Recently I’ve been doing a lot of mixed course training. For example, short course yards for a couple of workouts and then long course meters for a couple of workouts (or even short course meters). While I think it’s advantageous to primarily train in the course you will be racing in for the season, I also think there are benefits to mixed course training. Your opinions?
The summer, I train long course with a few SCY practices here and there. But, I couldn't get to the long course practices every morning, I would at least do LCM on Sundays. During the winter, it is SCY all the time. I wish that I could get a SCM practice or LCM practice here and there during the winter.
And these benefits are?
The sheer joy of going from long course to turn after turn after turn...
I have a love/hate relationship with turns.
Short course to long course makes me feel like I'm cheating on my old reliable friend, the resting wall. I really miss my pal.
When I go back to short course, ahhhhh, the world is one.
I hate turns. I wish we practiced in the long course pool all year. If you're going to only swim in 25-yard pools for your whole life, varying courses probably doesn't help you at all. If you plan on competing in different courses, it might be useful to train in a 50m pool once in a while. Just a thought...
It's definitely beneficial. Basically, it's cross-training. Short course and long course swimming are rather different.
Personally, I prefer to train long course. I have a very long stroke (generally 8 strokes/length in SCY), so when I train SCY, it feels like everything is either the actual turn, or setting up for the turn, or coming out of the turn. In LCM, I get a pile more space between the turns to focus on my stroke.
-Rick
Long course training has been very beneficial for my stroke. I've noticed a big difference without the turns. There is a lot more time to focus on balancing out the stroke and swimming efficiently. ...and a lot more time to suffer. Swimming long course has made me realize how much I use the turns, both to gain speed and momentum and also as a temporary rest from swimming. Turns are a double-edged sword because they make me feel more out of breath, but I am definitely a lot faster in SCY than I am in LCM. More than the simple yards to meters conversion.
