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?
Yesterday I was doing laps at the LA Fitness pool. Shower Cap and Clueless, got into my lane. Clueless started doggy paddling up the middle. It was the easy access lane, which I used to save my shoulder, and I knew they probably needed the steps. I said to Clueless, what are you doing? I'm trying to get some exercise. Clueless apologized and I offered to share the lane, but she ducked under the ropes to the middle. Shower Cap couldn't, so she stood up against the ropes chatting with Clueless while I stuck to one side of the lane. Shower Cap had on so much perfume, that stuff that's sickly sweet, and it gave me a headache. I said something to the lifeguard about perfume users not taking a shower, and he just shrugged. I swear they have the worst lifeguards at LA Fitness. He's always on his cell phone, anyway. You could bonk your head and knock yourself out and he wouldn't notice. I said something to a guy at the front office about maybe posting rules that include taking a shower before using the pool. We'll see if they do anything about it.
Yesterday I was doing laps at the LA Fitness pool. Shower Cap and Clueless, got into my lane. Clueless started doggy paddling up the middle. It was the easy access lane, which I used to save my shoulder, and I knew they probably needed the steps. I said to Clueless, what are you doing? I'm trying to get some exercise. Clueless apologized and I offered to share the lane, but she ducked under the ropes to the middle. Shower Cap couldn't, so she stood up against the ropes chatting with Clueless while I stuck to one side of the lane. Shower Cap had on so much perfume, that stuff that's sickly sweet, and it gave me a headache. I said something to the lifeguard about perfume users not taking a shower, and he just shrugged. I swear they have the worst lifeguards at LA Fitness. He's always on his cell phone, anyway. You could bonk your head and knock yourself out and he wouldn't notice. I said something to a guy at the front office about maybe posting rules that include taking a shower before using the pool. We'll see if they do anything about it.
