Laps

If you look at my bio you will know that I am all about lap swimming -- to a certain extreme (I don't have a competitive athletes group for nothing).

I learned to swim at 11-12 and began swimming competitively at 12-13 -- I never really learned to play in a pool (I played in the ocean).  But I actually do enjoy lap swimming.  It lets me focus on what I'm doing, I pick the speed, the overall distance, and the stroke.  It can be as hard a workout as I should do, or as easy as I (sometimes) want to do.

How do you feel about lap swimming?

Hmm, that sounds exactly like me, except I was younger when I started swimming.  Even today, despite some shoulder injuries that limit my pool time, I love swimming laps now and then. 

I joined a swim club when I was 8.  I stayed with swim club up to age 16 and then school and part time jobs took over.  I've gone back to swimming laps a number of times. While in University I was going almost every morning and worked up to 90 x 25 m laps.  I enjoy laps but can't stand crowded lanes.

Perhaps someone else has had this sort of problem? A while back I used to go to a nearby pool which set up rather small lanes.  There was a really obnoxious guy that was a regular who kept grabbing feet to pass and splashing people at the ends. I was tolerating it for a while but when he did it to me again one night I stopped right in front of him. He was a lot bigger than me but I was so fed up I got right in his face. I told him if he touched me again I'd have him charged with assault.  Big shouting match and I complained to the staff.  Funny thing, the staff said they'd had a number of complaints and a number of other swimmers came up to me after and said they avoid the lane he's in when he's there.

Anyway ... hate small crowded lanes.

I'd love to get a Swimp3.  That would make laps more fun.

Mr. Neville

I'm lucky in that I usually get to swim in a fairly uncrowded pool -- but not always.  I'm a pretty good swimmer compared to most that use the pool, and for some reason that means that the floaters all want to share my lane.  I do hate crowded lanes however.

Now, I don't care if you want to share -- if you let me know that you'll be in the lane.  When I'm in the lane by myself, I swim down the middle -- if I'm splitting the lane I have "my" side -- I won't circle unless I know we are of similar abilities.

I had a guy jump in the water just behind me one day, and I wasn't sure he was in my lane, so I just kept going.  Imagine my surprise when I came off my flip turn and almost face-butted him.  And he had the audacity to get snippy with me.  Then I noticed the lane next to us was empty, so I stopped the guy and suggested he move.  He got very irate -- and didn't move.  So I just changed to swimming breast and fly -- where my feet or arms take up most of the lane...  And then I put my fins on.

Other than the guys like that and those who try to share a lane and use big paddles at the same time.

I think you did the right thing by stopping him and calling him out -- if we can't share properly then none of us get the pool time we want

You're so right about that, it's about sharing properly.

The pool I'm using now identifies 2 lanes as 'fast', 2 as 'medium' and a double wide lane as 'slow'.  For the fast and medium lanes the rule is to travel up one side and back the other within the roped lane. This morning there was a gal who was faster and two guys that were slower than me.  There was not so much of a difference between us that we were constantly running into each other but we had to monitor the people around and adjust. It's difficult to get in a groove when you're either stopping to let someone pass or plodding along behind someone waiting to get to the end because someone is oncoming and you can't pass.

When I was at University, using that pool, they didn't put lane ropes up and it was easier to find a line for yourself and just swim.  I could really get into doing laps then. It was almost a meditation.  I once did 320 length of a 25m pool I was so into it.

So what sort of workout do you do? Is it a 50 m pool or 25 m?  I think I prefer the 50 m.

Dearest Coach K,

Just wondering. I've never used a swim cap. Have you? If you know, can it actually keep your hair from getting wet? Or is it just for speed?

Mr. Neville

Dear Mr. Neville,

I have in fact used a swim cap -- wear one every time I swim, basically.  I've never worn it to keep my hair dry.  I wear it in practice to keep the hair out of my eyes, and in a race (I use one for practice/warmups and a different type for races) to "help" with speed (but really it's to keep the hair out of my face).  Most men that wear them are wearing them to decrease drag and for the illusion of speed and don't generally wear them for practice.

The cap is useless at keeping hair dry except under certain conditions:

• You never get in the pool
  
• Your head never goes underwater
• You are in the pool for only a brief period of time and your head barely goes underwater
  

Many recreational swimmers wear them in a vain attempt to keep the chlorine from tearing up the hair, which is easily accomplished with proper showering.

Coach_K

Dear Mr Neville,

My humblest apologies, I never did realize you had asked a question of me earlier (or maybe I did and forgot to respond).  Regardless, it was rude.

I swim mostly in a 25M pool, it is what is usually available to me at no cost (on the military base), occasionally in a yard pool if I feel like paying.  There are very few 50M pools available for public use here in Maryland (if any), so I don't get to practice in those (wish I did, however).

I continue to compete, so my workouts are usually the same workout I write for my swimmers (albeit with slightly slower intervals).  I try to mix it up with the strokes (I will do Free and Back only if I'm left to my own devices), and with distances.  I'm predominately a distance event swimmer, so I work a lot on endurance -- but throw a pair of fins on me and I am all over the speed work.  Up until about April/May I was journaling all my workouts -- if you need/want some ideas.

What were your favourite events while growing up? Did you compete while at University?  Have you thought about going back to competition?  I know Canada has some Master's swim clubs -- they are usually a mixture of avid competitors and those who want to swim and have fun, or at least down here they are.  Do you ever do any open water swimming?  (I have a friend who keeps trying to get me in Lake Ontario -- it's never going to happen...)

Coach K

   I'm on my High School swim team and it's probably the best sports team you could get on in Secondary school. We practice for an hour-hour and a half 5 times a week, 4 times after school and early in the morning on Friday. Normally we have a focus every time we get in the water. Whether it's to focus on legs, arms, technique or endurance.

Our practices normally start off with a 200-350 m warmup, this can be any swim you want at an easy pace, it's really used to get used to the water and your arms and legs ready for the core of the practice. Our practices normally reach to about 1800-2000m

Here are 2of my favorite drills that we do (it's by memory, and this year doesn't start til' october 14th.)

The Pyramid: This is one of my least favorite things to do, because it's sooo hard. we start off with 150m fr then 100 breast, 100 back, (normally throwing in a 50m technique in during a swim (example ketchup during the free))

then comes the 50m fly, followed by 50 free and then 50 fly again and it starts going back to 150 free. each swim is set on a time.

Sprints: One of my favorites. we do 50m free on 45 seconds (50 seconds in med, a minute in slow). It's easy as first, but naturally as you tire you go slower everytime, resulting in less rest, resulting in what ends up being VERY tiring!

I wear a cap at meets, along with my Jammer (tight speedo-esque shorts). But normally hold off the cap at practices and will normally wear small black trunks over my jammer.

I'm mainly a free swimmer in the 50m, 100m, and 200 m events, as well as in the medley and free relays. I'm in the "fast" lane at my practices.

Man I love lap swimming!

I swim @ a swimming club, it is so much better than swimming in public swimming sessions (really slow people swim in the fast lane and the slow lane, and they don't let you infront of you, so i do backstroke so they can't blame me for swimming into them!! Ha its there own fault!!) I swim 3 times a week for an hour (i do loads of other sports aswell, tennis, squash, hockey, football, badminton, running etc.)

 The good thing about swimming in a club is that you are put in a lane with people your own standard and we make sure the fastest person goes first (it depends on what stroke, i go @ the front for breatstroke!) we have about 6 people in each lane and we swim in a 33.3 metre pool(somehow when i swimm @ my club i don't feel as though i have done as much although i have done more because i swimm 4 a shorter amount of time but i can swim much faster coz there is noone to slow me down!!)

Have yo tried useing dragpants they increase the water resistane acting on you so you have to work harder to go the same speed as everyone else (you obviously don't wear them for galas, but they are great 4 training!!!)

I also luv lap swimming!!!

 I've only been swimming for about 6 months but I love doing laps! I find that when I'm an the ocean, lake or river I tend to just splash around... I have a really hard time actually working out unless I'm at the pool. 

I mainly do freestyle. I can do the backstroke ok but I'm finding the breaststroke difficult.  Definitely time for some lessons.. :)