I've been swimming masters now for well over a decade and I've hit a bit of a lull. Last year I set my Go The Distance goal at 550 miles and missed it, so this year I revised it downward to 500 miles and as of today I'm 66 miles behind the pace I need to be at to hit that goal. I just don't have the desire to get to the pool as often, or stay in as long, as I usually do.
With that introduction my question really is: how do YOU train long term? Do you try to stay consistent or do you vary from year to year? Historically I've been very consistent, but I wonder if intentionally varying things is a better long term strategy.
I have found getting out of the pool can make it difficult to get back in because I have to coordinate my swimming around the pool schedule whereas with other workouts I can pretty much do them on my time all the time. When I have to make it to the pool when it's open, the whole family feels the shift of not being so flexible.
One time I realized I couldn't make it to the pool as much as I liked, I decided to just cross train more but after a few weeks I realized I was pretty much cross training for triathlons and ended up racing in only tris for three years. So, watch out...you could end up falling for a whole new sport if you're not careful! Lol! I have to be careful cross training through as I find myself getting injured more easily doing other sports since I have strength and endurance but my body isn't used to the motions, so I am prone to tendinitis if I'm not careful.
I've decided in the future if I ever want to cut back on swimming I need to do what the fitness swimmers do - get in and out for 1,000 yards or 20 minutes three times a week and be done. That way I keep my foot in the pool door, know what's happening on the schedule and keep tabs on a bit of feel.
As far as how I do things, I like to vary and keep things interesting. I picked an entirely unusual event to focus on for the spring and will be swimming my first 400 IM in competition this weekend. It actually amazes me at this point there's still events I haven't done but that's what you get when your coaches peg you as a breaststroker at 9 years old. I've got my summer taper meet this weekend (not going to Nats), so I'm going to try to get in at least a few long open water swims after for a month or two while the weather is nice instead of pool workouts. For SCM season I've decided I'm going to focus on something a bit different again but I haven't decided what yet. I even go to different pools. The hours at the pool 5 minutes away are TERRIBLE, so I split my time between there and a pool with better hours 25 minutes away. In my adult life, in swimming years I tend to average about 500 miles a year but that isn't a consistent 3,500 yards 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year...that's 3 weeks of higher yardage, followed by a few weeks average with a couple weeks low yardage...basically every couple weeks has a different focus.
I have found getting out of the pool can make it difficult to get back in because I have to coordinate my swimming around the pool schedule whereas with other workouts I can pretty much do them on my time all the time. When I have to make it to the pool when it's open, the whole family feels the shift of not being so flexible.
One time I realized I couldn't make it to the pool as much as I liked, I decided to just cross train more but after a few weeks I realized I was pretty much cross training for triathlons and ended up racing in only tris for three years. So, watch out...you could end up falling for a whole new sport if you're not careful! Lol! I have to be careful cross training through as I find myself getting injured more easily doing other sports since I have strength and endurance but my body isn't used to the motions, so I am prone to tendinitis if I'm not careful.
I've decided in the future if I ever want to cut back on swimming I need to do what the fitness swimmers do - get in and out for 1,000 yards or 20 minutes three times a week and be done. That way I keep my foot in the pool door, know what's happening on the schedule and keep tabs on a bit of feel.
As far as how I do things, I like to vary and keep things interesting. I picked an entirely unusual event to focus on for the spring and will be swimming my first 400 IM in competition this weekend. It actually amazes me at this point there's still events I haven't done but that's what you get when your coaches peg you as a breaststroker at 9 years old. I've got my summer taper meet this weekend (not going to Nats), so I'm going to try to get in at least a few long open water swims after for a month or two while the weather is nice instead of pool workouts. For SCM season I've decided I'm going to focus on something a bit different again but I haven't decided what yet. I even go to different pools. The hours at the pool 5 minutes away are TERRIBLE, so I split my time between there and a pool with better hours 25 minutes away. In my adult life, in swimming years I tend to average about 500 miles a year but that isn't a consistent 3,500 yards 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year...that's 3 weeks of higher yardage, followed by a few weeks average with a couple weeks low yardage...basically every couple weeks has a different focus.
