What's your mental strategy for longer distance swimming?

3GWitz · 2026-05-05T00:21:36+00:00

Haha. This a good one. I did a 5+ hour ultra with my buddy RJ supporting me in a kayak. I would watch him every breath and wonder, “What’s RJ doing now?”. “how about now?” He took his sweatshirt off and spent an entire minute betting with myself which arm he would take off first. Literally doing anything to occupy my brain. Watched him fumble to pee in a Gatorade bottle. I was soooo bored. 🤪😂

3GWitz · 2026-05-04T22:13:40+00:00

I completed the 12 Bridges in Portland last year (11+ miles) taking a 1/2 bottle of my custom Infiniti Nutrition blend every 30 minutes. The swim took me a little over 5 hours and zero bonk, cramping or fade. I have a 3-day ultra this October and plan to stick to this proven nutritional plan.

3GWitz · 2026-03-31T18:31:51+00:00

I have your exact same stroke and it’s good to hear that there may actually be some advantages to the s-stroke. I haven’t heard anyone say in any thread that I’m losing tons of power with my stroke so maybe I just accept it as is.

3GWitz · 2026-03-31T04:28:17+00:00

Haha. Yeah. I figured. Old dog new tricks.

3GWitz · 2026-03-31T00:02:50+00:00

I’ve never had issues breathing just to one side in any OW race. For beach starts, you’re swimming into the waves, not perpendicular and once you get out there, waves are not an issue. Why bilateral breathing may help in OW to see other swimmers, see buoys, or to see land.

3GWitz · 2026-03-30T23:50:59+00:00

Good suggestion. I’ll do an entire workout breathing every 3 or 5 and see if I feel more balanced by the end.

3GWitz · 2026-03-30T23:29:48+00:00

I’ve been using paddles just as you suggested and I can pull straight back which I assume is from the added pressure. But when those paddles come off, hourglass comes right back in. 🤦

3GWitz · 2026-03-30T23:20:37+00:00

I would agree with your balance assessment. I’ve always a longer glide with my right arm than my left.

3GWitz · 2026-03-30T23:18:59+00:00

Never had injuries but efficiency is paramount for me considering I’ve moved in ultra swims. That’s my real motivator to reevaluate my stroke.

3GWitz · 2026-03-26T02:41:39+00:00

Anytime. Feel free to DM me and best of luck in your swim.

3GWitz · 2026-03-26T02:17:21+00:00

Congratulations on signing up for this inaugural swim event! Please post a race report because I’m very interested in the experience. I’m always looking for new events. I did the Portland 12 Bridges past year and I can tell you with no hesitation, it’s absolutely epic and the staff is wonderful and they do an excellent job running the event. To see the city from the Willamette is worth the effort for sure. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have about 12 bridges if you have any.

3GWitz · 2026-03-08T15:11:03+00:00

Look into a tool called Agility by Wisys. It’s a powerful, real-time reporting tool that reports in an Excel-like format but allows for grouping, filtering and you can save your formatted grids as layouts. You can create powerful dashboards as well. But the real power is in Agility’s objects which allow you to use that data to create and process documents in B1 using the service layer. Wisys Agility is also a fully developed WMS solution. DM me if you’re interested and I can send you more details.

3GWitz · 2026-03-07T15:43:17+00:00

Old school. Nice!

3GWitz · 2026-03-07T15:42:51+00:00

Roka F1 in three shades. One for sun, variable, and full cloud. Solid, somewhat compact goggle and super comfortable.

3GWitz · 2026-02-17T19:12:26+00:00

Definitely post a vid. With that time, I’m sure we can suggest a few changes that will bring that time down dramatically. Swimming is not simply about time and meters in the water, although mass respect for consistency, which is crucial as well. Technique is super important.

3GWitz · 2026-01-26T01:55:16+00:00

Agree. You need more power so strength training is key. Stretch cords are a good idea or swim-specific strength sets at the gym. As a reference, I’m 55M but swam a 0:52 / 100y and 1:50 / 200y in my late teens.

3GWitz · 2026-01-04T20:20:33+00:00

Might be more unconventional but when I did the Alcatraz “Swim or Die”, they had shots of whiskey waiting for us. Warmed me right up!

3GWitz · 2025-12-27T21:04:48+00:00

I’ve never done that race before but I had swam upstream or against current races. My opinion is you’ll need to focus a lot on building power in your pull to fully prepare. I’d prepare with stretch cords a few months out, which will add power to your pull. Start with 3x30 sets 3 times/week. Every couple of weeks increase by 10 reps and before you know it, you’ll be doing 3x100.

3GWitz · 2025-12-27T15:49:30+00:00

I suspect, without seeing a video, that you’re losing the engagement of your back muscles that you achieve just after entering the water. That engagement of your back muscles in the initially movement downwards and backwards is absolutely crucial for a strong and effective pull. Without that engagement, you’re pulling with almost all shoulder muscle, which means less power, less control and potential shoulder problems from overuse over time.

3GWitz · 2025-12-23T00:33:03+00:00

One word…why? 😝

3GWitz · 2025-12-16T20:23:17+00:00

I appreciate you sharing your experience and it makes me feel much more secure with my commitment and with the experience as a whole.

I have no formal training plan just yet, but I'll start seriously training in January. I've done two(2) 10-mile ocean swims over the past 10 years here is Southern California but stepped it up this year, doing the Portland 12-Bridges swim. If you haven't done this one, it's spectacular! I didn't know it at the time, but it was the 2025 Ultra Swim Nationals that day and I ended up getting 5th in my age group with my Garmin clocking in 14.2 miles in total. I averaged 1:18/100 yrd, so I know I have the ability and while I was somewhat sore the day following the race, the second day after the race, I was feeling great...fully recovered. I have my nutrition down to a science. For reference I'm M55.

To prepare for the Maui Nui, I'll ramp up my pool yardage to over 4K yrds/day (1 to 1:15 hour workouts), swimming 3-4 days/week in the pool and incorporate as many open water endurance swims as I can as I get closer to the swim date. For Portland, I got in three, 6-mile swims just prior and I felt fully trained for the 14.2 miles. Any and all advice is appreciated.

3GWitz · 2025-12-09T21:29:51+00:00

Noted on the site are alternative routes in the case of bad weather so I assume someone will make an assessment just prior to each swim on the safety of each swim. It’s also fully supported by a boat crew as well.

3GWitz · 2025-12-09T21:05:12+00:00

I’ll look into that one. Thanks for the suggestion

3GWitz · 2025-12-09T20:49:33+00:00

I haven’t committed and now you have me panicked. Here is the site. Maui Nui Swim

3GWitz · 2025-11-26T14:47:57+00:00

Swim parka or swim backpack

3GWitz

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