2105 Swim Goals

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  • gentlygently
    gentlygently Posts: 752 Member
    I thought it might be timely to have a look at how we are all doing against our year goals?......

    This is what I set - with results in capitals... I am doing OK I guess....

    *********

    I'd like to do 1k in under 30. (Best so far 36). DONE ONCE

    Build up to 1.5km or a mile at least once every month. 1.5 K ONCE A MONTH PAST 2 MONTHS

    Have a successful evening swim. YES, with planning/determination, CAN DO SOMETIMES

    Thinking on this actually these are not so much 'swimming goals' as 'back to having a healthy/functioning body' again and being ready to 'go back to work' ... I think I am telling myself if I do a decent swim in a lunchtime slot in future I'll be able to keep healthy, and I can tell a potential future employer 'of course I am well again - I regularly swim a mile'. And evening swimming is about having a body that is well enough to be active all day long, as well as keeping swimming if lunch swimming does not work out. Mmmmm. Sensibly, I am not setting a timescale for my aspirations, just observing progress. But I do know my swimming is helping me get better.


    SO FAIRLY FIT - BUT STILL NOT THRbACTIVE ALL DAY LONG BODY I'D LOVE TO GET BACK.... (To be fair, CFS diagnosis confirmed this year)

    So I think on reflection I need some goals that are more about swimming! Thanks very much for making me think this through.


    Ok - here goes: 2 goals for 2 different types of swimming fun:

    50m of butterfly. (I can just about do a 25m stretch now - on a good day, with the wind in the right direction..). GONE BACKWARDS ......DOING LESS BUTTERFLY AS I WAS DECONSTRCTING STROKE WITH SWIM TEACHER AND THEN HAD TO STOP LESSONS !

    Get a waterproof iPod type thing and a finger counter thingy, so I can zone out to the Archers Omnibus. (And hence build up to swim for an hour, non Brits). FINGER COUNTY THINGY DIED AFTER A MONTH. WATERPROOF I-pod Type THINGY STILL TO BUY - NOT EXACTLY BEEN FLUSH THUS YEAR....



    Overall pretty good I guess - considering my circumstances.

    How are you guys doing?

    X
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
    • Bring my mile down to 40 minutes in the pool. Swimmer's Mile? Good lord'n butter yes. A statute mile? Not so much.
    • Complete Son of a Swim at Lake Memphremagog Yep. It was awesome. Wanna do it again.
    • Swim from King Neptune's statue to the 14th St Pier in VA Beach a couple of times over the family vacation. Nope. Due to a leg injury on my husband's part and a couple of other things, I did a few shorter swims during that vacation. Did do some open water stuff, though.
    • Swim the Boston Sharkfest. Yep. It was awesome. I might do it again next year. I am signed up for the Alcatraz Sharkfest, though and am trying to decide if I want to do both.
    • If I do REALLY well, swim 300 miles this year. (That may be more of a pipe dream, though, slow as I am). No. Not happenin'. I'm okay with this, and will try to top out my swimming year with a decent mileage, though.
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    Too many China trips this year to hit the 900 mile goal I set. I'll have to update my file to see what my total is.
  • luv2eat2013
    luv2eat2013 Posts: 428 Member
    This rookie of the year up to 2 laps in my second week of swimming 3x a week. Starting short term goals of 3,5,7,10....but 10 I will be so proud of me
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
    This rookie of the year up to 2 laps in my second week of swimming 3x a week. Starting short term goals of 3,5,7,10....but 10 I will be so proud of me


    We're all proud of you. Swimming is hard.
  • Bruceapple
    Bruceapple Posts: 2,027 Member
    2015 GOAL SWIM 365 MILES
    1-31-15 YTD = 43/365
    2-28-15 YTD = 77/365
    4-18-15 YTD = 139
    5-18-15 YTD = 146 STOPPED - BROKEN SHOULDER
    I have been able to complete some 1/2 mile weeks, my YTD = 155
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    My short term goal is to add one wall sprint or butterfly length per week until I double the total number I do in a workout. I'm at 9, so I hope to be at 18 in 9 weeks.
  • stephenrhinton
    stephenrhinton Posts: 522 Member
    My goal is to get to 2 miles in an hour workout ...which relates to a secondary goal to compete in a triathalon in 2016
  • juliet3455
    juliet3455 Posts: 3,015 Member
    @stephenrhinton " ...which relates to a secondary goal to compete in a triathlon in 2016."
    I suggest you look for a Sprint Triathlon. That is what I did this summer - my first not my last - and it was a great experience - the Sprint Distance events ( 750m swim, 20 km Bike Ride and a 5 km run ) are a lot more relaxed than the Olympic Distance ( 1500m swim, 40 km Bike Ride and a 10 km run ).

    One item that I needed to practise more was the Transitions from one sport to the next. You can lose a lot of time in the transition, what ever you wear in the pool has to be capable of doing the Bike and Run, otherwise you lose to much time changing clothes .

    Another thing to practise is the Bike to Run. When you are Biking your Mind is driving your legs around in circles, once you get off the bike and start running your mind tries to maintain the same rotational motion and pace. This results in lots of Face plants in the transition. On the advice of a neighbor who has a competed in about a dozen tri's I would Bike a 2 km loop beside my house, jump off the bike and do a 1 km run then jump back on the bike and repeat 4 more times. This way I had completed the full run distance and 1/2 the bike.

    Another thing he recommended to do is to put all the pieces together in a trial run. So go out and do the 750m swim, then jump out of the pool onto a bike and do the 20 km ride and then do the run. This is so you can examine what you are doing and where you can improve. Mine was my entry/exit from the pool ( you walk across the Timing Mat sensor and then briskly walk to your assigned lane and jump in- so you are following other swimmers in front of you and have people following behind you. The Swim-Bike transition, Bike Cadence was too low = slow Bike ride. To get better I need a better bike. My existing Bike is what I would call a Touring Bike ( used for Camping Trips carrying all your gear and food ) its better than a mountain bike but not as good as a Road or Race Bike. Looking for a road bike now. Lots of people do there first Triathlon on Mountain Bikes with Skinny/Slick Tires.
  • juliet3455
    juliet3455 Posts: 3,015 Member
    This rookie of the year up to 2 laps in my second week of swimming 3x a week. Starting short term goals of 3,5,7,10....but 10 I will be so proud of me
    @stephenrhinton did a similar plan when he started - slowly adding lengths into his routine and look at him go now.

  • gentlygently
    gentlygently Posts: 752 Member
    Hi Luv - that sounds a great plan to me.

    (And you don't have to end up doing Mega long swims to count as a swimmer by the way. People of all goals, abilities welcome and supported here - just as long as you are getting wet...! I guess the majority of people eventually end up at atleast 1k for a swim. Now some zoom past this, or reach this really quick, but lots of people just take their time to slowly build up. That is fine too. Good luck!)
  • Robertus
    Robertus Posts: 558 Member
    edited October 2015
    Robertus wrote: »
    Robertus wrote: »
    Robertus wrote: »
    I just got back into swimming in November and have worked my way up to doing 1.5 miles (7 x 350 yards plus some cool down laps). My goal for the year is to work up to doing 3 miles once a week on weekends and do 1.5-2.0 miles twice during the week. I've also started doing strength training one or twice a week so as not to lose muscle on account of a very strict diet.

    Some of you guys (fishgutzy, AquaticsQuests) have got me thinking about a 10k as a more long-term goal, maybe in 2016, with a continuous 10k maybe in 2106.
    Well, I've achieved part of my goal yesterday. Swam 3 miles (10 x 500 yards plus cool down laps). It took a lot out of me though, so I'm not yet ready to do this once a week.
    I guess I reached and surpassed my goal yesterday. Swam 3 miles continuous on Sunday and Tuesday and yesterday swam 2 miles. Looks like I set my goals too low, but I must admit I am very tired after this week and took this morning off. My next goal is to 10k in one day, very noncontinuously. Some day, probably when I get back from Rome, I'm gonna do 2 or 3 miles in the morning, 1 or 2 miles at lunch, and 1 or 2 miles after work. Will need to eat a lot before and after and rest for a week afterward. After that, I really have no idea how long it will take before I try a 10k continuous, probably sometime in 2105.
    Well, my goals have changed again. After swimming 5 miles continuous at the end of May, I developed elbow and shoulder issues and my new goal became avoiding chronic injuries. So increased my cross-training on my bike and only did a leisurely 3-mile open-water swim and Olympic-distance triathlon in July and August but very little swimming in between and no training or speed work. For the past month or so, I've started going back to the pool more regularly with more kicking if I swim beyond a mile. Shoulder and elbow seem to be doing OK so far, so I will very slowly increase distance on less frequent longer-distance days and try not to pay any attention to the clock. It is wise to accept one's limitations and age gracefully. I guess I'm not 18 any more. Still want to do a 10k someday but it might not be until 2105.
  • gentlygently
    gentlygently Posts: 752 Member
    Hi Robertus. Bodies can be so frustrating can't they - but it is good to be philosophical too!

    (However I think we had a discussion a while back about ways to avoid shoulder injuries (I got specific 'swim to avoid injury' Alexander Technique based lessons and so far so good for me...) but I repeat in case it was with someone else...Might be worth looking into?)

    Good luck with the revised goals
  • Robertus
    Robertus Posts: 558 Member
    Thanks, gentlygently. I have not yet looked into the Alexander Technique. So far just doing what my sports medicine doc and physical therapist have given me. Just finishing up with PT next week. Eventually, I will graduate to follow up with other ideas for training when I get more adventurous.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    My short term goal is to add one wall sprint or butterfly length per week until I double the total number I do in a workout. I'm at 9, so I hope to be at 18 in 9 weeks.

    Well, not doing so well on the butterfly goal because my recurring rotator cuff injury flared up again, but I have added a few wall sprints, and just in general have been concentrating on stroke technique and intensity. Took 2 minutes off my regular lap time today, and so I think I might reframe my goal to drop another 5 minutes in 10 weeks.
  • AquaticQuests
    AquaticQuests Posts: 947 Member
    My end year goal was a 15 km swim, after my 10km swim last December.
    I'm wondering if I'll be able to hack that by December given I've not done ANY long swims (ie 5 km or above) this entire year and basically been trying to focus on speed work and stroke rate.
    I have my doubts about a 6 hour swim, the way I'm feeling at the moment, but will play it by ear!
    December is 1.5 months away!
  • troutgulch
    troutgulch Posts: 30 Member
    rolyh wrote: »
    I would like to re-learn butterfly

    Relearning butterfly is definitely one of my goals too! I tried it the other day...lots of splashing around!
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,282 Member
    Pretty soon it will be time to make new goals. I met mine for this year. They must not have been too lofty, lol. I loved re-reading people's goals (and the budgy smuggler comment and ensuing question). I've never been a very competitive person physically, so it's hard to make goals for myself. Once you do that, you have put it out there and committed on some level. Mentally, I know this, and I get it (and why it works), but I'm still intimidated as hell to set goals as far out as a year.
  • troutgulch
    troutgulch Posts: 30 Member
    I swim a mile a day right now, and one goal for 2015 is to increase that to 1 1/4 miles a day.
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