What are some easy tips to keep going while lap swimming. I get so bored, which is strange, because I actually love the water.
I have a pretty good stroke and I'm very comfortable in the water. I just lack motivation. I even have a couple triathlons planned for the summer but even that isn't enough to keep me going. I'd love some tips.
How do you do it?
I posted an article by Terry Laughlin on this subject several weeks ago (Zone In, not Out, to Overcome Your Limits). He takes the approach that we should actually be concentrating on the water and our body rather than trying to distract ourselves.
Can't say that it's been that easy for me to do the entire time I'm in the water, but it does help me notice little things like the way subtle adjustments in body position feel.
Try something that is over the top sign up for " Alcatraz Sharkfest" a 1 1/2 mile swim in San Francisco Bay, about 54 degrees water temp, 4oo swimmers, call me for tips 559-786-3396 ( p.s. it sell out every Jan)
Have you ever been to Disney World/Land? The length of the lines to get on a ride are about a mile long. So as not to discourage you, they break it into sections. As soon as you round a corner, there is another 10 minute wait. After you round the next corner . . . . . a ten minute wait. Eventually you get there. I break my swim into 4 sections. I suppose you could even break it into 8 sections but 4 is good enough for me. If I am swimming a mile, I concentrate on the first 1/4 mile only. I try to look up and note my time. In my mind, I have completed the distance that I wanted to do and have noted my time. Now I do it again and note my time. After completing the third fourth of my mile, I pour on a little more juice in order to finish the last quarter in the same time as I did the first quarter.
Another thing that I do is to concentrate on developing a rhythm with my stroke and breathing. It is like a drum beat or the sound of a heavy machine pumping out a rhythm. Getting a great song in your head helps too. While I am doing that, I count out my strokes per length. If I am taking more strokes per length, it means my stroke is becoming less efficient and most likely I am not reaching far enough or I am not finishing long enough. That tends to happen as I get tired. So, I concentrate on these things too in order to make the time go faster.
I will tell you what helps me. I swim 4-6 days a week on a competitive year round swim team and there times when I can't think about anything except swimming, but there are sets that are just so long that I have got to do something. I usually sing a motivational song in my head or I just think about anything that interests me and sometimes I forget I am swimming! But I luckily can still keep a god pace while being side tracked.
Terry Laughlin points out several tips in his Total Immersion book. I had the boredom problem over the past couple of years and considered getting a SwimP3. I am glad I did not because now, I am 100% focusing on technique as he suggests. I believe in his philosophy of finding Flow while swimming and that slightest movements have substantial implications while swimming. following his philosophy and feeling the stroke work just right is a major rush, and something I try to repeat continuously. This year, it is more than the black line, it is more about taking a yoga-like approach to the sport. Good luck.
