THE BIG SWIM 2010

Preparation is crucial in an event as demanding as THE BIG SWIM. Swimmers should ensure that they are fit enough to handle the distance and the conditions that they may be confronted with, and that they are confident and capable of handling those conditions on race day — whatever those conditions might be.

Surf is an unpredictable element. You will not know until you are amongst it — on the way around Little Head to Whale Beach — exactly what conditions you will have to deal with.

So prepare for the worst.

We´ve assembled here some advice on how you can go about preparing for the 2010 THE BIG SWIM. We don´t hold out that this advice is exhaustive or is guaranteed to keep you out of trouble.
It is a contribution to your preparation. Nothing more, nothing less.

Preparation begins with swimming fitness: can you handle the distance in whatever conditions may be thrown at you. It also involves surf skills: how confident are you that you can handle whatever surf conditions you´re confronted with on the day?
And, quite apart from confidence, how capable are you in the surf?

There´s also the issue of etiquette. THE BIG SWIM may have as many as 2,000 swimmers heading around Little Head at the same time. Clashes and contact amongst swimmers is inevitable. There are some unwritten rules about how you might behave in dealing with this situation.

Nothing is compulsory, of course. All of it is commonsense.

We´ve put this guide together with the help of oceanswims.com.

ETIQUETTE

Don´t breaststroke around buoys.
Don´t stop suddenly without checking for possible obstructions you may be causing to other swimmers.
Be tolerant: clashes and contacts are inevitable. Just because someone hits you in their stroke, it doesn´ mean they did it deliberately. With 2,000 swimmers in the water together, some contact is bound to happen. Don´t take it personally and don´t retaliate gratuitously.
Be tolerant of obstructions caused by other swimmers, too. Some swimmers will be slower than you. They can´t help it. Don´t get cranky just because someone is in your way.
By the same token, don´t knowingly cause obstructions. Don´t get into a row of breaststrokers, causing a broad barrier that faster swimmers coming from behind can´t get around. They will have to go through you.
If you see another swimmer who seems as though they may be in trouble, check whether they need assistance. We´re all fine ocean swimmers. We´re in this together.

POOL TRAINING

Swim regularly. Even if you´re not the fittest or the fastest swimmer in the event, it´s important that you have a feel for the water; that you feel comfortable in the water. This comes from regular swimming. This can be in the sea or in the pool. Best to mix it up.
THE BIG SWIM is about 2.7km, depending on conditions on the day and the course you take. Make sure you can swim that distance. You don´t have to swim that far without stopping (although it´s better if you do). Often, shorter sets that make up the distance make for better quality swimming and better quality training than just plodding the distance.
Mix up your pool training. Do some longer sets and some shorter sets. A set of 1,500m can be 1,500m or 3 x 500m or 15 x 100 or 30 x 50. A set of 3 x 500m can be different if swum on a time cycle or with a set rest period. 500 m at a 1.40 pace is 8.20. Do a cycle of 9 minutes, say, then swim harder to maximise your rest period. 500m with a rest period of 30 secs inevitably will be swum slower. The permutations are endless. Use your imagination.
Every now and again, do a time trial. If you do a 3 km time trial, and you try throughout the 3km, you will know that you can do 3km at pace. Maybe get someone to time you and to record your 100 m splits. The confidence that gives you will make an enormous difference between doing THE BIG SWIM and enjoying THE BIG SWIM. Even a 2km time trial. The hurdle many swimmers face, particularly those who don´t regularly to squads, is feeling confident that they can maintain a pace over a distance.
Make your own squad session. Structure it with a warm–up (say 400–500m) to get your blood flowing, a step–up set (maybe 500–600m) to lift your heart rate), a main set (1,500–2,500m, depending on the time available), to provide training at pace and intensity, and a warm–down, to allow your body to relax and ease off safely. Older swimmers should not exercise at intensity then suddenly stop. You need to warm up and you need to warm down.
Do a squad occasionally. Most pools offer squads for adults in both stroke correction and fitness. For information on adult squads, check out the oceanswims.com Adult Squad guide (click here).
Don´t forget that the exertion demanded of swimming 2.7 km in the sea will almost certainly be much greater than swimming that distance in the pool. You may be into chop the entire distance. A headwind. Be prepared for that. Just plodding 2.7 km will not mean that you can do THE BIG SWIM comfortably or easily.
Include some higher quality sessions and sets in your training. You don´t have to swim in a squad, although, again, it´s useful if you do. But try not to just plod.
Don´t compare your speed with other swimmers. You can measure your improvement and your capacity only
against yourself.
A good squad will cater to all levels of swimmers: old and young, fit and less fit, slow and fast, technically excellent and hackers. Find a squad and a coach that suits you.

SURF TRAINING

If possible, find a course at a beach near you and swim it regularly. That way, you can time yourself and measure your improvement. A good example is the Shelley Beach to Manly swim, done either way or both ways. A straight line is about 750 metres, but a course around the rocks is far more interesting. In Cabbage Tree Bay, you can swim with blue gropers, juvenile sharks, turtles, and many kinds of other sea life, too, which adds a dimension to the swim experience. Most beaches have course available, limited only by your imagination. Watch what other locals do.
Swimming in the sea will help you to get used to swimming in the sea. It sounds silly to say it that way, but it´s true and it´s relevant. It´s hard to swim in the sea if you don´t do it other than on THE BIG SWIM race day. There´s chop to deal with, surf going out and surf going in, winds, swell (often different from chop, in direction and intensity), sea creatures — who could forget the surreal sensation of swimming through a sea of non–stinging jelly fish in
THE BIG SWIM a few years back? It was like swimming through half–set jelly!
Practise going in and out through breaks. Run into the surf (taking care that you know about depths, sand banks, rips and other currents, first), and "race" through the break. Dive under broken waves. Use a dolphin action, grab the bottom, pull your legs up and push farther ahead before you
come up.
Difficult surf conditions can mean large surf, or even relatively small surf with difficult currents running over and around reefs. Much of this difficulty can´t be seen from the shore. You find it only when you´re in the middle of it.
When you dive under a wave on the way out, make sure you get down low. Look up occasionally when you´re underneath the break and you´ll see how deep the turbulence from each wave extends. It´s not hard to get under it, if you´re deep enough. Of course, you need a bit of water on the bank to make sure of that.
If you´re caught out the back behind a difficult break with currents, watch carefully how the surf breaks. Spots where the breaking wave churns up the sand are shallower than areas that are clearer.
Watch for sandy, discoloured water with confused water surface. That´s probably a rip. Don´t swim directly against a rip. Swim across it. Rips generally don´t extend more than 20m or 30m wide. It´s not hard to get out of them.
Whatever happens to you in the surf, keep your head.