This thread is more of a frustrated vent than a request for advice, but input is appreciated.
I am talking fly. When I first got back into swimming (about 6 months), I timed myself for 25s. I went 15/16 from a push, but I could only do it twice before I died. After a few weeks, I could hit 14/15 for 2 or three. I continue to do timed 25s on my sprint day so that I can measure my progress. I have hit 13.
Last practice, I swam 14/15 for 8 25s. I have also added a 25 slow freestyle in between and now I do them on 1:30, which is just enough rest to feel fresh on each. It sure feels like I am a lot better, but If I am not faster, am I really? I am sure I'm a lot faster for a 50 or 100 (ie I can now survive 100) due to endurance, but shouldn't I be faster too? It doesn't seem to make a difference how fast I turn it over, either. If I am swimming hard, I swim 15.
Breaststroke is actually opposite. I can build those (actually, just by going all out, I build) as I am around 18 for the first couple and 16 by the 8th. I have improved 6 seconds in my breaststroke 25 since I started.
Total yardage is about 2000 3 times a week, which is all the time I can afford to get to the pool these days. Maybe I am getting impatient. I'd call it a plateau, but there was really no progress before it flattened out.
:rantonoff:
Performance in practice will vary by day and by week. This is why many coaches give the same warmup every single day- so that the swimmer can gauge how they are feeling that day and tune the workout to address their state. Not feeling peppy in warmup? Focus on technique and drills. Feeling overly sore? Recovery/slow day. Feeling good? Sprint day or lactate day. After a while you may even be able to guess how you are going to feel on a given day, so that your workouts start to follow a pattern within the week. This is part of swimming. Stick with it- you've only just started back, and I'll wager that in another 6 months you'll look back and wonder what you were thinking when you asked this question. Good luck!
Performance in practice will vary by day and by week. This is why many coaches give the same warmup every single day- so that the swimmer can gauge how they are feeling that day and tune the workout to address their state. Not feeling peppy in warmup? Focus on technique and drills. Feeling overly sore? Recovery/slow day. Feeling good? Sprint day or lactate day. After a while you may even be able to guess how you are going to feel on a given day, so that your workouts start to follow a pattern within the week. This is part of swimming. Stick with it- you've only just started back, and I'll wager that in another 6 months you'll look back and wonder what you were thinking when you asked this question. Good luck!
