Groups

Swimming morning this morning. It was painful.

The session this morning raised that interesting conundrum that comes up periodically:

• Do I get a better workout struggling to hold pace in a fast group or training at the correct pace in a slower group?

 Hmmmm. Discuss...

When it comes to many activities it is natural for us to strive to be in a faster group, after all it demonstrates that we are improving, getting progression, pushing our boundaries etc. However, by its nature a move to a faster group will be pushing us to our limits and sometimes beyond them. When we are pushed past our limits one outcome might be that we  'pop' during the session and then the quality of the training reduces significantly. If the quality of the training is reduced is it really having much benefit, would we have been better to train more within our limits and sustain the quality for the entire session? Those were the questions that were raised today?

The situation in the pool today wasn't so much that we popped, but more that we were aiming for times that were beyond the capability of the people in the group. This over-extension was partly due to the nature of the session (over-extension was part of the point) and partly because some of our quicker swimmers didn't happen to be there today. Whatever the reason for the over extension, the result was the same, we weren't quite able to train as per the intention of the session, we struggled to make the cycle times and by the end of the session we were significantly missing the target times.

Was the session hard? Without a doubt. Did we get the intended benefit from the session? Partially I would say, but I think it could have been better.

So, if we had slowed the times down would we have had a better quality session? I am not sure, but I suspect we would have. The slower times would have meant that the session was easier as the start, but it also would have meant that the last third of the session would probably have been quicker and certainly better quality.

Does this mean we should always be conservative and train with slower groups? Of course it doesn't. One of the great benefits of training in a group environment is that the group lifts individuals, motivating them to push boundaries and strive further. It is a great way to drive improvement. However, perhaps it pays to be realistic with our expectations when we are training with a group. There is no point running with the fastest pack if you are going to fade after the first effort. The trick is picking a group that will push you, but also allow you to complete the session as intended. If you are slower than the fast group, but faster than the slow group maybe you need to spend a bit of time between both as you make the transition to the quicker one.

In the end the quality of the session is more important than any particular pace, there are no prizes for winning the first effort, the benefit comes after the last one.