Feel free to post both your short-term and long-term goals here relating to your swimming either as achievements with or without competition.
Here is my short-term goal while I am visiting in Texas:
To swim from the Joe Pool Lake Beach to the dam and back. Distance: 9.68 miles. I want to do this before October 6th.
The interesting thing is because I am in Texas, I have not been swimming the mileage I was doing when in Roatan. I have sort of been in a state of tapering throughout the week with a long swim on Sundays. AND, I am swimming further on those Sundays. Instead of swimming 6 miles, 4xweek, I am doing 4 miles three times a week with a long swim on Sundays; quite a reduction. The thought of over-training comes to mind as I ponder all this.
Next goal: 13 mile swim by end of November.
What are your goals?
Donna
Parents
Former Member
Donna -
No one asked me, but...
You may want to consider taking some time "off"/"easy", say, in October. I say this because it seems like you have been building since the beginning of the year (and doing a great job, BTW), but I would be concerned about trying to build for 1.5+ years without giving your body/mind a chance to recover. If you got back into it in November, you'd have PLENTY of time to rebuild slightly and then progress further to reach your goal next July-ish. As I've said before, I think you could do it now if you had to. Admittedly, you have a great aptitude for swimming and that forgives alot, but keep in mind if you are overtrained or injured, you won't be able to do your swim very well or at all, but if you are slightly undertrained (you won't be), you can still do it by digging a little harder.
Just a thought.
-LBJ
Leonard,
And I thank you for very wise words. Normally, I take one or two days off a week, every week, but now after having been in Texas and not doing the mileage I was doing in Roatan, I am swimming better and less frequently. I always listen to my body, but it is still difficult to to know when to "back down." The experience of this trip back home has forced me to swim less and a new discovery was made: more swimming does not equate to ability to swim more miles, to a point.
I think I am going to incorporate periodization from this point forward because, as you pointed out, any injury from now to actual swim event could ruin my chances to complete it. And because I am older and not as fit as most and having had two shoulder surgeries, I have to be careful.
Thank you for reminding me and plz do so again later down the road. I may need another wake-up call!
Donna
Donna -
No one asked me, but...
You may want to consider taking some time "off"/"easy", say, in October. I say this because it seems like you have been building since the beginning of the year (and doing a great job, BTW), but I would be concerned about trying to build for 1.5+ years without giving your body/mind a chance to recover. If you got back into it in November, you'd have PLENTY of time to rebuild slightly and then progress further to reach your goal next July-ish. As I've said before, I think you could do it now if you had to. Admittedly, you have a great aptitude for swimming and that forgives alot, but keep in mind if you are overtrained or injured, you won't be able to do your swim very well or at all, but if you are slightly undertrained (you won't be), you can still do it by digging a little harder.
Just a thought.
-LBJ
Leonard,
And I thank you for very wise words. Normally, I take one or two days off a week, every week, but now after having been in Texas and not doing the mileage I was doing in Roatan, I am swimming better and less frequently. I always listen to my body, but it is still difficult to to know when to "back down." The experience of this trip back home has forced me to swim less and a new discovery was made: more swimming does not equate to ability to swim more miles, to a point.
I think I am going to incorporate periodization from this point forward because, as you pointed out, any injury from now to actual swim event could ruin my chances to complete it. And because I am older and not as fit as most and having had two shoulder surgeries, I have to be careful.
Thank you for reminding me and plz do so again later down the road. I may need another wake-up call!
Donna
