Masters swim clubs

COngrats on taking the plunge!!

As to your questions, for me, yes, but the masters swim coach and 50-75% of the people in the class are triathletes.   Tell the coach you are a triathlete, but frankly, unless you are tapering for or recovering from a race, a workout will do you good.  We have triathletes and non-triathletes in the grop, and we all do the same workout.  Nothing really needs to be adapted, IMHO.

We've never had usual 50s-100s in our workouts.  Some days are fast and short. Some days are long and slow.  That said, even for IM distance racers, our longest sets don't go over 600 yards or so.  The coach should mix up the workouts and not doing anything "usual."

Note: - I do masters 2X week and longer ow or pool swims once a week on my own.  No matter your primary distance, a nice set of 10 x 100 at a pace giving you 5 seconds of rest or so will help you.

Just remember, this isn't the high school swim team   You can't get demerits for not doing fly.  There are benefits to doing breast and fly, but I am not that good at them so if the set calls for IM (as in individual medley, not ironman), I just do freestyle.  No one cares.

I can't say enough for how beneficial masters swimming is.

You will find yourself pulling in more yards you ever would have doing laps alone. Plus you will probably get really good advice on tecnique. Sprint workout's on hard intervals will make you appreciate swimming long distances so much more.

Master's swim is definitely beneficial to tri training.  I schedule the rest of my tri training around master's swim.  It's not really difficult to schedule.  My master's group meets on Tues and Thurs nights.  It's well worth the effort.

Don't under estimate the benefit of all those 50s and 100s.  Swimming is all about technique and form.  It doesn't do you any good to swim a straight 1000m if after 200 m your form goes to crap.  Practicing bad form is the worst thing you can do.  Better to swim short swims with good form than practice bad form by playing wall tag.  A few long swims every now and then is OK, but endless sessions of wall tag is not good.  I promise, come race day you'll put together a 1500m swim (or what ever distance).  Also, let the coach know you are a triathlete.  A good coach will tailor the workout for you. 

Don't under estimate the benefit of practicing different strokes.  Swimming some of the other strokes improves your 'feel' for the water, works different muscle groups and improves endurance in the water.  Most of my master's swim is free style, but we do swim the other strokes also.

TJ 

Hey Steve - bummer that the first experience was a bad one.  I have to admit, my "coach" doesn't do much coaching and doesn't do most of the things you mention, although he will work with people if he's asked.

Sounds like maybe he's not so good a coach?  If 1800 was enough for you (and trust me, that's a darn good workout for your first (?) time back), try the slow lane for a while.  I've been there.  Most of us have.

Sounds also like you have to be a bit more proactive about getting what you want, if you can. Tell him you're a triathlete, what you're training for, ask for pointers, etc. Give him a chance, if he doesn't improve, then maybe that particular group isn't good for you.  Maybe it's the kind of group that people sort of fold into over time and get used to.  IMHO, it's not his job to tell you when o stop, or to figure out how far/fast you can go.  That's up to you, and if there isn't a lane to accommodate that, then it's not the right group (unless you can convince them to change).

Honestly, I am thinking to times when newbies join our group.  Yes, it seems a bit more cordial than your group, but they still gotta get in there and swim the laps themselves

Like anything else - training partners, ri clubs, trainers - there will be ones that work for you and ones that don't.  I think you need to give it some more time, at least two weeks I'd say.  preferably a month if you can.  See what happens.

Don't give up on it quite yet.  Check in and let us know what happens.

I'd like to offer more positive encouragement (like the guy above me), but honestly, I would go for 2 more workouts, and then call it quits if the coach remained that aloof.  What's the point?  Anyone can write out (or print out) a list of intervals and times to follow.  The coach should give you more than that and if he's not willing to do so, then you probably need to find another group, or structure your own swim program.

Masters swim clubs are not cheap; the coaching and ability to meet others at about your level or just above you are what you're paying for.  Don't stay with a bad fit for long.  And take care of your elbow by easing back in to swimming.  No 3500m days for you just yet...