hi
I'm a college student who swam competitively from age 5-18. Then I came to college and stopped. I couldn't make our school team. So now I swim for fun.
But my problem is that I feel like I'm going no where. I've always been "training" with a specific goal in mind...a time, an event, championships, states, nationals....I was always working towards an end, and always with a long term workout schedule.
Now I go to the pool like 4-5days/week and swim about 3000yds, give or take about 300. But I think I've plateau'd. Can anyone help me get a jump back into this? I miss intense workouts. Do you know where I can find a long-term workout plan? Mine have stagnated, and I don't know where to go from here....
Maybe this post seems kinda rambling, but I'm a little unsure of what I'm actually looking for. I just miss the intensity and goal oriented approach of competitive and team swimming.
Any advice?
Parents
Former Member
Ashley,
You didn't mention where you went to school, or whether it's a top NCAA program,... but it sounds like the yardage that you put in would definitely allow you to keep a pace that's worthy of one of the far lanes. Maybe your goal should be to get a spot on the team, and then some!
Our high school and college teams had some rather unusually talented swimmers, and the coach never denied the opportunity for the "walk-ons" (as we called them) to join up unless they were impeding the other athletes progress during workout. Some of the best personalities on the team as I recall were actually the non-scholarship swimmers.
We had one guy in particular who would swim the thousand as slow as possible to allow our star distance guy some rest before he hopped on the blocks again for the two hundred free. It was absolutely hilarious at times. He did just about everything but dog paddle for about twenty minutes.
In any case, what I'm trying to say is that perhaps trying to join up with the school team could be an option to consider before looking elsewhere to swim. Swimmers never give up. I find that despite the varieties of personalities in the pool, we all share the common trait of persistence, determination, and dedication.
Go for it. And if not,...Masters allows you to compete starting at the age of nineteen.
Ashley,
You didn't mention where you went to school, or whether it's a top NCAA program,... but it sounds like the yardage that you put in would definitely allow you to keep a pace that's worthy of one of the far lanes. Maybe your goal should be to get a spot on the team, and then some!
Our high school and college teams had some rather unusually talented swimmers, and the coach never denied the opportunity for the "walk-ons" (as we called them) to join up unless they were impeding the other athletes progress during workout. Some of the best personalities on the team as I recall were actually the non-scholarship swimmers.
We had one guy in particular who would swim the thousand as slow as possible to allow our star distance guy some rest before he hopped on the blocks again for the two hundred free. It was absolutely hilarious at times. He did just about everything but dog paddle for about twenty minutes.
In any case, what I'm trying to say is that perhaps trying to join up with the school team could be an option to consider before looking elsewhere to swim. Swimmers never give up. I find that despite the varieties of personalities in the pool, we all share the common trait of persistence, determination, and dedication.
Go for it. And if not,...Masters allows you to compete starting at the age of nineteen.
