Master’s Swimming is the Best
I love how I feel after my early morning swim workouts. My Master’s team has workouts from 6-7am Monday through Friday and then 7-8 on Saturdays. In order to get to this 6am workout, I need to set my alarm for 5:25am, then allow about 10-15 minutes for myself to mentally prepare (aka: time to pull myself out of my super comfy bed), then I have about a 10 minute drive to the pool.
We typically have about 3 people per lane which is great. I find that I simply cannot get a good swim workout if I am not swimming with others. I need a coach telling me what the sets are and I need people in my lane to create that much needed synergy in the morning to get me going.
The workouts are always 3000 yards, which for those of you not familiar with swimming, is 120 laps of a 25 yard pool. This morning, there were other strokes in the sets instead of just freestyle. One of the sets was 8 x75, where the odds were your best stroke and the evens were one lap of your worst stroke and two laps of freestyle. I love this type of variety.
Fins and Paddles are a Master Swimmer’s best friend
We also were able to use fins and paddles in another set. The more equipment, the better. When I put those fins on, I feel like a dolphin. Those mammals really do have quite a big advantage with their wonderful dorsal fins.
If I could use fins in the Swim from Alcatraz swim, I would not hesitate in signing up this year for one of these events. I need to do that swim again. It is such a high to get out of the bay and to look back at the path you just swam from Alcatraz Rock.
TYR Split Fins
I have tried many different types of fins over the years, and I have to say that the TYR Split Fins are my favorite. For some reason, they just fit my feet perfectly, they feel lighter than other fins, and I just feel like I gliding through the water so effortlessly when I have these fins on my feet.
Paddles also help in workout by creating a larger surface of water for your hands to push behind you. I like using my paddles to change things up a bit in workout, but I am more smitten with my fins than my paddles.
There is a swimmer on my team who swam the English Channel last year. She has also swam the Golden Gate Bridge Swim. The English Channel does not really interest me. I prefer the tropics and extreme sun to cold and numbness in the extremities. Still, it is pretty amazing to be able to say that you have swum the English Channel.
I would, however, love to try the Golden Gate Bridge Swim. This is trickier than Alcatraz, due to the extremely high waves. The Golden Gate separates the bay from the ocean. The ocean, as you can imagine is quite a bit rougher than the bay. Maybe they will let me use fins?? 🙂
Early Morning Swim Workouts are the Best
Early morning swimming gets me energized and ready to face the day. I get to enjoy the camraderie of the other inspirational swimmers, the endorphin rush from a great workout, and I get to avoid the initial bit of morning madness that tends to occur in my house every morning as all three of my little ones get ready for school. Its all good. 🙂
Do you have an early morning workout that you love? Feel free to leave a comment below
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