I know that you're there... and you have something to say.
Lets' hear it.
But seriously. Do Fitness and Lap Swimmers really read this Forum?
I wish they did, but I doubt they see the potential.
Fitness and Lap Swimmers, I'm a masters swim coach.
I watch your lanes - oh maybe 15-20% of the time I coach the masters lanes.
I see those of you lurking on the side lanes listening to the sets - and to the stroke instruction...
Watching swimmers underwater for stroke demonstrations.
Its' ok - and a really good thing.
A decent masters swim coach knows how to recruit right out of those lap swimming lanes.
Ahelee
P.S. I loved reading the thread, "As an outsider to harcore swimming..."
Finally some swimmers after my own heart.
Except that I like to recruit lap swimmers to our program!
I was a competitive club swimmer in high school.
Now I am what has been more or less deemed a fitness lap swimmer that swims OW events to challenge myself. I picked up the USMS membership to do the Big Shoulders this year, and I am enjoying the benefits. I thought about doing a couple of meets late this fall, but did not. Couldn't say why.
Ironically, I hated swimming anything over a 200 in high school because I lacked the ability to pace myself. As an adult, I re-entered the pool primarily to workout and soothe the mind as much as the body so I prefer longer distances often swimming 3-5K straight in the workout as opposed to swimming sets.
Looking at this and the other thread (and the OWS forum, for that matter), it seems the USMS meet swimmers tend to be the more extraverted bunch who join teams for social and competitive reasons, while the lap/rec/ow swimmers tend to be introverted at best and oddballs otherwise. Even though, I use the old "practice times vs. my schedule" as an excuse for not joining a team, it probably has more to do with my using swimming for that hour or two of solitude a day I need.
Either way, I say more power to all of you. In my pool, I get discouraged if it's empty too often. Pools are way too expensive to support for few users. So everyone jump in, and we all get to swim for whatever reason.:drink:
I was a competitive club swimmer in high school.
Now I am what has been more or less deemed a fitness lap swimmer that swims OW events to challenge myself. I picked up the USMS membership to do the Big Shoulders this year, and I am enjoying the benefits. I thought about doing a couple of meets late this fall, but did not. Couldn't say why.
Ironically, I hated swimming anything over a 200 in high school because I lacked the ability to pace myself. As an adult, I re-entered the pool primarily to workout and soothe the mind as much as the body so I prefer longer distances often swimming 3-5K straight in the workout as opposed to swimming sets.
Looking at this and the other thread (and the OWS forum, for that matter), it seems the USMS meet swimmers tend to be the more extraverted bunch who join teams for social and competitive reasons, while the lap/rec/ow swimmers tend to be introverted at best and oddballs otherwise. Even though, I use the old "practice times vs. my schedule" as an excuse for not joining a team, it probably has more to do with my using swimming for that hour or two of solitude a day I need.
Either way, I say more power to all of you. In my pool, I get discouraged if it's empty too often. Pools are way too expensive to support for few users. So everyone jump in, and we all get to swim for whatever reason.:drink:
