By Jonathan Cowie
Finish your swim at any open water venue and the first question you will be asked is: “How many laps did you do?” And while it is tempting to do long swims consisting of entire laps of a lake, if you want to improve your fitness and open water skills post-lockdown it is a good idea to introduce some interval training and open water technique practice into your open water swims. If you are missing your pool-based training sessions this is also a good way to maintain fitness until pools and masters clubs are operating again. While long steady swims should form part of your training schedule, you will also benefit from some structured speed and threshold sessions incorporating open water skills. These are easily incorporated into your open water swims, especially if you are familiar with the venue you swim at. Turning up for your swim with a training goal in mind will motivate you and make your swim more interesting and worthwhile.