In another thread someone was mentioning getting out of practice early because they weren't doing well. When, or why, have you gotten out early?
I'll start:
(1) Kicked in the face (really hard, big owies!)
(2) Kicked in the shoulder (by big guy 6'4" 200#s, I call him husband!)
(3) Decided to swim with aforementioned husband immediately after putting to sleep 14 year old black Lab. We thought it would take our minds off of MacGuire. All I discovered was that I can't swim and cry at the same time.
(4) Bad back- more owies. Good chiropractor- all better.
And I SHOULD have got out (Jan 2001) when:
I swam the whole workout, with good effort, and was shivering cold. I told my husband that I was really cold and he replied, "Maybe you should swim some more (tonight)." I said, "Nah, we're done, I'm getting out." That night I went to the ER and was diagnosed with viral meningitis! Nope, he still hasn't lived THAT one down :p
Former Member
when two really cute girls asked if they could have the lane I was using...that decision took me all of a second to answer.
A whole second?
Here are my (woulda-coulda-shoulda) split-answers:
0.33 Sure, but let's share
0.33 You lead
0.34 I'll draft (really close) off both of you
:)
The childcare pages me and I have to go pick up my screaming squirt. The frequency of these calls has diminished since she discovered Elmo, though. I love Elmo!!!
I almost got out early last night. My back was aching...that'll teach me to try to show off and kick while doing fly...
Still got in 2200 though...
Hey Rich....Try to swim it without emphasising the kick. Just work on the chest press and undulation and let the legs just follow the motion. You'll be surprised how much easier it is and your back will thank you.
Back when I was younger, I left an AM prax once because I wanted some donuts and our practice was boring/useless.
It was the best excuse ever. Me and about 1/2 the team left. Plus, Springfield has one of the best places ever for that type of food... Krispy Kreme.
I actually like the outright honesty of this one! But darn, you're making me hungry for donuts... must resist... must resist... must keep swimming...
My first masters' coach always wrote on his workout sheets, "Do the best that you can do. Don't worry about what others are doing." I carry that to both my swimming and running workouts, and if my body is saying "bail" loud enough, I have learned to listen.
Back to the donut thing... makes me think of a student a colleague and I both had. She'd say things like, "I'm sorry I couldn't make it to class. I got caught up in a frisbee game." Or "Do you mind if I skip your class tomorrow? I have to study for a Spanish exam." No dancing around the edges of the truth with stories about family members' funerals (near the end of the semester is always a dangerous time for relatives) or illnesses or car trouble.
The childcare pages me and I have to go pick up my screaming squirt. The frequency of these calls has diminished since she discovered Elmo, though. I love Elmo!!!
boooooooooooooooo red grover! Blue Grover and Cookie Monster ROCK!
Anyhoo - I can think of a few times I have left practice early recently:
ear infection (clogged ears make swimming very uncomfortable
leg cramps from hell - I generally swim through most of them, but when your calf locks up, then your quad as you try to stretch out your calf, then your hammy when you try to stretch out your quad... thats just a bad situation
maryland basketball games - practice runs 630-8, and if the game starts at 8, i may get in a few min early and then get out a few min early to walk to the arena (just across the creek from the pool)
feeling sick - the last thing I want to do is have a visit from ralph in the pool and not only ruin my practice, but everyone else's as well
near........ far..........
I don't know if that was intended to be funny, but it made me laugh! Fortunately I swim at night so work is never an issue but fatigue can sometimes tempt me to cut a workout short, especially in the last few weeks. Thus far I have resisted temptation.
It was intended to be mildly funny.
We always talk about the "masters option". Don't like the set? Get out. Don't feel good? Get out. Feeling tired? Get out.
The great thing about masters swimming is that the only person keeping you in the water is you. It's not age group swimming where the coach just yells and yells at you all day long. Want to get out? Go!
-Rick
I got out of practice when I was an age grouper, just starting out, and I mis-timed a flip turn and smashed both heals onto the ceramic tile gutter lip.
No one to blame, boy does that hurt for a while, lots of shuffling and no "walking" for a few days.
DV
Hey Rich....Try to swim it without emphasising the kick. Just work on the chest press and undulation and let the legs just follow the motion. You'll be surprised how much easier it is and your back will thank you.
Haha I do usually Floyd...this was at NEM when I was trying to work in the kick and impress Some_Girl. My back was not 100% to start with and something went *click* I'm locked up a bit but I'll get PT tonight and be OK tomorrow.
Thanks for you concern though...I'm all arms and shoulders on Fly.
Only for medical emergencies or really, really, really, bad swims.
Exercise induced asthma has been kicking my butt in recent years. This time of year it starts to get me and then get progressively worse as the summer months get more humid. Combine that with a poorly maintianed pool (chemicals are never in balance), and you get one blue swimmer--blue from lack of O2, not emotionally.
Practice is actually something I enjoy, and most days I swim as hard, if not harder, in practice than I do at meets. There are those really bad days (see other thread) though, when nothing feels right. My coach is fond of ending practices with a 600-1200 pull, so on those nights when it seems like nothing is working, I'll bail on part of that set. I love, love, love to pull, so it has to be an extraordinarily bad day to want to skip it.
