Hi everyone...
Tonight is my very first masters swim practice and I'm really quite nervous.
While I've been a competitive swimmer since the age of 5, swam on a US team, competed in both long course and short course US Nationals, and then went and swam in college.....I'm a nervous wreck about tonight's practice. Although I have more than enough swimming experience, I'm terrified that I won't fit in with the master's team.
I've been "out of the water" for 6 years now and I'm very out of shape and I've gained a considerable amount of weight. I can't believe that I've allowed myself to get like this, but it obviously didn't happen over night. So I've been doing cardio and weights at the gym to get myself back in shape but it doesn't seem to be working very well. I realized how much I miss swimming and that I'd like to get back into the sport and thats how I got interested in masters swimming. I'm excited to swim for me...not for the coaches, not for my parents. I'm looking forward to ENJOYING swimming, rather than dreading practices and having kick boards thrown at me if I have to stop during a set. I'm excited to meet people and have fun.....but I'm still so nervous to step foot onto the pool deck.
I guess I'm mostly embarassed. I know its silly to be like this, but I'm afraid everyone will be in good shape and I'll get run over during the practices. I'm wondering if maybe I should put off swimming for a little while until I can lose some more weight.
Can anyone please shed some light on their first masters practice and what you might have been feeling?
I really appreciate any help or advice that you can give me. Thank you!
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by nkfrench
* Don't let yourself get too hungry.
* Get lots of bulky food into you - salads, vegetables, soups
* Find non-food rewards for when you need to treat yourself
* Don't tell whoever is messing with your schedule that you want to go swim. I say I have "an urgent appointment" so they don't think I'm off to go float on a pool lounger with a cold drink which is all they know about as far as swimming goes.
All of the suggestions are good, but I'd like to add to these:
Amen
Amen
and
AMEN!
My workout is a non-negotiable. That means that if I'm on a field trip with students in New Jersey (like I was two weeks ago), I get up early, let the other chaperones know I'll be gone, and I run. If I have to work late, I run in the dark with a vest and headlamp or I go to the Y. (I'd rather run in the dark than on a treadmill.) Mornings are swimming, spinning, or lifting. Even my husband knows better than mess with the woman's run.
I eat throughout the day. Never let myself get hungry. I have three meals that I just spread out throughout the day. I call it the Hobbit diet...breakfast, second breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon snack, pre-run snack, post run snack, dinner, dessert.
Lots of bulk...fiber helps you feel full, salads with lunch and dinner, yogurt with some fiber one. That's so helpful in just sustaining your workout.
I find that something like yogurt before a swim, though, just gurgles in my stomach. (Yet I can drink coffee...go figure.) It's got to be carbs and it's got to be light. I can run on a little more, but swim or bike has to be light.
Originally posted by nkfrench
* Don't let yourself get too hungry.
* Get lots of bulky food into you - salads, vegetables, soups
* Find non-food rewards for when you need to treat yourself
* Don't tell whoever is messing with your schedule that you want to go swim. I say I have "an urgent appointment" so they don't think I'm off to go float on a pool lounger with a cold drink which is all they know about as far as swimming goes.
All of the suggestions are good, but I'd like to add to these:
Amen
Amen
and
AMEN!
My workout is a non-negotiable. That means that if I'm on a field trip with students in New Jersey (like I was two weeks ago), I get up early, let the other chaperones know I'll be gone, and I run. If I have to work late, I run in the dark with a vest and headlamp or I go to the Y. (I'd rather run in the dark than on a treadmill.) Mornings are swimming, spinning, or lifting. Even my husband knows better than mess with the woman's run.
I eat throughout the day. Never let myself get hungry. I have three meals that I just spread out throughout the day. I call it the Hobbit diet...breakfast, second breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon snack, pre-run snack, post run snack, dinner, dessert.
Lots of bulk...fiber helps you feel full, salads with lunch and dinner, yogurt with some fiber one. That's so helpful in just sustaining your workout.
I find that something like yogurt before a swim, though, just gurgles in my stomach. (Yet I can drink coffee...go figure.) It's got to be carbs and it's got to be light. I can run on a little more, but swim or bike has to be light.
