Are Triathletes worth the dues they pay toward Masters Swimming?
I say we force all Triathletes to spend one day a week in the sprint lane, one day a week doing stroke (i.e. IM) work, and then make them focus on their starts and turns.
This invasion needs to be controlled.... :-)
John Smith
:)
It is amazing to think that so many people will show up for a Tri event when our Nats have about 1000 .I do think it is a totally different mentality for most of them. How many people go to Nats just to say they went to
Nats,but I suspect many people do Tri's just to have done them. (If you find a Tri that consists of 50,100 and 200 BR I'll definitely want to go.)
I guess I have a thing for quikies without long term commitments
Me too!! :agree:
Fort. I'm not going to say what I'm thinking. I'm just going to sit here:lmao:.
Fort. I'm not going to say what I'm thinking. I'm just going to sit here:lmao:.
Have fun sitting there. :thhbbb: You won't win any races that way.
I have no desire to commit to going postal. I have no desire to commit to a 200 fly. I'm doing some quickies with some girl. ;) :thhbbb: Y'all can just finish.
Craig- if you ask the 20 minute swimmer, they'll probably tell you that they train bike and run in similar ways; so many don't get that for running and biking, fartlek-type training would improve them greatly, just as a varied interval-based approach would help their swimming. It really has nothing to do with the sport of tri versus the individual disciplines, it more often involves a reluctance to change, a reluctance to strain their brain and often, a reluctance to face the pain that can be felt with sprint-component training, especially if unfamilar.
Last night I swam in a lane with a guy who only swam for 20 minutes. He never stopped. I asked him why he did so little during his practice. He said that was all he needed for the triatholon he was goign to be in. What is that all about?
I see the exact same thing in the triathletes I am swimming with now. And I keep trying to tell them that there is a much better way to improve their times than just by "completing" the distance in practice. I think they don't believe me. I think because for many the swim portion is a weak link and they have had no true coaching, they are swimming only the minimum to know psychologically that they can finish it. And they run and bike like the wind with a need-for-speed. Swimming needs speed, too, and if they practiced as such, they could obtain it and exit the water much faster and feeling much better.
I'd hate to have a terrific bike/run segment but have to come from behind because my swim portion was weak. The group I am swimming with is "getting" it now and I have seen a huge amount of improvement. They just needed guidance from a swimmer and to trust what was said to them.
I'm proud of this group I'm swimming with.
Most of the tri athletes I advise, do the workouts I lay out for them. I try to give them the idea they will become faster if they set a time they want to do for their event. This time could be 3, 4, 5 or more minutes faster then they can swim now. Then they do repeats to attain that time.
It is amazing to think that so many people will show up for a Tri event when our Nats have about 1000 .I do think it is a totally different mentality for most of them. How many people go to Nats just to say they went to
Nats,but I suspect many people do Tri's just to have done them. (If you find a Tri that consists of 50,100 and 200 BR I'll definitely want to go.)
I actually mulled over the idea of doing exactly that, for the excuse to travel among other things. But I just can't wrap my mind around traveling hundreds of miles (and spending a fair amount of time and money) to participate for less than a minute in events I have absolutely zero chance of placing in. And what would I get to say after the fact? "Woo, I swam 50m!! and came dead last." Almost anyone could do that.
A typical triathlon I can understand: You get to take part for hours; and if you're in any kind of decent shape, you might well not be the last to finish because there are hundreds of others just participating in order to complete. :dunno:
It's not true of everyone obviously, but enough people seem to take swim meets very seriously for them to be too intimidating, I think, for much of the less-than gifted to participate. And that's probably for the best. I don't think serious masters athletes would want thousands of swimmers of my calibre to clog up the parking lots and change rooms, and otherwise get in the way to make those annoyingly endless meets last *even* longer.
I actually mulled over the idea of doing exactly that, for the excuse to travel among other things. But I just can't wrap my mind around traveling hundreds of miles (and spending a fair amount of time and money) to participate for less than a minute in events I have absolutely zero chance of placing in. And what would I get to say after the fact? "Woo, I swam 50m!! and came dead last." Almost anyone could do that.
If that is your attitude, I can see why you would view this as wasting your time and money. I personally have little chance to place in national meets because I compete against guys who've for the most part swum in college. That doesn't stop me from trying. Swimming-wise, I go because I train hard all year and want to swim my best time in one of the country's best facilities against some of the best competition. So what if I am 80th out of 120 (like I was at worlds last summer). It was a personal best, and for that, I was very proud. :wine: Not-swimming-wise, I go to hang out with my friends/teammates, meet other swimmers, and tour a new city.
A typical triathlon I can understand: You get to take part for hours; and if you're in any kind of decent shape, you might well not be the last to finish because there are hundreds of others just participating in order to complete. :dunno:
There are plenty of zone and national meet participants just doing the same thing. Ask Rich (swimstud). Plus, with a tri, there's always some poor soul who ends up DFL because they got a flat towards the end of their bike race and ends up having to run 50% more than everyone else ;)
It's not true of everyone obviously, but enough people seem to take swim meets very seriously for them to be too intimidating, I think, for much of the less-than gifted to participate. And that's probably for the best. I don't think serious masters athletes would want thousands of swimmers of my calibre to clog up the parking lots and change rooms, and otherwise get in the way to make those annoyingly endless meets last *even* longer.
Unfortunately, I know many examples of this to be true, and it is, as I said, unfortunate that these people's intensity is viewed as intimidating. Everyone has different goals, and swimming means something different to everyone. Some folks still feel like they have something to prove. To these people, if they flop at a meet, it is the end of the world and they want everyone to feel sorry for them.
However, bear in mind that they're missing out on all the fun you're having as long as they're sulking. We STILL make fun of the guy who threw his goggles at the sauna and scared the old ladies inside ;). There are plenty of us who are just happy to have woken up that morning. Bottom line on this is that you should remember that swimming is an individual sport. Don't let someone else turn you off. Be who you are!
