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?
I swam yesterday and have absolutely no idea how much I did, just that I swam about 50 minutes. I'm pleased to say, though, that I have not had neck or shoulder pain since starting my MacKenzie exercises. I've been swimming on a semi regular basis for about two months and can report that the doctor who told me I could never swim again (because, ahem, people are land animals and not meant to be in the water blah blah blah:blah:) is full of :censor:. But we knew that, didn't we? Anyway, thought I'd say thank you to all of you who encouraged me to not give up.
I'm so glad I decided to prep for the 50 50s on :50 and didn't stupidly jump in the water on my birthday. I tried 40 50s yesterday and it almost killed me. I managed the first 25-30 okay, but just about died on the last 5-10. I had to give myself 30 seconds' rest between the final 3 reps. Ugh ugh ugh. Hopefully I'll "be there" in six weeks, but at the moment I feel like a wet banana peel.
Also, I think I should have eaten more prior to my workout yesterday. I was definitely running on empty.
I swam yesterday and have absolutely no idea how much I did, just that I swam about 50 minutes. I'm pleased to say, though, that I have not had neck or shoulder pain since starting my MacKenzie exercises. I've been swimming on a semi regular basis for about two months and can report that the doctor who told me I could never swim again (because, ahem, people are land animals and not meant to be in the water blah blah blah:blah:) is full of :censor:. But we knew that, didn't we? Anyway, thought I'd say thank you to all of you who encouraged me to not give up.
This is such fantastic news!
Tough workout. I remember back when I was training at 46 yeard old before I stopped workouts at 48. I only did 40 or 42 in freestyle, so 50 would be pushing it. Today, I did one at 48 or 49 but my average is more like 53 to 56, and sometimes 1mintue. I could not do 50 on 60.
Elaine, it was such a pleasure reading and publishing this article! Great inspiration for staying motivated!
Thanks, Julia! I sure appreciate it! :chug:
Congratulations to every one on the sprints!
I think a fellow swimmer summed it up best today at the meet: I hate sprints. LOL. Better you than me, althought I"m going back to devoting a night to them.
I also enjoyed Elaine K's post. I think one thing I see as a huge problem is people unwilling to go out of the comfort zone. That means I'll only swim the one stroke I like, or am good at, or is easy. Continuously challenge yourself in an area. I find that is a key issue. Too many won't do it.
