Help! I'm going to my first practice ever for a master's swim team on Sunday morning. I've been swimming on my own since March and have worked up to 50 minute sessions-a little over a mile-3 days a week. I've never been coached or trained before, so the whole thing has me pretty intimidated. I've been reading the forum and from what I see, you all seem to recommend team training to improve. I'm over 40, still about 10 pounds heavier than I'd like to be but not in horrible shape. I'm a little nervous that I won't be able to keep up or that people will resent a slow untrained swimmer messing up their practice.
Any advice?
Thanks!!
Parents
Former Member
Julie -- I usually swim on my own. Occasionally (probably 5 times per year) I find myself swimming with some masters team. Each time is like a first time for me.
Some personal observations: Probably most of your current swimming is not "circle swim". You stay in your own lane, or on your own side of your lane, and nobody interferes with you. In most cases masters teams are concentrated into fewer lanes (so as not to monopolize the whole pool) and therefore you will be doing circle swimming. (Always keep to the right, or always keep to the left, as designated that day.)
I suppose I could give a list of circle swim etiquette points, but I'll bet there are some old threads on this board already discussing it.
The point I wanted to make about circle swim is that in your initial plunge with a three or more swimmers in one lane, you will tend to find yourself swimming harder than you normally would. That, in itself is not a problem. You'll do a really vigorous workout. But you may find that you burn yourself out sooner than you want. So just be aware of it. (And maybe it's just something that happens to me and won't happen to you. I just don't want the guy behind me touching my toes. I want to "keep up" and prove that I can swim with these guys.)
You will hear all sorts of workout terminology you may never have heard before. There are usually some local ideosyncrasies at any pool, as well as terms that are common among masters teams but will be foreign to you as a newcomer. My recommendation is to buddy up with someone in your lane. Introduce yourself as the new kid on the block, and let that person know up front that you are unfamiliar with some of the things and would it be OK if you ask them for explanations as you run across them... You will find that people are more than glad to help you out with that. It's one of the charms of masters swimming.
You do not have to do every lap or every set or every drill or every stroke. If they're doing 200s and you are starting to croak, stop at 6 lengths. If they're doing a bunch of butterfly and you're gasping for air, sit out for a 50 or two, or do free. If you are used to doing 2000 total and their workout is 5000, you can get out whenever you want. If you find yourself in a lane of people you THOUGHT were of the same performance level but are leaving you in their wake, it's OK to move to a different/slower lane.
Enjoy!
Julie -- I usually swim on my own. Occasionally (probably 5 times per year) I find myself swimming with some masters team. Each time is like a first time for me.
Some personal observations: Probably most of your current swimming is not "circle swim". You stay in your own lane, or on your own side of your lane, and nobody interferes with you. In most cases masters teams are concentrated into fewer lanes (so as not to monopolize the whole pool) and therefore you will be doing circle swimming. (Always keep to the right, or always keep to the left, as designated that day.)
I suppose I could give a list of circle swim etiquette points, but I'll bet there are some old threads on this board already discussing it.
The point I wanted to make about circle swim is that in your initial plunge with a three or more swimmers in one lane, you will tend to find yourself swimming harder than you normally would. That, in itself is not a problem. You'll do a really vigorous workout. But you may find that you burn yourself out sooner than you want. So just be aware of it. (And maybe it's just something that happens to me and won't happen to you. I just don't want the guy behind me touching my toes. I want to "keep up" and prove that I can swim with these guys.)
You will hear all sorts of workout terminology you may never have heard before. There are usually some local ideosyncrasies at any pool, as well as terms that are common among masters teams but will be foreign to you as a newcomer. My recommendation is to buddy up with someone in your lane. Introduce yourself as the new kid on the block, and let that person know up front that you are unfamiliar with some of the things and would it be OK if you ask them for explanations as you run across them... You will find that people are more than glad to help you out with that. It's one of the charms of masters swimming.
You do not have to do every lap or every set or every drill or every stroke. If they're doing 200s and you are starting to croak, stop at 6 lengths. If they're doing a bunch of butterfly and you're gasping for air, sit out for a 50 or two, or do free. If you are used to doing 2000 total and their workout is 5000, you can get out whenever you want. If you find yourself in a lane of people you THOUGHT were of the same performance level but are leaving you in their wake, it's OK to move to a different/slower lane.
Enjoy!
