Swimrun
Plan

How to train in isolation.

Your Swimrun plan 2021 obviously took into account the worldwide pandemic that has forced the cancellation of many, if not all, SwimRun events. We take a look at why you should plan to train in isolation. This may be a useful area to bear in mind going forwards.

Swimrun Plan - Training in Isolation
- Why bother?

Motivation; When you have an event (or even better, several events) planned, you know that a while down the road you are going to be challenged physically. Your strength and endurance are going to be tested, and this gives you a reason to start and continue with some training.

Focus; Once you have selected a race to take part in, you know the distance and your approximate time. You can start to focus your training towards the requirements of the particular race.

Something to look forward to; Mentally, making a plan for a race in the future gives you something to look forward to. It becomes something that you think about, and occupies your time.

Swimrun Event Calendars
Training in Isolation

And there's NO SHORTAGE of events to choose from - Our SwimRun Calendars for Europe and USA/Rest of World are filling up, with organisers contacting us weekly to have their events included!

You can see our Europe 2023 Calendar HERE

and our USA / World 2023 Calendar HERE.

Two swimrunners wearing blue tops and green swim caps with goggles running into the water at a swimrun race, with green trees in the background

Swimrunners entering a swim section

Choose a distance; Most events offer 3 distances.

First, a 'super sprint' or 'experience' distance, that typically gives you a taster if it is your first try at a SwimRun.
Second, a normal 'sprint' distance, which is typically 15km to 25km (say 10 miles to 15 miles).
Third, a full distance event, usually 30km up to 70km (18 miles to 40 miles).

Consider travel; You need to think about how far you want to travel for an event. Can you drive there? Or travel by rail or coach? Or even fly? After the pandemic has passed, traveling may still be limited in some way. It may be best at this time to try to find an event as close as possible, to reduce your travel needs. If can drive to the event in your own car, that would be optimal.

Consider accommodation; You will need to consider where you will stay. Unless the race is within 20 - 40 miles of your home, you may want to consider staying overnight somewhere near the start. I know I do! Are there Air BnB opportunities in the area? Or can you stay with a friend or relation?

Solo or team? The original idea of SwimRun was that you took part as a team of 2. This was for safety reasons. Recently, event organizers such as Ötillö have introduced the 'solo' option for shorter distances, such as 'Experience' and 'Sprint' races. The longer World Series events are still only open to teams of 2.

Swimrun Plan - Resources

SO, do you plan to race alone as a solo competitor, or as a team of 2?

Two Swim runners clamber up a rock

Resources for training - what can you realistically use? At the moment, many countries across the world have closed public swimming pools, public parks, and even beaches, which means no swimming in the sea. Where we live in Spain, we are not allowed to leave the house for any reason, other than to buy groceries (only at the nearest store) or for a medical emergency or to visit a pharmacy (only 1 customer at a time inside).

So what resources do we have? Here are some possibilities;

A turbo trainer for your bike.
A static bike
Some weights, say 5kg hand weights
Kettlebell
Treadmill
Elliptical trainer
Rowing machine
Multigym
Swiss Ball
yoga mats
Internet connection for online fitness instruction

Click HERE for some ideas about the best home exercise equipment, still available from Amazon!

Swimrun Plan
- how to Train in Isolation

Initial training is basic fitness training. If you have been confined to your home during the pandemic, it is hard to keep up your fitness. The initial training you take on at this time with a plan for 2021 is basic fitness training. It will improve your respiratory capacity, your heart health, and your mental well-being.

Training in isolation - SwimRun workouts

Circuit training; things you can use in your circuit training;

- a turbo trainer for your bike

- an elliptical trainer

- a home treadmill

- resistance bands

- Weights

- A running route through your home/garage/backyard.

Have a look at our page on home workout plans for more ideas!

Alternatives to weights; You need a little imagination here! If you don't have any proper gym hand weights, you can use anything that weighs a few pounds;

Bag of flour or sugar
Bottle of water
A book
A bag of dry lentils, chick peas or beans
A bottle of wine

Stretches;

Be sure to spend 10 to 15 minutes stretching after any home workout.

We have a NEW page on home workout plans for swimrunners, showing the circuit training that we are currently doing to stay in shape.

Swimrun Plan
- Our plan

Out of interest, here are the events that we looked at for 2021; We didn't do ANY of them - but they are events to look at online, dream of doing, and getting the training in to be able to take part should the opportunity arise!

1. Swimrun events

Lago di Maggiore, Italy; June
Bologna, Italy; July

2. Swimming events;

St. Kitts and Nevis Swim March
Malaysia swim series - Perhentian Island 4k October
Barbados Swim Festival November

3. Running events;

The Sherry Marathon in Jerez, Spain April

4. Triathlons

Carboneras Sprint Triathlon - our local event in Spain.

We didn't know which events would take place, if any, nor which ones we would have done enough training for; BUT this was our plan, something to plan for and look forward to!