that you have tolerated the temperature in the past for extended periods of time. Granted, when I swam in Boston last summer, it was much colder than I expected, because my home lake was warmer, and it was a really hard swim for me, but I felt like I swam hard the whole time and finished well. Ok, there was a bit of primal scream therapy at the start- but I don't get into the water easily at ANY temperature.
Hang in there. You have a good plan, but you also need to be ready to deal with variables. Life happens. You can do it.
@Bridget said:
It might help to remember that you have two goals- the distance of your chosen swim and the temperature you may face there. Don't let the difficulty of one aspect discourage you from training for the other.
I actually have 3 goals:
The distance (15 km)
The speed (6 hours cut-off)
The temperature (varies year by year, and the mean is around 16°C)
My training plan caters for all these 3 goals scattered all over the year, and my current focus is now speed and temperature, then distance and speed in summer, and finally distance and temperature (and also race preparation) by the end of this year.
Any advice from the northern countries is of limited use by me, because
northern people start swimming when the sea / lake melts, and gradually build up to race temperature and distance, but my target race is actually at the coldest period of the year in subtropical climate (which is already warm by U.K. standard - people are swimming channels at those kind of temperature)
northern people can take cold shower, but I can't.
northern people tune down the heater or even turn it off during the winter, but we don't have heaters in subtropical region.
I would like to see stories how people born and living in tropical regions (e.g. from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, etc. where wetsuit is never legal in triathlons) train for channel swimming, those kind of stories will definitely be useful for me.
I live in Australia. I travelled so I could train in cooler water. As I said above and as others have mentioned there are lots of ways to acclimate. I did this for English Channel in 2016. The temperatures where I live range from 41 degrees Celsius to minus 8 in winter. Cool showers a good start.
@Spacemanspiff said:
This no doubt a feasible goal & plan. Volume more than enough. Like others have said, it seems you're well planned. I have a few suggestions (since you've asked):
(1) Get your pace up.
(2) Re-align volume.
(3) Be sensitive to your body.
The year has gone, the race is coming this weekend, and I couldn't follow the plan thoroughly because my body didn't allow that - and I've made two major deviations to my plan mentioned previously:
I ramped up my distance slower than the plan - 14 - 17 km in April to June, then returned to 8 - 10 km in July / August as I wanted to get myself away from swimming, and up again to 12 - 16 in September / October, then peaking at 23 in December. The reason was that the hot water in summer made me too tired so I couldn't swim much, only when November / December came I could start pushing my ability. I also only swam about 4 - 5 times per week mostly instead of 6 in my original plan because I am too tired if I insert the 6th day of swimming in a week.
There was a lack of race in my original plan between the shorter races and Cold Half in Hong Kong and I was suggested by someone to do more races, so I ended up doing Lake Geneva Classic in July and it became my first marathon swimming race. Although it was nearly as long as my target race, a lake swim must be easier than a rough ocean swim so that was a good preparation.
I didn't have any access to cold water in the whole year except the week that I travelled to Sweden / Finland late April / May. The weather is warm recently with expected sea temperature 19 - 20°C on race day, so the cold is no longer a concern, and I did the race course once last October in a relay so I'm totally confident that I can finish it. See you all on Sunday in Deep Water Bay in case you are racing as well!
However, my speed hasn't improved much in my current swim smooth squad. I'm still in the slow lane in the squad. My fastest 1500 m time in LC pool is now 28'54" (in 16°C water). I'm looking for another triathlon club to do my swim training this year because the training last year didn't help my speed. My expected time for 10 km is still around 4 hours.
When people ask me what the hardest swim I have done is, I often think back to the one-time C3 15.1 mile swim around Cape May, NJ. The first twelve miles we had favorable conditions and it went by in about five hours. The last three miles were brutal as we swam straight into a current that was progressively getting worse and took about three hours to get through. It was then I realized just how important all of the long hours and interval training were. (Commitment and a good coach didn't hurt either)
@Franco - That was a crazy swim, wasn't it? And wait, what swim was I doing that you had favorable conditions the first 12 miles??
Thanks Mike. Now it comes to the conclusion of my plan I wrote by the end of 2018 when I started swimming seriously, to become a marathon swimmer by March 2020.
Now I have to decide whether I continue the extension of my plan to further build up my distance swimming, or give up and return to the non-insane marathon swimming distance of 10 km.
@miklcct well done on cold half. My old training partner moved to hong kong and competed and came 5th. Robin is currently the record holder for jersey to france. He has a little experience in open water. I can put you in touch with him if your looking to pick brains.
Just want to say thanks to all the swimmers contributing to this advice/blog! Being able to tap into all the different experiences and the learning journeys is invaluable.
I started approx 8 weeks ago with OW here in Jersey Channel Islands with a group which swims everyday. They start around May with water temp 9/10C doing between 2-3km swims. This has pushed me tremendously to get started with OW and compare my progress with the other more experienced swimmers - some have been doing it for decades and have completed 8-20hr swims.
The first 4 weeks I did a swim every other day. I used a short wet suit to manage the cold. Since a number of weeks doing around 5 swims a week, and dropped the suit. Doing around 9-10km a week now. Definitely getting stronger quickly and also endurance shooting upwards. I do try to challenge my self to keep up with the others or picking someone how is my next 'target' to catch up during swims. I only used to swim 2x week in the pool relaxing pace (max 1 hr).
In short, its been perfect for me (in my 50's) to get back into shape (endurance and technique) and to get more ambitious to do longer swims. Last weekend did 4.3km in 1;20 hr. Next weekend planning 6km.
P.s. Jersey is a great place to do swims. There are long distances swimming around the island, swimming to France (20km), swimming to Sark (20km) etc etc.
Bump. A warm welcome to all marathon swimming newbies. Re-posting a couple gentle reminders from the top of this thread:
The forum has many pages of valuable advice about training for marathon swims in the TRAINING category, which can be accessed from the right-sidebar. Please read these threads thoroughly before posting super-general (non-specific) questions about training.
If, after browsing through the forum archives (using the category & tag listings in the right sidebar) and using the search box, you still cannot find an answer to your question, feel free to post it to this thread.
Also, try to be as specific as possible with your questions. Posting "I just signed up for a 10-mile swim. Any tips?" -- is unlikely to get useful replies.
Comments
Interesting that you chose to go for the Cold Half instead of the Clean half.
because the Clean Half may be a bit too hot for me (expected temperature 26°C), and because my dream is to do channel swimming, and this is the best training opportunity.
I don't know any open water swimmer around me before this year, but I have just met a channel swimmer in my university triathlon club, and there are many swimmers in my university triathlon club doing clean half / cold half relay. However, there are so few people who do solo - there were only 6 last year in cold half solo - 1 male naked, 2 males suited, 2 females naked and 1 female suited, therefore, although this is a competition my target is only to complete it within the cut off, and this is an indicator whether I can continue to do channel training.
The race is kayak supported, and feeding is essential for an 6-hour event, just like doing channel swimming.
This no doubt a feasible goal & plan. Volume more than enough. Like others have said, it seems you're well planned. I have a few suggestions (since you've asked):
(1) Get your pace up. Even though it appears your goal is to finish, improving your pace will be of great benefit. Slower pace = more time in the water; more time in the water = more exposure. No only does this increase your risk of hypothermia, but cold water drains your energy. And a 2:00 pool pace puts you at risk of cut-off times for many events. Spend a lot of time in group/coached practices and surround yourself with good swimmers. Osmosis is the best training aid, IMHO.
(2) Re-align volume. Your total volume is fine (if not high), but I think you'll benefit more from 3 short days (1 hour @ 3k) and 1-2 long days (2 hours @ 6k; 3 hours @9k) with a specific focus for each workout (speed/technique on short days, endurance on long). In other words, keep the volume, but re-apportion it so that you have 1 or 2 critical/push it swims and 3-4 easy/recovery/technique/drill type workouts.
(3) Be sensitive to your body. Going from beginner to 30K/week is going to put stress on your joints. If you start to feel pain (esp. in shoulders/elbows), ease up. At your age, you should be fine, but be careful. An injury will ruin your plans quickly.
Good luck!
"Lights go out and I can't be saved
Tides that I tried to swim against
Have brought be down upon my knees
Oh I beg, I beg and plead..."
My current pace already puts me between the top 1/3 - 1/2 in local aquathon races - but in the triathlon club swim squad I am nearly the slowest in the slow lane. My local friends think that I'm fast, but in reality I am slow when swimming with my local OWS group. (I'm in the middle of the slow group normally, but in recent weeks everyone else is putting their wetsuit on except me, so I can only barely catch them up by drafting).
The 2:00 pool pace is a large barrier for me that I still haven't overcome yet, even after nearly 3 months of squad training 2 times a week, and someone (not my coach) is suggesting me to add gym training into my routine, thinking I can get great performance jump by that. I will do the gym training for 4 weeks (45 minutes, 3 times a week), and once the 50 m pool reopens I will evaluate again how much I have improved after these
2 months of training.
Every time when I opens my training log, I am extremely unhappy about my slow rate of improvement:
For 100 m - 2016-06-21 1'56"; 2016-11-28 1'37", and no improvement afterwards
For 200 m - 2016-06-21 4'10"; 2017-06-27 3'51"; 2018-10-03 3'39"
For 400 m - 2016-06-21 9'3"; 2016-12-07 8'22"; 2018-10-04 7'49"
For 1500 m - 2018-05-08 35'9"; 2018-11-30 31'42"
(I started squad training at the end of October 2018, and I am waiting for the pool to reopen impatiently in order to see if the squad training is really useful for me by comparing the time to the above)
Moreover, it is difficult me to arrange a long pool session because of the pool opening times: I can either do a maximum of 2 hours after work (which I am planning to do this summer), OR do 2 and a half hours before work (which I am planning to do the coming winter), and I need to do OWS on weekend.
The squad I am in is a triathlon club swim squad - most of the members are triathletes, and the club is "swim heavy" - most of the coached sessions are swimming, the coached running sessions are gone, and there is no coached biking sessions in my club. There are also a few marathon swimmers, including channel swimmers in my club as well.
Just my two cents. Everyone is different. I don't think there is one or even ten "right" ways to train, and all the "methodology" in the world won't make you the swimmer you aren't. I am finding more and more that marathon swimming specifically, is incredibly unique to the individual participating. That's part of why I love it. You don't have to do it like the next person. I pool trained.....almost exclusively... 5k a day six days a week.....mixed in a 10k every other week.....and put in three outdoor swims of 13k, 16k, and 13k leading up to my first ever outdoor marathon race, which was the Swim around Key West last summer (12.5 miles). I swam it in 6:15:45 on a day so hot that 5 of the seven swimmers in my age DNF'ed. I beat a guy with three Iron Man tattoos on his leg. No bricks, no staggering, no professional system. I just did it. Heck....according to his pilot, the guy that was the overall winner in around 4 hours was eating THC gummies and drinking Corona during his feeding breaks! I don't think that's in anyone's training plan!
Everyone is different. MY two cents would be don't worry about what everyone else is doing and just do you. Do what makes you happy, and comfortable, and makes you feel like you are getting stronger. Know your body and your limits and stick with it. You'll get faster and stronger incrementally. Just do it because you love it.....not because the guy or girl in the lane next to you is faster. All the best!
I miss college!
Speaking of training. Had the honor of training next to (more like in the shadow of the ever swimming past me) world class marathon swimmer Melodee Nugent yesterday. Talk about an eye opener. Like having a graceful sea creature swimming next to you. People who can truly swim (not a plow horse like me) are fun to watch and learn from.
Now it has been about a month I try to follow my plan, but I am now very worried because I cannot follow it as expected - the sea never gets below 19°C this year, while I was expecting to try up to 2 hours / 5 km in 16°C.
16°C is the norm in winter in my place. If it is still 19°C next year I have a large confidence in making it; but if an intense cold surge comes within a month before the race day, bringing the water temperature down from 19°C to 14°C in few weeks (as in 2008), I am afraid I will be totally f**ked. I have never swum seriously before last year, and I absolutely have no idea how I perform in anything less than 18°C.
In December last year, the pool I used cooled down to 17°C just before the annual closure, as I was desperately trying to meet a time goal then, I did 1500 m T/T in that pool, but I didn't feel comfortable from the beginning and got 34'20" on that day, while I was doing 31'42" (my PB) in the exact same pool, same time, and same day of week exactly 2 weeks before when the pool was 22°C. But I no longer have a second chance to see if the temperature was really the reason the time increased by nearly 3 minutes over 1500 m. Moreover, December was before the start of the cold water season, and I had never swum seriously before, so I was probably not acclimatised below 21°C by then (At that time I considered 21°C my best-performing temperature for around 1500 m as demonstrated by various T/Ts over a course of a few months, but now probably should be around 19°C - 20°C. The best-performing temperature is the temperature that I can sustain my highest intensity sustainable for a given distance without feeling myself heating up at the end of race, and also without getting cold to the extent that weaken my muscle)
In 2016 I had access to water down to 15°C or even 13°C due to weather, but it was a pity that I wasn't up to the speed required to join swim training. Therefore I didn't do anything serious. I headed to the beach when I saw the weather report and swam casually, and I didn't leave any useful training log and couldn't remember the exact time - should be somewhere around 20 minutes but I am not sure and I no longer have the chance to reproduce, and absolutely no idea how long I covered.
You really should try and get used to swimming in water a bit cooler than what you are hoping for. If access to cooler water is difficult then there are other ways to help your body acclimate to cold water. I used a plunge pool at a sports centre used by athletes. It was 13 degrees. I lasted about 20 seconds the first time. A year later I was able to spend 45 minutes with no problems. The main thing is to do it regularly. Cold water acclimation takes time. Other possibilities are using an ice vest although I haven't used one myself. Similarly cold water baths.
As mentioned in another thread, it is not possible for me to get cold at all due to the extraordinary warm weather this year (the observatory just got a record temperature for Chinese New Year this year), so I don't know what I should do now. In the past year I would try to swim as often in cold water as possible, but I didn't have any structured training at that time and didn't have the ability to do long distance (I was swimming only up to 1.5 km) at that time so it was basically useless for my current stage of training.
When I was prepping for Issyk Kul the second (successful) time, for about 3 months prior to the swim, I'd end every shower with a gradual lowering of the water temp. At first it was horrible, then by the end, I'd spend a good amount of time at the end in pretty damn cold water, even finishing up my washing in the cold. Sure as hell helped for the swim.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Hi- You still have until next March to be ready- lots of time. It might help to remember that you have two goals- the distance of your chosen swim and the temperature you may face there. Don't let the difficulty of one aspect discourage you from training for the other. I'm trying to hold the thought of your year long climate, figuring if you can get some open water swimming in at the cooler times, even months away from your swim, it will still be useful. The cold showers and such that others have mentioned are certainly worth a try, although the idea makes me want to cry.
I swam in my lake until just before it iced over, and hope that I'll be able to tolerate the cold again shortly after it melts. Even if it isn't right at the time of your swim, it can be useful to know that you have tolerated the temperature in the past for extended periods of time. Granted, when I swam in Boston last summer, it was much colder than I expected, because my home lake was warmer, and it was a really hard swim for me, but I felt like I swam hard the whole time and finished well. Ok, there was a bit of primal scream therapy at the start- but I don't get into the water easily at ANY temperature. 
Hang in there. You have a good plan, but you also need to be ready to deal with variables. Life happens. You can do it.
I actually have 3 goals:
My training plan caters for all these 3 goals scattered all over the year, and my current focus is now speed and temperature, then distance and speed in summer, and finally distance and temperature (and also race preparation) by the end of this year.
Any advice from the northern countries is of limited use by me, because
I would like to see stories how people born and living in tropical regions (e.g. from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, etc. where wetsuit is never legal in triathlons) train for channel swimming, those kind of stories will definitely be useful for me.
I live in Australia. I travelled so I could train in cooler water. As I said above and as others have mentioned there are lots of ways to acclimate. I did this for English Channel in 2016. The temperatures where I live range from 41 degrees Celsius to minus 8 in winter. Cool showers a good start.
The year has gone, the race is coming this weekend, and I couldn't follow the plan thoroughly because my body didn't allow that - and I've made two major deviations to my plan mentioned previously:
I didn't have any access to cold water in the whole year except the week that I travelled to Sweden / Finland late April / May. The weather is warm recently with expected sea temperature 19 - 20°C on race day, so the cold is no longer a concern, and I did the race course once last October in a relay so I'm totally confident that I can finish it. See you all on Sunday in Deep Water Bay in case you are racing as well!
However, my speed hasn't improved much in my current swim smooth squad. I'm still in the slow lane in the squad. My fastest 1500 m time in LC pool is now 28'54" (in 16°C water). I'm looking for another triathlon club to do my swim training this year because the training last year didn't help my speed. My expected time for 10 km is still around 4 hours.
@Franco - That was a crazy swim, wasn't it? And wait, what swim was I doing that you had favorable conditions the first 12 miles??
Congrats @miklcct on your Cold Half finish!
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Thanks Mike. Now it comes to the conclusion of my plan I wrote by the end of 2018 when I started swimming seriously, to become a marathon swimmer by March 2020.
Now I have to decide whether I continue the extension of my plan to further build up my distance swimming, or give up and return to the non-insane marathon swimming distance of 10 km.
@miklcct well done on cold half. My old training partner moved to hong kong and competed and came 5th. Robin is currently the record holder for jersey to france. He has a little experience in open water. I can put you in touch with him if your looking to pick brains.
Just want to say thanks to all the swimmers contributing to this advice/blog! Being able to tap into all the different experiences and the learning journeys is invaluable.
I started approx 8 weeks ago with OW here in Jersey Channel Islands with a group which swims everyday. They start around May with water temp 9/10C doing between 2-3km swims. This has pushed me tremendously to get started with OW and compare my progress with the other more experienced swimmers - some have been doing it for decades and have completed 8-20hr swims.
The first 4 weeks I did a swim every other day. I used a short wet suit to manage the cold. Since a number of weeks doing around 5 swims a week, and dropped the suit. Doing around 9-10km a week now. Definitely getting stronger quickly and also endurance shooting upwards. I do try to challenge my self to keep up with the others or picking someone how is my next 'target' to catch up during swims. I only used to swim 2x week in the pool relaxing pace (max 1 hr).
In short, its been perfect for me (in my 50's) to get back into shape (endurance and technique) and to get more ambitious to do longer swims. Last weekend did 4.3km in 1;20 hr. Next weekend planning 6km.
P.s. Jersey is a great place to do swims. There are long distances swimming around the island, swimming to France (20km), swimming to Sark (20km) etc etc.
Bump. A warm welcome to all marathon swimming newbies. Re-posting a couple gentle reminders from the top of this thread:
Also, try to be as specific as possible with your questions. Posting "I just signed up for a 10-mile swim. Any tips?" -- is unlikely to get useful replies.