Help!!! I have completely lost the ability to pace myself in practice---let me clarify..I changed masters teams a year ago because of work and change of address..the team I went to was mainly into speed and sprinting in which our practices were about 3k yrds 4 times a week with an emphasis on dryland and weights on non swim days. needless to say I acheived dramatic PB's in all my events.
I have since gone back with my former team in which the emphasis is on more endurance with 3500 yards a practice. Now during the summer I only got in the pool once-twice a week and basically did what amounted to a really good warm -up...I did however work hard in the weight room vastly improving my max lifts in all areas especially my legs( a very weak point for me) I did this for about 3 months then in late july I added a good cardio regimen to the deal...I did a spin cycle class 2-3 times a week for an hour and ran a 125step stair case in the forest preserve 1-2 times a week for an hour each time hoping to build better legs before the team started back up.
So needless to say I started the swim season a month ago in what I thought was pretty good overall shape.
i knew the first week or two would be a little tough, getting technique back and adjusting to the added workload; but I figured by now I would be a rocketship in the water.
WAAAAAAAAY WRONG!!!!!!!! I'm finding that I CANT seem to split distances above 100yrds very well at all...I can hold hard consistant 50's and 100's all day but when we do a distance set I fall apart.
Have I trained myself into a drop dead sprinter???
Should I just gut this out and use the time to improve my endurance. I was going to talk to the coach about adjusting the workout more towards my strengths as a sprinter but I dont think that would be fair to the rest of the team...and besides its early in the season...the speed work really doesnt have to begin till late Jan to prepare for spring Nats.
And as a bonus my body comp has changed quite a bit as well...at Spring Nats in mesa I was 6'3 at 217 and my body fat was 17%...I 'm down to 210 and just under 10% so its not like I bulked up with all the weight training.
I should be crushing it at practice!!
Thoughts??????????
Parents
Former Member
I think that the most important thing you can do is focus on what you want to do. The change doesn't look that dramatic on paper, but I guess you're describing feeling a pretty dramatic change.
Ultimately, if you are racing sprint events and want to swim fast, why train for endurance? You left the last programme in great shape, so it wouldn't be for general health & fitness.
It might be worth sitting down with the coach and discussing the benefits of providing more of a sprint-based program for those that want it. It may be that your coach doesn't really know anything other than waht they've already done and by working together the whole program could benefit.
For what it's worth, I just don't see the point in doing high yardage as a masters swimmer. Yes, there are some distance swimmers but how many people in the programme only do 400+ in races? We have a very broad range of people in our club, from 'elite' masters to recreational and a good number of triathletes - who enjoy and value the work that we do at a higher intensity as it challenges their view of what's swimming fast (and they get aerobic conditioning in spades on the bike and from running).
For me focusing on higher intesity work keeps training fun, helps with weight management and helps build (or keep) strength. It's been discussed on other threads, but time is a scarce resource for masters swimmers so if I want to build my aerobic base I'll do it in the most time-efficient way by going for a jog!
I think that the most important thing you can do is focus on what you want to do. The change doesn't look that dramatic on paper, but I guess you're describing feeling a pretty dramatic change.
Ultimately, if you are racing sprint events and want to swim fast, why train for endurance? You left the last programme in great shape, so it wouldn't be for general health & fitness.
It might be worth sitting down with the coach and discussing the benefits of providing more of a sprint-based program for those that want it. It may be that your coach doesn't really know anything other than waht they've already done and by working together the whole program could benefit.
For what it's worth, I just don't see the point in doing high yardage as a masters swimmer. Yes, there are some distance swimmers but how many people in the programme only do 400+ in races? We have a very broad range of people in our club, from 'elite' masters to recreational and a good number of triathletes - who enjoy and value the work that we do at a higher intensity as it challenges their view of what's swimming fast (and they get aerobic conditioning in spades on the bike and from running).
For me focusing on higher intesity work keeps training fun, helps with weight management and helps build (or keep) strength. It's been discussed on other threads, but time is a scarce resource for masters swimmers so if I want to build my aerobic base I'll do it in the most time-efficient way by going for a jog!
