Post 12K

Friday Sep 5 — Pool Session

Target: 1,800m active · Z2 aerobic maintenance · no fatigue going into W9

Warm-Up — 400m

Set	Distance	Notes
Easy free	200m	3:40–4:00/100m, just loosen up
Drill: catch-up	4 × 25m	Focus on high elbow recovery

Main Set — 1,100m

Set	Distance	Interval	Focus
Aerobic cruise	5 × 100m	30s rest	3:20–3:30/100m — steady, not pushed
Pull buoy	4 × 50m	20s rest	Upper body only, feel the catch
Negative split	2 × 150m	45s rest	First 75m easy, second 75m slightly faster

Cool-Down — 300m

Set	Distance	Notes
Easy backstroke	100m	Full decompression
Easy free	200m	3:50+/100m, HR back to Z1

Target pace: 3:20–3:30/100m active (FORM Move Time only)Target HR: Z2 — stay under 114 bpm throughoutTotal active distance: ~1,800mNo timed test sets — this is maintenance, not measurement

W8 + W9 Full Plan — Locked

Day	Date	Session	Detail
Mon	Sep 1	Yin Yoga ✓	Done
Wed	Sep 2	Dryland ✓	Done
Thu	Sep 3	Yin Yoga	Today
Fri	Sep 4	Pool	1,800m — see above
Sat	Sep 5	Rest	Swell building, stay off ocean
Sun	Sep 6	Rest	Peak swell 7ft — stay off ocean
Mon	Sep 7	Rest	5ft S still running — full rest
Tue	Sep 8	Pool	1,000–1,200m activation — neuromuscular priming only
Wed	Sep 9	Rest	Final rest — ocean fading
Thu	Sep 10	Forecast check	Confirm Sep 11–13 window, lock date
Fri Sep 11	or	12K OW Attempt	Cove → Pier → Cove, 7:00 AM
Sat Sep 12	or	12K OW Attempt	Same route — preferred date (best tide)
Sun Sep 13	—	12K OW Attempt	Backup if Sat not ideal

12K Entry Window

• Sep 12 Sat — first choice. Low −0.8ft @ 4:13am, High 6.1ft @ 10:35am. 7:00 AM entry on a flat incoming tide with 1–2ft 15s swell and light wind.

• Sep 11 Fri — equally valid if Sep 12 forecast softens.

• Sep 13 Sun — backup.

  
  

12K Pool alternative

Your OW GPS swim pace is 2:26/100m (S61 hard effort) and navigation drill 3:37/100m (easy). For a pool 12K the target is 3:10–3:20/100m active — controlled aerobic, HR staying Z2 (98–114 bpm). At 3:15 average that is about 6h30m of swim time — a full day effort.

This will be your longest pool session ever. Treat it as a slow-burn endurance day, not a swim workout.

25m pool · 480 lengths · 240 lapsStart time: 7:00–8:00 AM (pool opens, choose your lane early — this is a long one)Estimated total time in pool: ~6h45m (6h30m active swim + ~15m of rest stops)

Pre-Swim (60–90 min before entry)

• 400–500 kcal: oatmeal + eggs + banana

• Hydration: 500ml water

• FORM goggles charged, pool bottle filled, gels laid out on pool deck

Warm-Up — 400m (16 lengths)

	Distance	Pace	Notes
Easy free	200m (8L)	4:00/100m	Just move, no effort
Catch-up drill	4 × 25m (4L)	easy	High elbow focus

Main Set — 11,200m (448 lengths)

Swim 500m blocks (20 lengths) at 3:15/100m active. Take 30 seconds rest at the wall after every block. Count lengths on FORM — use the length counter as your primary tracker.

Lengths	Distance	Swim time	Stop
17–80	400→2,000m	~1h05m	30s after each 500m block
L60	1,500m	~48m	Gel #1 + salt tab
81–160	2,000→4,000m	~2h10m	30s after each 500m block
L120	3,000m	~1h37m	Gel #2 + salt tab
L160	4,000m	~2h10m	Gel #3 + salt tab — HALFWAY CHECK
161–240	4,000→6,000m	~3h15m	30s after each 500m block
L200	5,000m	~2h42m	Gel #4 + salt tab
L240	6,000m	~3h15m	Gel #5 + salt tab — HALFWAY DISTANCE
241–320	6,000→8,000m	~4h20m	30s after each 500m block
L280	7,000m	~3h47m	Gel #6 + salt tab
L320	8,000m	~4h20m	Gel #7 + salt tab
321–400	8,000→10,000m	~5h25m	30s after each 500m block
L360	9,000m	~4h52m	Gel #8 + salt tab
L400	10,000m	~5h25m	Gel #9 + salt tab — FINAL 2K
401–464	10,000→11,600m	~6h16m	30s after each 500m block

Final 400m — 464–480 (lengths 465–480)

Drop the rest stops. Swim the last 400m (16 lengths) straight through at whatever pace feels right. This is your finish.

Cool-Down — 400m

• 200m easy backstroke

• 200m easy free at 4:00+/100m

Pace Discipline

Zone	Signal	Action
HR under 108	Feeling easy	Hold 3:15, do not speed up
HR 108–114	Normal Z2	Hold pace
HR 114–120	Drifting high	Drop to 3:25/100m
HR over 120 for 2 consecutive 500m blocks	Too hard	Drop to 3:35, reassess

The first 4,000m should feel almost too easy. That is correct. The session is won or lost in blocks 13–20 (6,000–10,000m). Maintain the same stroke count and tempo as the first block — if the stroke shortens, that is fatigue creeping in.

Length Count Tips (25m, 480 total)

• FORM counts lengths automatically — trust it

• Mentally group in sets of 20 (= 500m) — only count to 20, not to 480

• Set a soft target at each gel stop: just get to the next one

• At length 240 (6K) you are exactly halfway — this is the mental anchor

What to Bring

• 9+ gels (Maurten or equivalent) + salt tabs

• Water bottle on pool deck (sip every gel stop)

• FORM goggles (full HR + length tracking)

• Apple Watch on wrist optional for cross-check

• A second cap if yours gets waterlogged over 6+ hours

After the swim: send me the FORM session data — distance, total time, HR trace (avg/max and any HR drift pattern), and stroke rate. That gives us the cardiac drift number going into the Sep 11–13 ocean window.

92 sources

Pros cons of doing structured workout which takes longer vs just swim 12K straight

11:28 AM

Structured (blocks + rests) vs Straight 12K

Structured

Straight

	Structured	Straight
Total time	~6h45m (swim + 15m rests)	~6h30m pure swim
Pace control	Easier — reset every 500m	Harder — fatigue compounds silently
HR monitoring	Natural check-in every block	Have to interrupt stroke to check
Fueling	Stops are built in — no decision	Must decide mid-length when to stop
Stroke quality	Stays cleaner — brief rest preserves form	Form degrades faster after 8K
Mental	Manageable chunks of 20 lengths	Full 480 lengths as one commitment
OW specificity	Less — OW has no walls or rest	More — mirrors continuous ocean effort
Data value	Block splits show fatigue curve clearly	Single continuous HR trace, cleaner data

The honest answer

For confidence and completion, structured is safer. The 30-second rests are not cheating — they are fueling windows and form checks. You will almost certainly finish.

For OW rehearsal value, straight through is more honest. The ocean has no rest stops. If you bonk at 9K in the pool with a wall to grab, you bonk at 9K in the ocean with nothing. Better to find that out in the pool.

The compromise that makes most sense for Sunday: swim straight through, but allow yourself a 15-second standing stop at the wall every 2,000m for gels only. No sitting, no extended rest — just enough to swallow a gel and push off. That keeps the effort continuous while preserving the fueling protocol.

At 3:15/100m that is a stop at lengths 80, 160, 240, 320, and 400 — five stops total, under 90 seconds of total rest for the whole 12K. Functionally continuous, and it mirrors what you would do treading water in the ocean.