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?
Parents
Former Member
I think Elaine is a pretty good swimmer for her age. Anyone that swims 200 yard FLy under 4:30 is doing great. Many of the top swimmers in the women's 55 to 59 were once world class swimmers. If MS Pipes swims 2:17 200 yard butterfly then she probably went to Olympic trials as a kid. Same goes for Ms Caroline Krattli swimming a 1:10 100 yard breaststroke as a 55 year old. I once swam in a heat with Kim Brecht who was once the American record holder in 100 yard breaststroke at 1:06. She wiped me out in 200 meter breaststroke going a 2:47 while I swim a 3:07 or 3:09. As a 46 year old I swam a 200 meter breaststroke at 3:58. One's body changes with age. I have further slowed down a lot since the last Masters competition I did was in early 2004 and did a senior Olympics events this year. Stopped working out again for several years until July 2016 on a regular basis. Elaine was a 1:19 breaststroker in high school which was a good time back in the early 1980's. So, I defend her on this blog. As for disabilities, I have asthma which made swimming harder even though lots of swimmers have that condition. I have ADHD discovered as a kid. I have Asperger's and learning disabilities.
I think Elaine is a pretty good swimmer for her age. Anyone that swims 200 yard FLy under 4:30 is doing great. Many of the top swimmers in the women's 55 to 59 were once world class swimmers. If MS Pipes swims 2:17 200 yard butterfly then she probably went to Olympic trials as a kid. Same goes for Ms Caroline Krattli swimming a 1:10 100 yard breaststroke as a 55 year old. I once swam in a heat with Kim Brecht who was once the American record holder in 100 yard breaststroke at 1:06. She wiped me out in 200 meter breaststroke going a 2:47 while I swim a 3:07 or 3:09. As a 46 year old I swam a 200 meter breaststroke at 3:58. One's body changes with age. I have further slowed down a lot since the last Masters competition I did was in early 2004 and did a senior Olympics events this year. Stopped working out again for several years until July 2016 on a regular basis. Elaine was a 1:19 breaststroker in high school which was a good time back in the early 1980's. So, I defend her on this blog. As for disabilities, I have asthma which made swimming harder even though lots of swimmers have that condition. I have ADHD discovered as a kid. I have Asperger's and learning disabilities.
