What's the right thing to do in this situation?
In general, in the National level group, drafting is a no-no. I really like training with them b/c drafting of any kind is pretty minimal. Either we all go 10 seconds back or if we are going 5 and you catch the person in front of you, you either pass them or they let you go in front of them at the next stop.
However, what do you do in this practice situation?
You are swimming 2nd in the lane. Boy in front of you starts missing the intervals during the last 25% of the set. He's done a great job of leading the lane until this point. You catch up to him as your entire lane is now missing the intervals (although the rest of the lane was missing the intervals on their own doing anyway).
However, you are not sure you can/ should pass him. Should I have tried to pass even though we were at the tail end of the set (and passing would be a heck of a chore as we were all pretty dead)? Stayed on his feet as the set is almost over? Waited another 5 seconds but then having other people on my feet? No one else was really on my feet as we had sort of put some distance between us and the rest of the lane. I sort of feel if the lane leader misses the send offs that it's more of a touch and go/ anything goes/ fend for yourself scenario.
Thanks!
If you are kinda just hanging in there anyway, shout a word of encouragement.......... "C-mon, we can do this". That may be all it takes to finish the set the way you want. To pass, you gotta really feel confident you don't take the reigns and then bonk out.
Question: Are all lanes the same width? I've been in some 50m pools where the lanes are real wide and can support easy passing, while others can be tricky.
Did you ask to lead before the set started?
I am guilty of hemming and hawing on fast interval sets, in the hope of an easier swim. I am, after all a cheating weasel.
Do you know this boy and his speed? If not, you do now; time for note to self.
Lastly, he is 16. My guess is that you won't have this problem for long.
how realistic it is for a 36 year old woman to lead a lane during a USA-S National practice, but I will certainly start thinking about it if my body can hold up! :D
At the end of the day, masters swimming is really cool. Stuff like this never happened 20-30 years ago.
Can't imagine what goes through the mind of a 16 year old boy, getting overrun by a "girl", not to mention, by one who's 20 years his senior! :)
Talk about a big slice of humble pie.
If there were enough time at the wall before he pushed off, I would have asked how's it going and encouraged a quick response.
It could have either
a.) spurred him on, to dig in a little deeper, because now he's aware that he's falling off pace (or)
b.) he might have said that he's out of gas and he would have loved for you to take the reigns.
It's hard work leading the lane, and a bit of friendly support can make all the difference.
We almost have the same swimmers in our lane . We know which strokes some should lead & others fall in line according to speed. When off the pace, yes ask them to move back a place.
Orca, great point. What's so challenging about USA-S National club team is that things are in continual flux. You've got college kids home for the summer and they are at varying levels of physical fitness as this is their off season. And then on some days you have SR I and National teams combined. On some days, certain swimmers are injured or very tired or not feeling well. On other days, you've got some kids breaking out to a new, amazingly fast level which is a beautiful thing to see! Add in the fact that there can be upwards of 12 or more people in a narrow lane. . . And don't forget that some of these sets are 1 to 1.5 hours in duration and they include a mix of pull, kick, and swim (so you've got different kids with different strengths).
It's the toughest practice you'll ever love. :)
I noticed when I swim masters, I can pretty much determine with certainty who will do what. There are fewer surprises I guess.
Qsilver, LOL! Well, the kids certainly get the better of me. I always get my daily serving of humble pie when I swim with them.
Rtodd, the lanes are the same width but they are NARROW! But the coaches DO tell us to pass so I have no excuse. I think if I bonk I have a small excuse of being old but I agree in that I'd prefer to avoid that humiliation!
Stillwater, I DO know this fast boy although he's improving at a HUGE rate (I agree with you in that surely I won't have this problem for long :bitching:); however, I've made some stroke changes that have made me faster so I'm still figuring out what I'm capable of. After round 1 of the set I went from 3rd in the lane to somehow leading it but this kind young man stepped in to save me.
Shark, you are a bada$$! :cheerleader: I will try and follow your lead! I don't think I'm daring these kids to do anything. I just hope to not be run over by them.
Miss Cristina,
USS swimming might be much more regimented than masters, but here's what I will do in our little practices when a similar situation arises.
Scenario:
Blazingly fast 18 year old girl takes off before me. I leave 2 seconds later, hoping to draft for at least 10 yards before she so outdistances me that even her existence becomes an article of faith.
Repeat 10-19 times.
By rep #20, she is starting to get sort of tired, and I am still reasonably refreshed, having drafted most of the workout.
I am extremely tempted to sprint on the last one, tickle her girlish toes, maybe even grab same and let her pull me a while, in the process letting her know that the natural Talibanic order of things--with me in the position of supremacy--still holds.
But some niggling interior sense--call it morality, call it conscience, call it fear of being punched--tells me not to do this.
Instead, I leave a full second later than usual, i.e., 3 seconds after her push off.
If the set continues, and I continue to catch up, I have a bit of wriggle room. I can, if absolutely necessary, leave 4 seconds after her. Or--god forbid--the actual 5 that I am supposed to have done the whole time.
It's sort of like the Fed easing interest rates to prevent economic collapse.
Already, I hear your obvious objections, Miss Christina! And I have an answer for them!
What if even 5 seconds is not enough?
This may sound like blasphemy, but the answer is simple: 6 seconds, or even 7 seconds, or 8!
Especially if the person coming after you is struggling, they will be grateful to be able to better draft off you for a while. And especially if there are not too many reps left to go, the person in the front will not be demoralized or enraged by what may well strike him/her as the "sally save up" phenomenon.
If your coach is Germanic, and insists upon the trains running absolutely on time, you could dip underwater at the precise send-off interval, count one Mississippi, two Mississippi, then push off, and nobody would be the wiser.
With this approach, and you living in Georgia, I predict it will be no time at all before the boys are asking you to bust up their chifferobes...
You need to visit one of the USA-S GA teams down here. The 15 to 18 year old gals would not put up with your antics. We may be in the south, but I think some of them have some good old fashioned Bronx and Jersey in them.
Things that I have witnessed when boys (or girls) such as yourself try those silly tricks include:
Giving you the evil eye
Turning around in the middle of the lane to avoid you
Lane hopping - leaving your lane
Screaming
Cursing
Belittling
Giving a nice foot kick to the face
Complaining to the coach while ensuring you are thrown out of the practice
I've learned so much from the kiddos!
Good lord! Who and where is this poor 18 year old girl whose toes you have violated?! I need to disclose my tricks to this poor soul!
If you and I ever practice together, the lifeguards had better take cover. :angel:
Miss Cristina,
USS swimming might be much more regimented than masters, but here's what I will do in our little practices when a similar situation arises.
Scenario:
Blazingly fast 18 year old girl takes off before me. I leave 2 seconds later, hoping to draft for at least 10 yards before she so outdistances me that even her existence becomes an article of faith.
Repeat 10-19 times.
By rep #20, she is starting to get sort of tired, and I am still reasonably refreshed, having drafted most of the workout.
I am extremely tempted to sprint on the last one, tickle her girlish toes, maybe even grab same and let her pull me a while, in the process letting her know that the natural Talibanic order of things--with me in the position of supremacy--still holds.
But some niggling interior sense--call it morality, call it conscience, call it fear of being punched--tells me not to do this.
Instead, I leave a full second later than usual, i.e., 3 seconds after her push off.
If the set continues, and I continue to catch up, I have a bit of wriggle room. I can, if absolutely necessary, leave 4 seconds after her. Or--god forbid--the actual 5 that I am supposed to have done the whole time.
It's sort of like the Fed easing interest rates to prevent economic collapse.
Already, I hear your obvious objections, Miss Christina! And I have an answer for them!
What if even 5 seconds is not enough?
This may sound like blasphemy, but the answer is simple: 6 seconds, or even 7 seconds, or 8!
Especially if the person coming after you is struggling, they will be grateful to be able to better draft off you for a while. And especially if there are not too many reps left to go, the person in the front will not be demoralized or enraged by what may well strike him/her as the "sally save up" phenomenon.
If your coach is Germanic, and insists upon the trains running absolutely on time, you could dip underwater at the precise send-off interval, count one Mississippi, two Mississippi, then push off, and nobody would be the wiser.
With this approach, and you living in Georgia, I predict it will be no time at all before the boys are asking you to bust up their chifferobes...
