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.)
10687
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 had a great time on Wednesday at the Alabama Senior Olympics, a qualifying meet for the National Senior Games in 2019. Three of my teammates and I decided to take a pass on Georgia's Golden Olympics in September, because the facility in Warner Robins is the PITS. The pool is outdoors, there is very little shade (canopies get very hot, too, so I avoid them), the air temp. is typically in the 90's, the water temp. in the mid-80's, the poorly run (and hand-timed) meet lasts over eight ours until the sun is setting on the 500 free swimmers, and the restrooms are disgusting.
Hoover's Recreation Center is an AWESOME facility in comparison. You should see the locker rooms! It was a dream in comparison, and the whole thing was over in five hours (the medal ceremony took up an hour of that). The meet was well-run, and it was electronically timed.
It was a FAST-PACED meet for me. In two hours, I raced the 100 fly, 50 ***, 400 IM, 200 fly, 200 IM, and 200 ***. My times were better than in my past two meets for most of my events, though, so I was happy! I also beat out three others in my two breaststroke events to win golds, and all of my other events were uncontested in my age group. Six golds, and I'm qualified for Albuquerque! :bliss:
You rock, friend.:applaud: Maybe someday I'll be able to do a meet but in the meantime I'm competing vicariously by watching your success.
Thanks, Denise!
I hope you enjoy your return to the pool. Take care to use good stroke technique on your "new" shoulder!
I had a great time on Wednesday at the Alabama Senior Olympics, a qualifying meet for the National Senior Games in 2019. Three of my teammates and I decided to take a pass on Georgia's Golden Olympics in September, because the facility in Warner Robins is the PITS. The pool is outdoors, there is very little shade (canopies get very hot, too, so I avoid them), the air temp. is typically in the 90's, the water temp. in the mid-80's, the poorly run (and hand-timed) meet lasts over eight ours until the sun is setting on the 500 free swimmers, and the restrooms are disgusting.
Hoover's Recreation Center is an AWESOME facility in comparison. You should see the locker rooms! It was a dream in comparison, and the whole thing was over in five hours (the medal ceremony took up an hour of that). The meet was well-run, and it was electronically timed.
It was a FAST-PACED meet for me. In two hours, I raced the 100 fly, 50 ***, 400 IM, 200 fly, 200 IM, and 200 ***. My times were better than in my past two meets for most of my events, though, so I was happy! I also beat out three others in my two breaststroke events to win golds, and all of my other events were uncontested in my age group. Six golds, and I'm qualified for Albuquerque! :bliss:
Wow, great job Elaine! Glad you had a great time and did well even with a tight schedule and after overcoming quite a few obstacles this year. Keep it up!
Wow, great job Elaine! Glad you had a great time and did well even with a tight schedule and after overcoming quite a few obstacles this year. Keep it up!
Thanks, Julia! :)
Tidus, As 67king said, you've definitely come to the right place and the right forum thread! My advice would be to attend one of the team practices just to see whether it would be a good fit. See what the team philosophy is, how the coach is, get a feel for the atmosphere. If it is such a great place that you feel you could sacrifice the time it would take to get to practices on a regular basis, then go for it. If not, the great part is that you have plenty of other options to pursue as a solo swimmer. Elaine did a great job in starting this solo swimming thread, where you can go for support. Another option is remote/online coaching. A good coach can get you a video analysis, customized workouts that are geared towards your needs, and consistent follow up that will provide you with the guidance that you need as a solo swimmer. Also, check out this article that Elaine wrote on finding motivation as a solo swimmer: www.swimspire.com/.../
Good luck!
Thanks for the shout-out, Swimspire! :welcome:, Tidus!
I am in the same situation are you are in that the closest team is located 50 minutes away. In my case, I decided I didn't want to join the team, because their workouts are in the evening which would require driving back home on unlit country roads at night. In addition, I prefer to swim first thing when I wake up in the morning.
When it comes down to it, this will be a decision only you can make based on your personal situation and commitments. If I had joined the team, I would have missed too many practices due to the time requirement to get there and back, driving during bad weather, etc. Instead, I swim six days a week at our community pool located just one mile up the road. The only time I miss is when I am sick or out of town. Even if I am injured, I find something I can do in the pool!
The reason I started this thread is to form an online community for people like you, 67King, and me. This is the place to come and share ideas and offer tips to each other. I recommend going through the earlier pages of this thread, so you can pick up on ideas that were posted by me and the other Forumites.
Good luck!
:cheerleader:
P.S. I saw in your profile that your favorite stroke is breaststroke. Mine, too! :banana:Come join us frogs on my other favorite thread: forums.usms.org/showthread.php
