Pan Am Masters Swimming Championships in Rio

Masters swimming is certainly an international sport and it seems some competitions exist that have not been on my radar.  Pan Am Championships in Rio!  I've always wanted to go and this could be an interesting way to visit the city.  A few days of swimming with people from all over the Americas (potentially the world) and then having a holiday tacked on to the trip. 

It's even more appealing because it is being held in November, a decidedly gloomy time of the year in London.  I may have to give this some consideration and look forward to learning more information about the meet when it becomes available.

http://www.uana-aquatics.org/html/English/2panmaster1.htm

Tired, tired, tired

Do any of you other masters swimmers feel this way?  I have trained 5 of the past 7 days in an effort to get a good level of fitness back, but also realize rest is a part of training.  I didn't swim yesterday and couldn't have if I had wanted to.  Sunday and Monday were difficult early-season sets.

The final set on Monday was 20x100, 6 off 1:45, 5 off 1:40, 4 off 1:40, 3 off 1:35 and 2 off 1:30.  Bear in mind this is long course meters.  The fast lane started at a blistering10 seconds faster than we did (most of them are roughly half my age).  I did well and ended up leading until the final 2.  But oh how I ache!

Is there a recommended amount of yardage for over 50's or does it matter?  Or can you still maintain heavy training, albeit with reasonable rest in between workouts?

Holiday Training Pays Off

Once again I was rubbish at planning a Christmas holiday and opted to stay in London for the duration.  I took a number of days off, which provided the opportunity to train with co-swimmers and other teams around the city in an effort to get fit again after a couple of months of travel and illness.  I did a couple of "monster sets" of 6000 meters with St. Pauls and Barnes Swim Club, several sessions with co-swimmers from Spencer Swim Team at the new pool at University of Surrey (lovely pool) and then an odd session at my second team, Maidenhead Marlins.

After this "mini Club La Santa" swim camp session I'm ahead of many co-swimmers who didn't train at all during the holidays.  Hopefully this bodes well for the upcoming competitive season (injuries hopefully at bay), assuming I can keep up the training.

For those of you who think training during the holidays is a bit much, here are a few things that recommend it:

1)  It keeps the fat from piling on from the over eating/drinking.
2)  Though many were public sessions, there weren't many people about at it was very enjoyable
3)  Relaxed atmosphere and a few nice lunches were had afterwards.  Can't beat swimmer cameraderie!
4)  The pain of coming back to post New Years training sessions is nearly non-existent.
5)  Endorphine high withdrawal also non-existent.

Why not train when you have the time?  I find it so much more difficult when working. 

You can't use the excuse of being away.  There are Masters teams just about everywhere who are training.  Okay, if you truly needed a holiday, you deserve the time off, but I encourage you to think about swimming a bit during the holidays next year.  It has gotten me, at least, off to a great start this year!

The season is over

It's a strange time to start a blog, since there is very little happening in the world of swimming at the moment.  Perhaps that's why I've found the time to create a swimming blog.  In the coming months there will be a lot going on and many issues to discuss.