Solo Swimmers

I have Reynaud's too!! :) That's why I can't handle those low temps. Bummer! :bighug: Where do you have it? My main problem is my toes. I can be feeling hot and have a red face from doing sprints; but, if I am in a cold pool, and I rest any more than a minute at the wall, my toes will turn blue. :afraid: Elaine, we're moving to the active adult community in mid December. We're still in the house in Northern Virginia. The pool in the new community is 50 feet long so ugh. Del Webb does it right. But there isn't a DW community in our area, and DH is still working. I'm so envious when I read how close you are to the pool and that you have a lane to yourself. :banana: I actually met the new community's developer last weekend and reiterate my opinion that they missed a big opportunity with that pool because over 55 is the fastest growing segment of adult swimmers. He shrugged and said he hoped I'd find other good things there. They do have some lovely underutilized bike trails, and cycling is DH's main activity so hopefully we'll get to do more of it but it means if I want to swim I'll have to drive. :doh: Oh, got it! I thought you had already moved there and were moving ​again.

Elaine, we're moving to the active adult community in mid December. We're still in the house in Northern Virginia. The pool in the new community is 50 feet long so ugh. Del Webb does it right. But there isn't a DW community in our area, and DH is still working. I'm so envious when I read how close you are to the pool and that you have a lane to yourself. :banana: I actually met the new community's developer last weekend and reiterate my opinion that they missed a big opportunity with that pool because over 55 is the fastest growing segment of adult swimmers. He shrugged and said he hoped I'd find other good things there. They do have some lovely underutilized bike trails, and cycling is DH's main activity so hopefully we'll get to do more of it but it means if I want to swim I'll have to drive.

Stop me if you've heard this one before. The YMCA has a nice 8 lane pool, with hot tub and sauna right off the deck. I'm just done with my laps and I see a guy come out of the sauna. He's dripping more sweat than water coming off me from the pool and he walks directly to the hot tub. Do I want to get in that hot tub now with Mr Oilslick? Maybe not.

Another reason that I left the Y. They didn't enforce "rules".

Varying locations big for me as a solo. Besides LA Fitness locations near home and office, I'm fortunate to live and work near Lake Michigan, which gives me open water options, too. Also have a 50-meter pool nearby. Other suggestion is a Garmin swim watch to track daily progress. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I did some spritns today and dive from the side of the pool. The first 50 yard breaststroke felt not so great. Speed work is tough. Maybe about 500 yards of this and slow swimming in between.

Hmmm. Is it free? If so, did it advertise what they were offering? You get free drills from USMS. I can see why you would be upset. I also have a problem if a coach doesn't coach. I want some advice, even if I don't take all of it. As someone who learned to swim as an adult, its needed. Unless you don't get any other time, I'd report it to the gym. Chances are, they may have an issue, because no one on deck, means $$$$ liability.

ssumargo, a lot of people in masters don't actually belong to a team, though pretty much everyone on the boards (but not me) does. You don't have to take part in coached swims to enjoy being a member, and you might look around for someone to coach you privately for a while if you want to learn new strokes or kicks. There are tools you can utilize to track your progress like a swim watch or a timer that can help you maintain a certain pace.

I'm sorry to hear you're discouraged, ssumargo. As Denise said, a lot of people don't belong to a team, or they only compete with a team, but train on their own. That's the case with me and many people on my Georgia Masters Killer Whales team. The only time I ever see my teammates is at meets. Regarding the workouts on this site, don't give up on them so quickly, because they are excellent! :agree: Workouts are offered for so many types of swimmers that I am sure you will fit into one of those categories. As for not being able to swim butterfly, there is no need to feel ashamed! There are many Masters swimmers who don't (or can't) swim fly, so you're not alone! Just substitute another stroke any time you see "butterfly" in a workout. The same goes for dolphin kick. Substitute another kick; it's that easy! Many swimmers do just that. Giving up and quitting is not the answer. :nono: How would that make you feel about yourself? Denise's suggestion to find a coach is an excellent suggestion. I live to far away from the closest Masters team, so I went to the closest public pool and asked if they could refer me to a coach. They gave me the name of the kids' swim team coach who has a program at that pool. We worked out a deal where I paid him by the hour for occasional sessions. I also had my husband shoot video from time to time, and I would post them on YouTube and send my coach the links. He would "coach" me via e-mail after viewing the videos and give me things to work on in between our sessions. Don't discount watching videos. I disagree that you can only learn so much from them. I watch them daily, and I am constantly learning new things! Sign up for a free account at http://www.goswim.tv , and they will e-mail you excellent instructional videos. Swimspire also has some on her site: http://www.Swimspire.com , and I search out Total Immersion videos on YouTube. In addition, Swimmer Magazine has excellent instructional articles and photos in every issue. Check out the back issues for what you missed before you joined! Hey, it's time to make lemonade out of lemons, ok? I was down, because it was just too logistically difficult to train daily with a Masters team. Instead of quitting, I did some research and made things work for me. I LOVE Masters Swimming (and just bought the shirt at Swim Outlet :D ), and I will NEVER quit until I'm dead!

Just wanted to give this thread a bump. Because I am feeling extremely discouraged this morning as a solo swimmer. I was taking the Masters Swim class at my gym for a month. The coach showed up to the class, gave me a sheet with drills to do and then disappeared. No advice or coaching happened. Then she stopped showing up altogether. There is nobody else taking that class and according to the USMS website, there are no swim clubs at that gym. I looked at the workouts that are posted on this site, a lot of them involve butterfly or dolphin kicks. I am ashamed to say that I don't know how to do either of them. So for 6 days a week, at 5 am, I am doing my own thing for an hour. I can only learn so much by watching youtube videos or reading articles. And this morning after my solo swim, it just hit me. I'm feeling disappointed and discouraged about this whole masters swimming. Should I just give up and stop?