Since I have been back swimming I have read a number of threads, comments, articles, where adults are swimming and working out with the local USS age group team.
This has been something I have considered for quite some time for all of the obvious advantages, but I have taken no action because of my slowness, fatness and old ageness.
I can't believe it, but I finally got the nerve up to contact the local USS swim coach to see if I could workout with the team and she said yes! I'm scared and excited all at the same time.
For those of you who swim with the age groupers, is there anything I should know? Any advice?
Parents
Former Member
Wow! Good for you! We can share our summer experiences w/ the USS teams together.
From the few practices I've done w/ Senior I my personal advice is:
1. Swim with them when you are feeling 100% or close to it; don't try and and swim with them if you are sick or recovering from a cold/ illness
2. Hydrate well before, during, and after the practice - consider an energy drink like Power Bar endurance (but try it out during masters practices and not when you first start up with them); this prevents me from cramping. Another must: good diet and enough sleep.
3. I noticed USS practices are much faster paced so be ready to jump into the next set - or wow, like your coach seems to do, be ready to not have much rest at all?! That's a new one I've not heard! Ouch! :whiteflag: Be ready for lots more yardage in a short amount of time. Often, the coaches don't repeat the set, so just ask your lanemates what's going on. Intervals are usually: TIGHT!
4. Don't be afraid to take a break during a set or between sets if you need to. You don't want to injure yourself. So - build into it. I think I'll shoot for swimming once or twice a week with the kids.
5. Build up to what they are doing. I'm used to 1.5 hour practices, so my first practice, I plan to swim 1.5 or at most, 2 hours with the team - even though their practice runs 2.5 hours. I will let the coach know that I'm shooting for 2 hours, at which point I will get out - even if I feel good.
6. Pick the right USS group and the right lane to swim with. Sometimes there are IM lanes/ Distance FR lanes/ Sprint lanes, etc. But don't be afraid to experiement with a couple of different groups assuming the coaches know and are aware that you are looking to find that right fit. There's often a big difference between Senior II, Senior I and National.
The bonus: the kids are usually really, really encouraging. I was surprised at this! :cheerleader: It's sort of like cheating on a test - I get to watch their technique and see what they are doing to go so darn fast! I noticed that their streamlines and SDKs are usually amazing. Oh - I also felt very shrimpy and bulky compared to these tall Amazonian type young people. :laugh2:
BTW, the clubs that do give the green light to us masters to do this are AWESOME! The head coach at the club I swim at always invites us Masters to join in if we want. He usually doesn't get too many takers. . . especially when their workouts are 10K, but. . .
One other thing I noticed - their warm ups are pretty fast paced compared to masters. But if you hang during that, you most likely can hang for the majority of the sets.
Will PM you soon!
GOOD LUCK!
Kristina
Wow! Good for you! We can share our summer experiences w/ the USS teams together.
From the few practices I've done w/ Senior I my personal advice is:
1. Swim with them when you are feeling 100% or close to it; don't try and and swim with them if you are sick or recovering from a cold/ illness
2. Hydrate well before, during, and after the practice - consider an energy drink like Power Bar endurance (but try it out during masters practices and not when you first start up with them); this prevents me from cramping. Another must: good diet and enough sleep.
3. I noticed USS practices are much faster paced so be ready to jump into the next set - or wow, like your coach seems to do, be ready to not have much rest at all?! That's a new one I've not heard! Ouch! :whiteflag: Be ready for lots more yardage in a short amount of time. Often, the coaches don't repeat the set, so just ask your lanemates what's going on. Intervals are usually: TIGHT!
4. Don't be afraid to take a break during a set or between sets if you need to. You don't want to injure yourself. So - build into it. I think I'll shoot for swimming once or twice a week with the kids.
5. Build up to what they are doing. I'm used to 1.5 hour practices, so my first practice, I plan to swim 1.5 or at most, 2 hours with the team - even though their practice runs 2.5 hours. I will let the coach know that I'm shooting for 2 hours, at which point I will get out - even if I feel good.
6. Pick the right USS group and the right lane to swim with. Sometimes there are IM lanes/ Distance FR lanes/ Sprint lanes, etc. But don't be afraid to experiement with a couple of different groups assuming the coaches know and are aware that you are looking to find that right fit. There's often a big difference between Senior II, Senior I and National.
The bonus: the kids are usually really, really encouraging. I was surprised at this! :cheerleader: It's sort of like cheating on a test - I get to watch their technique and see what they are doing to go so darn fast! I noticed that their streamlines and SDKs are usually amazing. Oh - I also felt very shrimpy and bulky compared to these tall Amazonian type young people. :laugh2:
BTW, the clubs that do give the green light to us masters to do this are AWESOME! The head coach at the club I swim at always invites us Masters to join in if we want. He usually doesn't get too many takers. . . especially when their workouts are 10K, but. . .
One other thing I noticed - their warm ups are pretty fast paced compared to masters. But if you hang during that, you most likely can hang for the majority of the sets.
Will PM you soon!
GOOD LUCK!
Kristina
