I have a question for all my fellow friends on the board. I am 21 years old and I have been swimming since I was 14. I took a year off age 19-20. So I recently started swimming again. Since that time I have dropped a lot of time in my events and I have been in the best shape of my life. I really want to see how much faster I can become. I swim back and distance free with the occasional *** race.
This past fall and spring I swam with my masters team around 6,000 scy or 5000 LCM a day (2hr practice) as well as lifting 3x a week. I was often sore but it was good and I was improving. This summer however, I have been training with a US team. They are a faster than my masters team and I have enjoyed the challenge. Because of this practices are a bit more intense but we only swim 4,000 to 4,500 LCM (practices are an hour and a half instead of two). I have been lifting 2-3 times a week. However this is my limit. I have never pushed so hard in my life. Last week I was unable to make any of the times by quite a bit that I usually do (this was Thursday and Friday). I was too sore and it wasn't possible. I was dead. I am very driven and tend to push my self regardless of how I feel however, I have never felt this worn out and physically restricted.
So my question is this. Is this normal to be that worn out? I feel like I went down in yardage but I am more tired and exhausted. That alone has made me frustrated. I eat pretty healthy but I know I could do better. Do you think that is it? Am I pushing too hard? Is it all mental and I just need to push through it? Is this normal to be this sore?
Any thoughts are welcome. If there is other information I can give let me know.
I feel like I went down in yardage but I am more tired and exhausted. That alone has made me frustrated. I eat pretty healthy but I know I could do better. Do you think that is it? Am I pushing too hard? Is it all mental and I just need to push through it? Is this normal to be this sore?
Yardage is a poor standalone metric for training stress, IMO. As your thread title implies, it is also about intensity. I doubt it is mental.
Don't underestimate the impact of increased intensity. It is not at all surprising to me that you can decrease yardage but increase intensity and feel more tired. This is real -- physical, not psychological -- and a good training plan allows for recovery too.
Besides eating healthy make sure you are sleeping well.
You're just getting broken down.
sounds like the sets are more intense,
faster paces, less rest
you'll get used to it
any time you do anything new, it takes some getting used to
nap between practices,
modify your self image and self talk
show up and do the best you can
you'll taper soon
plus sometimes coaches ask swimmers to attempt sets they're not sure they can make, try to do something every day you've never done before
I have a question for all my fellow friends on the board. I am 21 years old and I have been swimming since I was 14. I took a year off age 19-20. So I recently started swimming again. Since that time I have dropped a lot of time in my events and I have been in the best shape of my life. I really want to see how much faster I can become. I swim back and distance free with the occasional *** race.
This past fall and spring I swam with my masters team around 6,000 scy or 5000 LCM a day (2hr practice) as well as lifting 3x a week. I was often sore but it was good and I was improving. This summer however, I have been training with a US team. They are a faster than my masters team and I have enjoyed the challenge. Because of this practices are a bit more intense but we only swim 4,000 to 4,500 LCM (practices are an hour and a half instead of two). I have been lifting 2-3 times a week. However this is my limit. I have never pushed so hard in my life. Last week I was unable to make any of the times by quite a bit that I usually do (this was Thursday and Friday). I was too sore and it wasn't possible. I was dead. I am very driven and tend to push my self regardless of how I feel however, I have never felt this worn out and physically restricted.
So my question is this. Is this normal to be that worn out? I feel like I went down in yardage but I am more tired and exhausted. That alone has made me frustrated. I eat pretty healthy but I know I could do better. Do you think that is it? Am I pushing too hard? Is it all mental and I just need to push through it? Is this normal to be this sore?
Any thoughts are welcome. If there is other information I can give let me know.
Isn't it about time for you to taper for your summer target meet?
Yes, it is common to be broken down at the peak of the training season before the focus shifts back to quality and taper.
My summer meet is August 10. I will be tapering in 3 weeks I think. Taper works best for me if it is about 2 weeks long.
I know intensity can make up for yardage that only makes sense. I was just shocked at how much that is true I guess.
To find if you your getting ill or overtraining, find what your resting BMP is. This is taken before getting out of bed once you awaken. Mine is usually within 2 BMP. If it's like10 BMP higher I rest until it's back down.
If you're really that tired, maybe you should make sure you don't have mononucleosis - you're the perfect age for it if you haven't had it yet!
I don't have mono. No symptoms other than really physically tired. :) I think its just all training related. I was off Sunday and Monday this week and the extra day of rest made me feel a lot better. I just have to get some naps in and wait for taper. Just two weeks left :)!
You are younger than me but I have found that I can't go "race pace" or even close to my race times in practice. So relax more when trying to do that and maybe it will come.
