Swimming in the CoronaVirus Era

[ryanosaur]

2-1/2 months later... still at it. It's almost like I should edit the title to Swimming in the Wildfire Season.
*coughs
I've been fortunate and am very grateful to have scored 4 swims per week for this current 2-week stretch. Gonna try again when sign-up come around for Novembers first 2 weeks.
The fires, though, were no joke. The pool closed when the Air Quality got up into the upper 100s. I lost a couple swims on those days. Wish they were a little more protective as there were many days that they probably still should've closed to protect us from ourselves. There were a few (too many) days when I got out feeling like I had just power smoked a pack of Pall Malls rather than swim for 50 minutes!

@asdfgdg good to see another swimmer here... I presume you are still active?
I'm not fast by any stretch. We have a few former competitive swimmers here at my pool... one of which was an Olympian. I think I know him, though I've never asked him to confirm... Suffice it to say, I'm always a little jealous when I swim next to a person I can't at least hang with for a lap, even if I'm on an all-out sprint that leaves me gasping...
This guy... it's like I rotate for a breath and he isn't just passing me going down the pool, but is already flipping and coming back! What really rubs salt in my eyes isn't that so much, rather it's that he isn't even exerting himself doing it!

Impressive, to say the least.

Still haven't lost much more weight, but I also started on a mild Creatine regimen. I think they say it's common to hold on to about 5 extra pounds on Creatine. Regardless, I'm keeping at it at pushing as much as I can given the limitations imposed on the Pool Scene by the County DPH.
As we dive into this "rounding of the Pandemic Corner" that fearless leader is calling our current Surge, and as my County remains on the most restricted tier of reopening due to the Latino Equity issue in our case load, all I can do is hope for the best: that the pool is allowed to continue operations during the Winter, and the Swimmers that are joining us here keep themselves well and healthy and that nobody breaks the Covid protocols risking what we have.
*fingers crossed

Health and wellness to you all!

R

 

[Alex2507]

I thought my gym with a 30'x60' pool was steep at under $600 for 15 months. 4 lanes max. Inside and outside shower. Same 1 hour time slots as you but without the Hitler Youth policing the start and stop times. We're suppose to clear out at a quarter to the hour but you can push it until somebody shows for the lane. Appt's only book 48 hours in advance so I monitor the schedule and snag cancellations if they pop up.

Tomorrow I booked a noon and a 6PM time slot. This week I scored my first Sat. appt.. First opening I've seen for a weekend so I took that too.

I'm a sh!t swimmer but I like to soak my labia.

 

[davidscott]

Since its an airborne virus and most pools have chlorine I would think that the biggest risk would be talking to other swimmers.

 

[ryanosaur]

Half the pre-covid pool, when swims were affordable would be people hanging on the wall chatting.

By affordable, I buy annual passes at 650 a year... if I were to not miss a swim 5x per week, that comes out to a cool two-fitty per. And I would swim for about 90 minutes.

Now it's 10 per 50 minute time slot.

A lot less chuckleheads jawin' on the wall!

 

[Jeff R.]

I am an avid swimmer. I utilize the YMCA as my local option. I do travel for work and this makes it easier for me to maintain my regiment. COVID has certainly changed this. It is surprising that as I travel every pool has different requirements and all make you reserve a lane in advance. I hope we can get over this hump soon as I have picked up about 7-8 lbs from the struggles to get to a pool .


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[Jeff R.]

BTW. Swimmers do rule the world. Don’t tell the other athletes. They get defensive...


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[Alex2507]

A few years ago I was trying to be a better swimmer instead of the current approach of using buoyancy to help with achieving better range of motion and flexibility. I hired a swim instructor to help me figure out that I just start sucking wind after much more than a lap. I seem to swim fine. I know I have a bad habit of rushing through strokes to get to the inhale part which just wears me out quicker so I'll slow down to conserve air but what I really want is to not think and just swim. So how do you strike that balance? How do I stop looking like a dipsh!t who just jumped in the water yesterday?

 

[Jeff R.]

I would focus on your hands and arms. A lot of new swimmers are kicking to hard and that takes all your energy. Leg muscles will suck all the oxygen from your other muscles. Focus on the technique that hopefully your instructor taught you. Try to make your strokes long by reaching as far in front of you as possible and then pull all the way through till your hands are at your upper thigh. If breathing is really an issue you could try a snorkel. I personally don’t like them. I am kind of claustrophobic and the air restriction does not work for me but a lot of people use them. They are good for building lung capacity.


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[ryanosaur]

Sadly, it's been a year since visiting this thread. Why? Nothing had changed. Month after month, the Covid protocols stayed in place. Us swimmers were required to sign up for 50 minute appointments, all locker rooms were closed, and we were restricted (ultimately) to swimming no more than 2 per lane (splitting) with swimmers being advised to enter from opposite ends of the pool, and not stop on your lane-mates home wall.

Well...

During this last year, I continued with going to Masters Swimming twice per week and swimming 3 times per week on the Pool sign up system with Fridays being a "double" where I would book two consecutive sessions (thus allowing me to stay in the pool uninterupted).
I managed to get some personal bests, including a 36:16 mixed mile (72 laps, half Crawl/half Breaststroke). I also managed to crush out a 1:44 100yd Breaststroke. A fellow swimmer who is competitive and probably one of the better Breaststrokers at the pool clocked 1:36 in a timed event for the same distance. To only be 8 seconds behind that time is pretty satisfying.

Well... (pt ii)

November 1 2021 saw the end of almost all Covid restrictions at the pool. The reservation system is no more and our punch card and annual passes have been reinstated. We are allowed to come and go as we wish, swimming as long as we would like. Lanes are open to multiple swimmers with 3-4 people circling if that many end up in a single lane. Locker rooms are reopened.
The only restrictions remaining are that masks are required in the locker rooms, and the showers are still closed.
For me, that last is the part that sucks, as I always shower at home before going to the pool, but it is NICE to be able to rinse the pool off, there, when done. Even though the pool uses salts in the water for sanitation as opposed to liquid chemicals, the chlorine content is still rather damaging.
My goatee will not recover, I'm afraid, until I can shower there.

Anyway, It seemed appropriate to share the news with my few meager friends, here.

Cheers!

 

[Swerd]

I also managed to crush out a 1:44 100yd Breaststroke. A fellow swimmer who is competitive and probably one of the better Breaststrokers at the pool clocked 1:36 in a timed event for the same distance. To only be 8 seconds behind that time is pretty satisfying.

Very cool! I assume that's in a short course pool, indoors.

 

[ryanosaur]

Very cool! I assume that's in a short course pool, indoors.

Short course, outdoor.

 

[Swerd]

Short course, outdoor.

Interesting. In the east, nearly all outdoor competition pools are metric, either 25 or 50 meters, and the race distances are all metric.

Indoor races are in yards, as many indoor pools are old enough to have been built as 25 or 50 yards. There are a few newer indoor pools that are metric and have moveable bridges for shorter races in yards. One meter is 1.094 yards.

For the non-lap-swimmers, a short course pool is 25 meters or yards, and a long course pool is 50. The times for swimming 100 yds or meters can be faster in a short course pool, with three turns, than in a long course pool, with one turn.

 

[ryanosaur]

I realized I hadn't updated this for a bit. Thought it time to tell how the story ends... and a little more.

Once the pool fully reopened, I jumped in with both feet! (Ya... bad joke... I know.)

I started pushing myself to regain my old form, which led almost immediately to some injuries. Those, coupled regular life non-swimming injuries and the bout of Covid I had in early August ultimately kept me out of the pool for any regular achievement to occur. Since this pattern started before the 2022 season, I didn't even rejoin Masters.
While I had managed not to gain much weight during the first part of Covid, I started creeping up the scale during this time. The real injury of weight gain happened almost immediately after that bout with Covid where I packed on 20-25 lbs.

So September 2022... I am back in the pool with a new mission: Baby Steps. I very deliberately started with some 50 lap (25yd pool) sessions, two times per week. Little by little, I worked up the increases... 60... 70 ... 80 laps, up to 3-days per week.
By January, I was finally pushing 100 laps, 4 days per week. Yet I hadn't gotten any leverage on my weight... that Covid-25 just would not budge.

I've added to my regimen, now, a Personal Trainer I am seeing twice a month. One primary goal is to balance my swim muscles. My Front Deltoid and Lats were over developed compared to my upper back muscles. She immediately keyed into this and has me doing exercises to strengthen my Core and Upper back, among other areas.
I've successfully gotten back on my Spin bike (a Covid-era purchase we made in an attempt to keep in shape. I ride it on days I am not swimming. I'm no closet TDF cyclist, but I recognized it will be beneficial for my cardio health and endurance. Currently I'm hitting just over 11 miles in 40 min with an average RPM of 115 plus for about 15 minutes in there... my cool downs are about 100 rpms.

Dietary: I am working on eating smarter and more consistently. I had previously done things like cut alcohol and flour&sugar, but over that last year without regular exercise, it was of no avail.

I stopped drinking beer on Jan.2. I allowed myself cocktails, though, so I wouldn't miss the beer. Feb.1 I cut all liquor. While I've fortunately never been an alcoholic, I am definitely in the Gray Area Drinker category. Beer as water replacement... 3-4 cocktails sometimes over a few hours... Never enough to get drunk, though sometimes a pleasant buzz. I've never been a blackout kinda guy.

Back to the pool. February has seen my lap count increase to 120 laps, 4 days per week. I am successfully doing home weight training, core training, mobility training, and cycling.

Currently, I am down 25 lbs from my Dec.31st weight.
Losing 10 more will see me back to my pre-Covid era weight. I am confident I can achieve this by early March.

For now, my next tasks in the pool are to get with a trainer for some lessons to make certain I'm not doing any of my bad habits and check my form. My times are still off, though coming back slightly. Breastroke was always my strongest but I am struggling to hit 30 sec laps consistently, while before I could hit 27 sec laps easily. My Crawl is dragging hard at almost 40 sec per lap. I can do a 30 second lap, all out, but can't maintain past 50 yds.
So speed and efficiency are on the menu, along with getting back to swimming a full mile non-stop.
Technically just over 70 laps, I do 72 as my "Mile." My longest non-stop swim right now has been 40 laps.

So my deliberate and cautious return to my old form continues. With luck, by April, I will be stretching out a little more with better times and longer swims.

Cheers!