I was just talking to an athlete about the importance of the "long days". This athlete said they do a long 2000 -4000 meter swim every time they hop in the pool. I knew the answer but I asked anyway."Why?" The answer is always, "that is the distance I have to cover and I have to know that it can be done without stopping."
You don't get faster at that distance by doing that distance all the time. You get faster by doing interval work. You wouldn't go out and ride 112 miles every weekend and try to do it faster every time. That is a recipe for disaster. Besides, who has that kind of time to devote to training? Not to mention that it would get really boring. Good luck trying to find friends who will train with you once you tell them what you are doing. I understand the logic. This sport is about endurance but you get faster by training the anaerobic system. This is why your coach will put interval efforts in your bike or run workouts. The swim is no different. Instead of doing 2000 meters at an aerobic pace, it would be more productive to break that into segments of 100s or 200s with short rest periods between sets. The increased intensity taxes your anaerobic energy system. Over time this stimulus elicits a response and a physiological adaptation occurs. This translates into a faster athlete. Moreover you are able to swim with better form because of the rest between sets. Swimming hard gives you a different "feel" for the water. It is this feel that you want to become acquainted with. The body has a way of breaking form when fatigued and these imbalance are never more present than when speed is introduced. It is for this reason that maintaining proper form is vitally important. When doing sets of 100's the break in form can often times be indicated by slower splits. Teaching yourself to hold your form during hard workouts equals a faster and easier swim on race day.
Now on to the mental training. When you are swimming you are in some ways isolated from the rest of the world. Going long gives you lots of time to think, let your mind wonder, or doubt yourself. Anyone who has done an Ironman race can tell you it is very much mental. Doing long days can give you the mental toughness you need throughout the day.
Mental Breakdown: No, not that kind of mental break down. Doing a long day in the pool or in the saddle gives you the confidence of know you can do the distance. It also give you the ability to break the race down into manageable segments. Think of splitting your race into two or four 1000 meter segments instead of 2 or 4000 meters. Or on the bike think of splitting into segments of aid stations. Give yourself mini goals within the race. An example is: I want to be (X) distance by (Y) time then take a little break. I personally like to break the bike course up into four distances or segments. I study the course and think of racing each part as a mini race within the race. Before you know it you are rounding the corner into T2. This strategy can help turn a herculean task into another day at the office.
Know you limiters: This touches on the previous topic of form. Speed and fatigue enhance all of our biomechanical flaws. After doing straight sets or long rides you walk away with the knowledge of when your form begins to break down. For example you may notice that after 2000 meters your pull begins to get deeper or you start to pull across your body and lift your head. Or after 50 miles you always become dehydrated or start to lose focus and mash the pedals. Knowing this helps in a race because now you know at that moment, you need to focus on those parts of your stroke or getting in extra fluids before you become dehydrated and focus on your pedal stroke. Constantly taking this mental inventory will keep your mind from wondering you will stay focused on your race.
Mental Game: Any athlete that has completed an Ironman race can tell you that there are "dark" moments. There are many miles to doubt your ability and wonder why you are doing this. This is especially true when unexpected events arise and put out on the course longer than expected. This can throw your entire race plan out the door. If you were planning on riding a 5:40 bike split and now you are looking at doing a 6:45, you have to re-calculate your nutritional needs. This is where going long pays dividends. If you have done training rides of six hours plus you at least know what it feels like and you don't panic. Well, you might panic a little, but then you regroup and draw on your train history to come up with an impromptu contingency plan. Not you mention that you will have trained your body to stay in the saddle for an inhuman amount of time.
The take home message is that while straight set or super long epic rides have their place they shouldn't be the bread and butter of your training plan. Like with all things there needs to be balance. Not only a physical balance but mental as well. Doing the long dreaded days builds your mental psyche and can be the difference between a bad race and a stellar performance.
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