Ok, picture this. You get to the pool and it's empty. You think to yourself, this is gonna be a great swim, especially since the rest of my day as been not so great. Then when you finally get into the water, you push off and begin swimming when something amazing happens. Now picture this. This amazing thing is comparable only to you first day in the pool.....every! You realize that you are going to have an off day. This is what happened to me today. My breastroke was making waves so big you could body surf...My fly was like trying to watch a chipmunk do an IM (not that my fly has ever been good, but today was especially bad meaning it was the thing of nightmares), my free was horrible! The only thing that seemed to be going right was my backstroke. So anyways, I was looking for what people do to get over their bad days? I just reverted back to very elementary drills and tried to float (yes it was that bad I was sinking like I was made of lead). What do you do on your off days? Do you finish your workout, leave immediatly and hope that no one noticed, or stay extra and try to make the best of it? Hopefully tomorrow will be better!!
~Kyra
Parents
Former Member
Oh...those terrible off days! Boy, have I had my share...
One of the most important things that I do when I have an off day is I remind myself of those really great "on" days where I feel like I could swim for hours, my stroke is so ON, and in general I'm just kicking ass in the water. Awsome!
Rarely will I get out of the pool. I tell myself to just slow down and concentrate on my stroke; I do drills or a kick or scull set to try to get a feel for the water and just ride it out. I also keep a swim journal, where I write down how I felt during the workout, what my times were if we have a timed set, and what the main set was. I also chart my stroke rate and any improvements I make on a particular stroke, i.e., "...today my breastroke kick felt a lot more fluid and consistant, especially since I've been working on my quad flexibility..."
Sometimes, if I'm just bored and the workout is not going well, I will put on my fins just for fun.
What's odd is sometimes I'll go to a workout feeling crummy and have a great workout; other times I'm ready to tear up the water and I feel crummy and "off." Go figure. Swimming has it's ebbs and flows, that's for sure.
Oh...those terrible off days! Boy, have I had my share...
One of the most important things that I do when I have an off day is I remind myself of those really great "on" days where I feel like I could swim for hours, my stroke is so ON, and in general I'm just kicking ass in the water. Awsome!
Rarely will I get out of the pool. I tell myself to just slow down and concentrate on my stroke; I do drills or a kick or scull set to try to get a feel for the water and just ride it out. I also keep a swim journal, where I write down how I felt during the workout, what my times were if we have a timed set, and what the main set was. I also chart my stroke rate and any improvements I make on a particular stroke, i.e., "...today my breastroke kick felt a lot more fluid and consistant, especially since I've been working on my quad flexibility..."
Sometimes, if I'm just bored and the workout is not going well, I will put on my fins just for fun.
What's odd is sometimes I'll go to a workout feeling crummy and have a great workout; other times I'm ready to tear up the water and I feel crummy and "off." Go figure. Swimming has it's ebbs and flows, that's for sure.
