Can't keep up

Our group is divided into fast and slow, with fast doing both more yardage and tougher intervals. I got stuck in with the fast folks when I started with our group in September. At first, I had a lot of trouble hanging after the first couple of reps, but the slow folks didn't want me in their lanes either. I just dropped a 50 here and there as needed and stayed with the group's set, picking it up when the group got back to my wall. I felt like I was getting a lot more exercise than I had been swimming by myself, so I didn't sweat the yardage drop. We never have more than 2 to a lane, so I could drop out and back in without affecting the other swimmers. I'm not a fan of using fins to keep up for all the reasons mentioned in other threads about them. You don't say how long you've been at it with the team, but I would just keep plugging away without the crutches. After 2 months, I'm not dropping many 50's these days. I think the conditioning comes together pretty quickly, and part of it is getting used to your coach's demands and your lane's pace -- although we're not holding anything like what Ande's group is pulling off. Now I'm glad the coach stuck me in where she did.

I guess it may depend on how many lanes you have to choose from. If you have to stay limited to a lane where most swimmers are able to do the interval, then fins or shorter distance are good options (mixing them up). But . . . if you and others are having the same problem, why not go into a different lane and change the interval? For example, if you've got 8 x 100 on the 1:30, change it to the 1:40 or 1:45 or whatever you are capable of . . . then, as you improve, move back into the faster lane with the more challenging sets.

First thing don’t get hung up on total yardage that’s for Tri geeks and distance freaks, even though I belong to that last group. Second, ask your coach what the work load of the intended set is. Work load as in heart rate, 60%-70%-80%.......etc of maximum heart rate. If a set is intended to be at a 70% work load and you can barely make the interval and you’re out of breath then you’re in the wrong lane. If you need to put on fins/paddles or both to make the interval on a set that is suppose to be equipment free then again go to a slower lane. Finally, the coach may actually want you to do an interval that you can barely make or ultimately can’t make to push your anaerobic threshold. If that’s the case, it should be part of his instructions for the set.

I like zoomers as a training tool. I have the same fear of becoming dependant on them when I use them too. However, ther are some days when I have a difficult time making the intervals on some of the sets. I swim on a team that is heavy with distance swimmers (I much prefer IM and sprints). I tend to do a mix to make the interval if I am having a tough time. Mixing up zoomer use and droping a 50 is a good way to go. I don't like fins as much due to the fact that I don't get as much of a workout when I use them to keep up on a swim set as I do when using zoomers. I'm a kicker and tend to rely on my legs more than I should when I wear fins while swimming.

Sometimes, I worl out with college age swimmers. I can't keepup with them. What I dois sit out one repeat then join in when they are ready for the next repeat. I don't do this too often though because they would talkabout me. Ihave also used fins once I got to where I couldn't keep up. I didn't find this to be as good of a solution though.

Fins are like swimmer heroin. If you start using them to keep up, eventually you will not be able to swim without them (psychologically speaking, of course). They are best used as a training aid, rather than a training crutch. If you cannot make the interval, presuming there is a distance of substance involved (not 50s or 100s), shorten the distance swum and concentrate on the quality of the swim. Perhaps you can drop a 50 every other interval. Be creative and you will reward yourself. Use fins, and you are asking for a lifetime of hopelessness, misery and pain.... no, wait, that is for the REAL heroin. Fins just make it hard for you to go back to the naked feel of your feet and the water, because you get accustomed to the feel of the speed that the fins allow you to mainain in workout. If you do not compete often or at all, go ahead and use the fins as much as you like, it won't matter, anyway, and you will keep up with your lane mates.

Thank you all for your responses. They have been very helpful. I do intend to return to competition early next year, at the start of SCY season, so I don't want to become too reliant on fins (since you can't use them in meets). I think I'll start trying to drop 50s here and there rather than slapping on fins for the set. I don't use them during the entire set, just when I start to fall behind in the intervals -- i.e. on the sixth or seventh 200 in a set of 10 or whatever. I guess my problem is endurance and I'm not really sure how you improve that other than just getting in and swimming as much as possible. But thank you for sharing your experiences and advice; I appreciate the help!

I have never tried heroin or ever overdosed on fins. I think both should be outlawed. When I raced years ago the official guide in my boat in a foreign race offered to sell me fins during a race.