on my own and bored

Maybe you're burning out? Try to take a break, if you can... Try varying your workouts... i get bored really easily, which is why I depend on coached workouts (although those can test my patience as well... I'm not much of a people person, esp. at 5.30 am :))... Good luck with it!

try keeping a log to plot your progress. Record your workouts and watch how your distances and speed increase.

I swim on my own too. The thing that keeps me interested is to do a lot of variety in my workouts. Ideally, I swim 5 days a week and I do one day focusing on each of the 4 strokes and the fifth is an IM day. The other variety is to do two of the strokes as distance and two as sprint workouts. Then next week switch. My favorite workout is still the IM workout. But it also wipes me out the fastest. I use the workouts here some and then make some up on my own. I also have two breaststroke workouts that I work in from time to time (one from Wayne McCauley and one from Phillip Whitten). My other motivation is the scale.:)

you need to work out what is best for you!~!!!have a look at some workouts posted here....the last one i tried was a real pleasure to swim..it envolved "ladder sets"where ..after warmup..you litterally swim the mile ..but in ladder sets..ie...1length..rest 2 lengths ..rest..3 lengths..rest etc... up to about 8 or so then in reverse...8 lengths rest..7 ...rest ..6 ...i think your catching it..then warm down...i think ive been on a high since i first tried this....these boffins that think these up deserve a real pat on the back!!!!!

kaffrinn...I kinda understand what you're going through! I swim with a team, but there are only 2 of us right now that compete. The other person swims with the age group workout in the evening. I swim with our lap swim people at lunch. There are several others that come out, but after about a half hour they are done. Leaves me to a pool by myself. The thing that motivates me is definitely swim meets. With out those........:( Sometimes it's nice not having to fight through the traffic, but it would be nice to have someone pushing me!!!!! :D

Originally posted by tjburk ... but it would be nice to have someone pushing me!!!!! :D Having someone to push you does amazing things. Once a month or so, a friend of mine and I get together for a workout. (We don't live close enough to swim together on a regular basis.) With that extra motivation I can usually swim faster and further. Sometimes I "compete" against people in other lanes that don't even know I am doing it!:cool:

Hey! I second sparx35. I don't compete nor do I swim with a team. I use Moe Chambers' workouts five days/week, modifying/reducing them for the amount of time I have (I can usually only finish 2000 yards or so in the hour I allow myself, including lane-chatting). It is helpful to have a buddy or two at the pool, though. I do have targets - in the fall, I swim a 6000 in two hours as a fundraiser for the local aquatic club and in March I do one 400 IM (hey - it's an accomplishment for someone who is as old as dirt). I have no lane toys - no zoomers, pull buoys or kickboards (I do all kicksets on my back), so the variety in Moe's workouts keep me going. The other thing that motivates me is my desire to eat - swimming every day allows me to do that with what borders on reckless abandon and still stay in pretty good shape (for someone who is as old as dirt.....did I already mention that?). Hang in there...............you won't regret it. Kathy

Thanks everyone for all your helpful comments. I actually got back in the pool yesterday after avoiding it for a few days, and your suggestions helped motivate me! :) I think I also might try adding some more dryland to my workouts, maybe a little time away from the pool will help my semi-burn-out. I will, however, second another poster by saying the one good thing about going it alone is the lane space! I almost always have my own lane, only rarely do I share with one other person. No circle-swimming, yay! And no hitting arms in butterfly. Ouch!