Word of advice to those of you who may be returning from vacation and have taken the past week off - It's time to get back to work. Chances are that your competition did not take a week off and has been training. You have work to catch up on; the sport didn't take a vacation because you were away - others were at home training and improving. If you are returning from vacation, get back to routine as quickly as possible and get out of holiday mode! The challenges that lie ahead are great; LC season will require a solid aerobic background and good fitness.
5 "MUST"s for returning to training after March Break:
- Get back onto your sleep schedule: You cannot afford to miss more training time because "I couldn't fall asleep" or "I slept past my alarm". You'll need to dust the cobwebs off of those highly disciplined time management skills and internal clock that all swimmers boast about ASAP.
- Wash your hands: Stay as healthy as possible and no better way than to wash your hands like crazy. Remember, you're working from behind so you'll be working harder (making your immune system a little weaker) AND you cannot afford to miss any more swimming.
- Review your goals: Its always important to stay hungry and its easy to be complacent when you forget about why you're doing something. Reviewing your goals (alone or with your coach) is always a smart idea to help with your motivation.
- EAT!: You'll need to replenish everything you use. Again; I don't mean eat junk, eat smart and replenish what you're using. You're likely using around 1000cal every workout, don't forget. That needs to be replaced.
- Compete - All out - All the time: I love competition in practice - its healthy. Nothing motivates someone harder than the guy that never beats them beating them. We're nearing the end of the season and success in practice is becoming more critical. Pay attention to practice PBs, who you're keeping up to and who is beating you... then improve on all of it.
