Hey, solo swimmers! :wave: Welcome to the thread for all of us who train solo. Whether you train on your own due to a lack of a Masters team in your area (or for any other reason), this is our virtual locker room. Please post training tips that you think would be helpful, or anything else you would like to share with the rest of us. Have a rant? Go ahead and vent here! :rantonoff:
I'll start with a tip:
The most frustrating thing for me training solo is not having a coach on deck to evaluate my stroke and keep me on track, so I bought a waterproof camera and enlisted the help of my husband to periodically shoot video of all four strokes. Shooting underwater video became a knee/back buster, so I bought a camera mount and attached it to PVC pipe, so my husband could stand up straight to shoot underwater video. The camera gets dunked underwater, and he twists the pipe to pan the camera as I swim by.
Today, I bought a 2-pack of 12-inch "Gear Tie" reusable rubber twist ties (available at Home Depot), so I can tie the PVC pipe to the pool ladder (located in the corner of the pool) and shoot video myself. (If I angle the camera just right and keep it on wide angle, I can video me coming and going.)
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After each video session, I upload the videos to my desktop computer and compare my stroke to my favorite Go Swim stroke videos to see what I'm doing well (or not). I also post them on the Forums for feedback.
Ok, solo swimmers, what's your tip?
Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. I've got one I bet you haven't heard before. Today, the shallow poll was closed for some reason, so the water aerobics class took over 2 lanes of the lap pool, 25-30 old ladies and by old I mean at least my age. My wife was among them. I was in the lane next to the aerobics people. I kept noticing an odd, non-pool sort of smell at one end and eventually realized, the whole friggin' pool smelled like PERFUME! I swear I could even taste it.
:bighug: Ohhh, that's the worst! It burns my lungs if I inhale perfume or men's cologne while doing sprint sets, and I have experienced both several times. Men have been just as guilty as women! :bitching: I've been known to stop mid-lane and choke, because of an allergic reaction to it. When that happens, I make sure to say in a somewhat loud voice to my other perfume-hating buddies, "I wonder who is wearing perfume (or cologne) in the pool. It's choking me! I wish they would wait to put it on after they get out of the pool!"
Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. I've got one I bet you haven't heard before. Today, the shallow poll was closed for some reason, so the water aerobics class took over 2 lanes of the lap pool, 25-30 old ladies and by old I mean at least my age. My wife was among them. I was in the lane next to the aerobics people. I kept noticing an odd, non-pool sort of smell at one end and eventually realized, the whole friggin' pool smelled like PERFUME! I swear I could even taste it.
:bighug: Ohhh, that's the worst! It burns my lungs if I inhale perfume or men's cologne while doing sprint sets, and I have experienced both several times. Men have been just as guilty as women! :bitching: I've been known to stop mid-lane and choke, because of an allergic reaction to it. When that happens, I make sure to say in a somewhat loud voice to my other perfume-hating buddies, "I wonder who is wearing perfume (or cologne) in the pool. It's choking me! I wish they would wait to put it on after they get out of the pool!"
