Those who practice solo...

Try to detach yourself from the need for the social contact and remember that, if you are really serious about improvement, training is really a lonely matter. Revel in it. Enjoy it. Get to the pool early and stay late! Also remember that if you are a technical stroke geek, doing the technical work gives you just as much fitness as hammering each day (with the exception of the specific high intensity work needed for meets) and you will become more efficient. Good point. Training is a personal matter. My effort does not make anyone else better. (Yes, I'm a drillin' dork - I think it's very important to do this at practice). I think I need to do more yardage.

I also have no choice but to practice alone, sometimes my daughter and her friends do a work out that I set up for them. But they are on a different level and they are only in it for fitness not competition. I have found that if I go to meets, and can swim with the High school team every now and then helps keep me motivated. I print out workouts from this site and arrange them a bit for my needs. I can only make the"Y" 2-3 times and weeks but try to get in at least 2000 at each practice. I use a watch to help me keep my yardage down to less than hour. Since I've have limited time and have only be back swimming for less than a year. I"ve kept my energy on 2 events the 50 free and 100 free. I have only swam the 50 in one meet. Hoping to do both in April. I feel my 100 is not were I want it yet, and with our weather we've had in Jan. and being out of the pool most of this week with a cold I haven't had any consitiant good workouts. My current short term goal is to get in some good workouts over the next 2 weeks, maybe do a small meet on the 17th. going to just swim the 50 free. I'm hoping that will keep me going for the next round.

I feel my 100 is not were I want it yet, and with our weather we've had in Jan. and being out of the pool most of this week with a cold I haven't had any consitiant good workouts. I'm going to tell you to shut your eyes and go for the 100. I did a 200,100 and 50 this past weekend and surprised myself. 1st event in 25 years and only seriously trained for 6 weeks, although I'd been doing a mile for a bout 6 weeks prior to the more organised training.

Sarah-good news is once the high school team finishes up their season we will get our Friday morning practice back. A number of us masters swimmers have complained, because in the book they state m-w-f master practices, however we loose that Friday once high school starts until it ends. We always thought we should get a break on the price but has never happend. If on your days when you do not practice in the morning try swimming in evening at 730. I do that when I can if I can not make the practice with the senior group from 330-530. When I swam at 730 I got in lane next to the team and just did the workout with the kids. Now dont think because they are younger 11-12 that their workouts are easy. Doing their practice gives ya structure and kinda others to swim with. One other thing you can do is you can always find the age group practices laying around or look on top of the soda machince, he has practices there also. Just modify as needed but it does gives ya something to practice from. Are you getting ready for the meet in Miami next week? Im planning on going depending on how the ole body feels. I will be doing the 400IM,100fly,200fly, 100breast haha, I hate this stroke but going to get a lifetime best since I have never swum it, and then finish up with the mile. See ya on Monday if not before. greg

I more or less have worked out alone for the last 4 years. I record everything: I know what a good 75 kick time is for myself, I know what a good 1000M for time is, I know how many times I have done 30x 100'sM on 1:25 (4 times in 4 years, I'll never do it again though, because it is too boring!). I try and do somehting worth recording every workout. Currently I want to kick a 75M w/ board in under 1:06, swim a 200M in under 2:20 and do 4 50M's on 1:00 all under 30. When I accomplish a goal, I add a new one. That is how I stay motivated. Also, I look at other's favorite sets or workouts to keep from getting routine. In that spirit, here is a sprint set I did last week that I enjoyed: 4 x 75's: 1 Distance per stroke, 2 work turns, 3 build, 4 85% effort 4 x 50's: Same Format 8 x 25's: 1,3,5,7,8 Distance per stroke, 2,4,6 sprint all out Two times through the set. Total Yardage = 1,400

Morgan,the relationship with the coach may be broken beyond repair,but if it's not I have an idea that may help. Offer to design the workouts for the sprint lane(I suspect you could get a lot of help from us in this.)If you need to be diplomatic you could say your were doing research on what the top sprinters were doing(something else we could help you with)and wanted to try some new things. You could offer to run the workouts by him before hand. If he is at all open minded it would be worth a try.

The difference between you and I, Morgan is that when I was in college, I let the workouts, the coach, and rude team mates trick myself into believing I couldn't get any further with my swimming. I didn't think of seeking outside swimming advice. I didn't believe in myself to make a swimming college career everything it should be. I regret quitting college swimming. Now I get to try to redeem things to myself by being the best Masters swimmer I can possibly be on 5 or 6 hours of swimming a week. You know what you want. Don't let stupid things like lousy coaches stand in your way because the time to be swimming for you is NOW. Had I known then what I know now, I could've turned that junk yardage into some useful swimming had I been purposeful and sought outside advice.

Morgan,the relationship with the coach may be broken beyond repair,but if it's not I have an idea that may help. Offer to design the workouts for the sprint lane(I suspect you could get a lot of help from us in this.)If you need to be diplomatic you could say your were doing research on what the top sprinters were doing(something else we could help you with)and wanted to try some new things. You could offer to run the workouts by him before hand. If he is at all open minded it would be worth a try. Now, I understand why you chose your profession! Great advice, if it works. Give it a shot Morgan -- maybe you already have? I am generally very resourceful and determined, so I tried to do exactly what Allen suggested (probably not so diplomatically), and my coach blew me off. I tried to do what M2tall2 suggested as well, but it's difficult to turn junk yardage into quality stuff when your coach refuses to modify the workout. My coach refused to let me train with the men's team either, another possible option for you, which had a better, more experienced coach. I didn't take retirement lightly. I held many college records and liked my teammates, but it was a bad training environment for me. Although it was probably unconnected as I had always done a lot of yardage in my youth (while training in the stroker lane), I still link the bad training with my shoulder injury in my mind, perhaps unfairly -- all that yucky distance free. :( Probably why I won't touch the stuff now. It was very hard for awhile to retire, but, looking back, I still feel like I had a good swimming career and would be happy if my kid could replicate the joy and comraderie I felt throughout it. I hope to have a good late bloomin' masters career too, assuming the past shoulder trauma and dessication doesn't hold me down too much. ;) :) :lolup: M2tall2 is right as well. Seeking outside advice and carefully weighing your options is smart. And it sounds like you're doing that. So, when you decide, it will be a well-informed decision. Kristina: I'm sorry about your AG problem. I had two of the best AG coaches a kid could hope for and I was very grateful for them, despite all the mega-yardage that was in vogue then. (And I was never injured as a kid.) At least you were only out 12 years, not 24 like me. Aside from the fast track, I took up LSD running like FlyQueen. LOL.

Fortress: spot-on. Just sharing from the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" perspective. Can't speak at all from the injury (thank goodness) or college perspective. Just wanted to mention the inner demons nipping at my toes! :eek: I think that's what makes me swim as if being chased now - woulda, coulda, shoulda. Not sure how "new" anything is after 17 years of AG and Masters swimming, but I can say that having been a coach part time as an adult certainly put a new spin on how I view just about everything in this sport. Morgan, to be fair to both sides of the argument, had I swum college, I doubt I'd be swimming masters now. This is based on what I saw from my close friends who did swim college and did that old school mega yardage (and got injured and/ or burnt to a crisp mentally). I did not swim college b/c I had an unpleasant AG situation that really got me down on the sport. Took me 12 yrs to get back in the pool.

Morgan,the relationship with the coach may be broken beyond repair,but if it's not I have an idea that may help. Offer to design the workouts for the sprint lane(I suspect you could get a lot of help from us in this.)If you need to be diplomatic you could say your were doing research on what the top sprinters were doing(something else we could help you with)and wanted to try some new things. You could offer to run the workouts by him before hand. If he is at all open minded it would be worth a try. Allen this is an awesome idea. Morgan, judging by what I've read of your background, you sound like you'll be a senior next year. This would be a great chance for you to step up in a leadership and mentor-type role. I would go talk to your coach tomorrow. You know what the problem is and the best part is you have a solution. Even better, if he likes this idea and in a year when you and the folks you've adopted to train with have all kicked some major ass, maybe you'll get hired on for 08-09.