Hi all,
All winter I have been swimming in an indoor 25m pool. I have build up from about 2000 to 4000m per workout over the course of 4 months (April-now). So this summer I found an outdoor pool which I swim in from 6-7:30 pm. I think the water is cooler than the indoor pool, and there are no lane ropes that cut down on turbulence (though there are very few people swimming laps there at this time). I do tend to go to the indoor pool about an hour or so earlier because of the crowd and because the outdoor pool has all-lap-swimmers at that time. But that shouldn't affect anything.
The problem is that I always lack motivation and I have *yet* to finish a workout in this pool--for example, yesterday I was supposed to swim 3800m but only swam 1250 before I got tired and actually quit--and I've done this every time in that pool. I tried swimming the indoor pool the other day to test, and I swam the whole workout--4000m--without issue.
What's the problem? Is it the water temp, the turbulence, both, neither, or something else? Or could it be mental? I love the outdoor swimming idea but if I can't swim my workout, I don't know how to fix it.
Suggestions?
:yawn:
What pools are you referring to? I'm in the same area as you, and may have some insight on a particular pool...
Are you training for anything in particular (meet, triathlon, OW swim, weight loss, etc.)? If not, I would recommend you set some finite goals. It is hard to train by yourself, but if you're having a rough time either getting to or actually swimming at the pool, having a goal like that will help you through the rough patches.
Personally, telling myself things like " isn't going to swim itself" and "you need to work off those 10 cookies you ate last night" help encourage me to make time to swim and to keep plugging away while I'm there.
Also, if you're not using Go-The-Distance, check that out. Seeing the workouts you do (or don't do) in a calendar and getting total mileage is a great motivator, especially if you're not interested in meets or OW races. Simple goals based purely on mileage in the pool or days in the pool will help get you back on track!
What pools are you referring to? I'm in the same area as you, and may have some insight on a particular pool...
Are you training for anything in particular (meet, triathlon, OW swim, weight loss, etc.)? If not, I would recommend you set some finite goals. It is hard to train by yourself, but if you're having a rough time either getting to or actually swimming at the pool, having a goal like that will help you through the rough patches.
Personally, telling myself things like " isn't going to swim itself" and "you need to work off those 10 cookies you ate last night" help encourage me to make time to swim and to keep plugging away while I'm there.
Also, if you're not using Go-The-Distance, check that out. Seeing the workouts you do (or don't do) in a calendar and getting total mileage is a great motivator, especially if you're not interested in meets or OW races. Simple goals based purely on mileage in the pool or days in the pool will help get you back on track!
