One similarity is that Shelley Taylor-Smith used to visualise the various legs of her open water swim constantly in the weeks before the event, which is the same approach a pool swimmer should take. This is also highly recommended as a preparation for distance swims of any kind. There is also a specific approach which you can take in your visualisation which I will suggest later in this tip.
The main difference between the mental approaches of these two different types of swimmers hinges on the fact that the distance swimmer spends so much more time in the water - allowing the swimmer some time to use mental techniques during the actual swim, plus there is a different mental approach necessary for distance swims. Open water swims allow time for a mantra or an affirmation to be repeated over and over in their mind (to the rhythm of their strokes) while they are actually swimming the race, which is generally not so much of an option for the pool swimmer (except for 800m and 1500m swimmers). An affirmation is a short positive statement - such as 'power and speed', 'stronger and better' etc, or could even be a musical tune (which I've found is quite common for open water swimmers I've worked with). Doing this can keep your conscious mind distracted from the swim, so that your powerful subconscious can run your swim on auto-pilot, without interruption. The conscious mind is notorious for hindering your rhythm and strokes, and so the best way is to make it concentrate on something else.
Often the conscious mind gets bored anyway and prefers to settle for a great hallucination instead, which is also experienced by distance swimmers quite often. The outlook of the distance swimmer is quite different, however, to the sprint swimmer - this touches on the subject of emotional states, which I'll get into more next week. Often an attitude of calm relentlessness is more important to distance swimmers than the instant speed approach required by sprinters. This allows the swimmer to approach the long swim more unemotionally, like a machine who simply never stops until the job is done (a little like Arnold Schwartzenegger in the movie Terminator). This approach generally works much better for distance swims than a more excited emotional state, which (some) sprint swimmers find works brilliantly for them. The reason for this is that a calmer mind conserves mental, emotional and physical energy for later in the race when you'll need them - whereas sprinters need immediate power which can often be provided by a more hyped, excited approach which increases natural adrenalin to the body. (Please note that this is not to suggest that all sprint swimmers perform best with a more excited emotional state - each is quite individual and attitudes can vary enormously).
Regularly visualising or imagining yourself as an unstoppable, relentless, (and even machine-like) object in the water can work effectively if you're a long distance swimmer, knowing that absolutely nothing will stop you until you have reached your goal. Imagine that your internal computer has been 'programmed' to successfully reach your goal of finishing/winning the race, and that nothing will get in your way. Know that your power of mind will always get you through - if in the later stages of the swim you find that you need extra energy, your mind can quite easily release natural adrenalin into your body to give you that boost you need. Whatever you need, your mind can provide it for you - all you have to do is ask.
