Triathlon Schedule Swim PracticeThe thing that mucks up a lot of people’s triathlon training schedule is swim practice.  The whole “production” of swimming is just more time consuming than the actual workout.

For a run, you can put on shoes, shorts and a shirt and go. For a bike ride, same thing, but you grab your your bike out the garage or carry it downstairs and go. For a swim, however, for most of us, we have to grab the swim suit, find a towel, go to the pool, change clothes, etc.–all this rigmarole before we even get into the work out.

Well before sabotaging your effort, get your prep routine  down and make it easier to at least get to and from the gym. This way you will be less likely to sabotage your efforts and stick with your practice schedule. Here are some simple things you can do to streamline your swim before getting in the pool and after you’re done.

  1. Get a dedicated gym bag just for swim. Even if you run and bike or do other workouts at the gym, still have a bag just for swim. You could make your swim bag smaller so it fits in your larger workout bag if necessary. The reason for this is so you have a holding spot just for your swim gear that is easy to pick and go if you choose. And you will be keeping all your swim gear in the same spot. Don’t store your swim gear in a drawer or shelf-always keep it in the bag (unless washing it).
  2. Keep your swim bag stocked with all the gear you need for swim.
    1. Your swim suit
    2. Swim towel – have a dedicated towel or 2 only for swim and kep it with the bag. Wash them together and put right back in the bag.
    3. Goggles. Do not loan it out. Buy the kids or your spouse their own pair if they need them.
    4. Flip flops or wet shoes
    5. Swim cap
    6. Water bottle
    7. Watch
    8. Favorite toiletries:  shampoo, lotion, deodorant, comb, etc.  Get travel size portions and keep it in the swim bag.
    9. A lock or a stack of quarters for the locker
  3. Leave your  bag by the door on the days you swim so you aren’t looking for it.
  4. Rinse swim gear when you take a shower–this should not be washed with detergent more than once a week.
  5. If possible pick your swim times that match he right time of the week for you, times when you can work with an easy hairstyles coming out of the pool and you can jump into clothes that are easy to slip on when coming out of the pool.
  6. Test different times of the day. Evaluate whether morning, afternoon or evening workouts are better for you based on your schedule and energy level. If you have a pool available early in the morning, you might try morning swim. You’d have to get up earlier but it could be the way to fit more swimming in your schedule and you’ll feel invigorated and this may not disrupt your schedule so much if you can just shower and leave for work from the gym.
  7. Give it some time to get this training to fit in your schedule.  Try these tips and  you may need to give it a week or two to get your routine down so it is smooth. You will start to see a difference in the time you spend on swim with some re-organization.

Swimming needs to be a part of your training, so don’t stop or cut down your swims because of the time. Try some of these tips to smooth out your triathlon schedule for training.

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Filed under: training for swim

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