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?
Great thread, Elaine! Hopefully many people will post here. Good luck everyone!
Thanks, Julia! Hey, keep up the great work with your Swimspire site. Your articles are terrific-- very inspiring! :agree:
I think this is a great idea for a thread and Elaine's ideas about video are helpful.
I find 2 things very important for consistency in workouts; a pace clock(or watch) of course and always counting strokes every length. If your pace is what you want and your stroke count is what you want then your technique is likely OK(but can always be better, hence the need video or knowledgeable observer.) If you count strokes every length it becomes second nature and you don't need to think about it.
I generally love the challenge of coming up with my own workouts and love the freedom to modify them any way I wish. Where solo swimming becomes tough for me is midway in my meet preparation cycle.I try to do 3 taper meets/year(SCY,LCM and SCM) and like to do a 15 wk cycle to prepare. The first few weeks are usually easy to motivate for as I either was satisfied with the last meet and am excited about carrying it forward,or I was not satisfied and that is more motivating.The last few weeks are also relatively easy as I get excited about the meet.The middle weeks are where I have trouble,especially if I get a little sick or hurt and feel like my conditioning is going backwards.How do others cope with this?
Do you use the USMS Fitness Log?
No. I have a spreadsheet of my own design. My log books precede availability of home computers and networks by a couple decades. I originally kept the sheets in binders. A few years ago, I used the Log-a-run website because a group I belonged to was doing it as a motivator. I was sort-of the king of the pushups list, doing upwards of 4000 per month. The year I turned 65 I managed to do 500 pushups, run a half-marathon and swim 1 mile. Not all at once mind you. The group was cardiac athletes, all of whom have had a heart procedure at some point. I have an artificial aortic valve.
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... and always counting strokes every length. Triple agree on this point. Counting strokes, particularly for freestyle, also serves as a barometer for when I need to back down; if my stroke count gets too high and consistently too high while producing the same (or slower) times, I know I'm at a point where I need to back off for a bit and rest.
...Where solo swimming becomes tough for me is midway in my meet preparation cycle.Timing doesn't always work for me, but I like to do a quick 3-4 day 'drop-taper' meet in the middle of a training cycle when I can. In SCY, this usually means a meet in mid-February to early March.
I'll second Elaine's point about swimming off events. Not only in-season, but even at Nationals, I find it can be an incredible morale boost to go a best time in an event I rarely swim. Even when I rationally know that the only reason I went the best time is because I finally swam the event tapered & shaved, my emotional mind still gets stoked. If there are events you don't swim that often, you can even get that 'high' at an in-season meet.
No. I have a spreadsheet of my own design. Yes! Yes! Yes! I have a great Excel file that I've been using over the years; it's way easier to use and way more information-packed than the Flog.
I train with a great masters group, not that near where I live, but worth the commute. ..The coach is excellent and gives feedback to all the swimmers, not just the speedsters. But when I can't make it to the group workouts, I do solo ones. My favorite of the different pools near me is the one at the local high school. That one always has lap lanes up during its posted hours, and, although the pool is typically shared w open swimming, I have yet to see more than 2-3 people in the lap lanes. Often, I have a lane to myself and the pool is kept in good shape. My least favorite is the pool nearest to me. The water is too warm, lap swim hours are sparse (and the aquatic director has no problem pulling rank and taking over lap space with lifeguard and swim classes. Add to that swimmers such as those Sumorunner described, and it's a place I reserve for my short, easy swims. Another y a bit further away has better hours and a better pool (w a hot tub!), but it gets pretty crowded, so can be frustrating to do a workout. Still, I've been able to get in some nice quality swims. I think having a few options for swimming really helps. Also a sense of humor, and flexibility in one's workout plan. For instance, in crowded conditions, I'm less likely to use paddles or try IM sets. And I tend to do shorter repeats b/c that way I can more frequently monitor whether lanes open up.
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nice idea for a thread elaine ! … i retired and moved to savannah 6-7 yrs ago and the county pool is just 8-9 minutes away and its wonderful facility. the masters team practiced at 5:30 am, i tried for 3 months but it was way to early … now i practice (alone) about 9 am … M thru Thur the “lap” pool is 16 lanes with an added 2 lane wide area between the 2-8 lane 25yd courses for the odd noodler … on F and Sat it 8 lanes LC … i’ve never had to share a lane SC and once or twice a year share a LC lane (last year i swan the 10 K postal and had my own lane for over 3 hrs) … all that is great but without a coach my free has gone down the tubes and since it bothered my shoulders starting this year i’m a back/flyer … with the county weight lifting center 2 minutes away its like i died and wound up in swimming nirvana ... to swim fly more race like i do my main fly sets after a short warm up and later during the workout i'll swim fly with short fins other than that its all back with 200-300 free at the end of the workout , just in case i'm swimming any free relays
One type of swimmer I didn't include in my earlier rant was the one (or 2 or 3) I call walrus girl. It's an uncharitable term, I know. And since I'm a heavyweight myself, I know why these women are there. I admire their tenacity and attempt to be active to lose weight. Some are probably 250lbs or more. I've been there. I know what it takes to lose it, so when I see a walrus girl in a lane, unless I recognize her, I will not try to share a lane and I'll let her have it to all herself. She deserves at least that.
Been to 4 coached swim practices in my life, 3 of them were in a different country during vacation last month. I swim OK at meets but often wonder if i am missing out on alot of stuff
Hey, Swimosaur! :wave: Will you be showing up to the SouthSide Pentathlon on September 10? Join me in the Ironman?? :banana:
Alas, no. Check your email!
100% concur with Alan!
Swim with a pace clock
Count your strokes
To which I would add,
Show up
They say, "Showing up is half the battle." If you're not the water, you can't do the workout. Show up.
I ... love the challenge of coming up with my own workouts and ... like to do a 15 wk cycle to prepare.
I like coming up with my own workouts too. But I don't know how to organize a nearly 4 month long preparation cycle.
Alan, can you comment? What 15 week preparation cycle?
