Swim Training... When/How?

After work resulted in terrible cramps for me...I can't do 9 hours of stress followed by an hour and a half of pain

Lunch with the masters class, although this usually makes my afternoons long when they do speed drills.

Before work by myself generally works better for me.  Try to go between the Master's Class and whent he folks who either start work later or are retired start showing up to swim.

Really? Swimming is a huge stress relief for me...probably why I prefer it after work...just me and the water

How do you guys swim by yourself and not go totally nuts?

I've tried swimming by myself to save a bit of money, but I just can't do it. I get bored after about 30mins and never swim as far as I would compared to a squad.

Maybe you're not swimming hard enough?  

But seriously, I tend to run out of gas WAY sooner in the afternoons.  I'm usually ready to go home and go to bed after work. (sadly...but that's another story)...that and I get to sound like a hardcore bada$$ when I say "Yeah, I got up at 5:30 this morning and swam 3000 meters"...little do they know by the time the coach is done with me I wanna cry like a 3 year old

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I've tried swimming by myself to save a bit of money, but I just can't do it. I get bored after about 30mins and never swim as far as I would compared to a squad

I swim with a Masters group before work.  If I don't get in my training first thing in the morning, it has a less than 10% chance of getting done.  It also doesn't hurt to be able to say that I already got in my 1-1/4 miles that morning.  (Sadly, no 3,000 meter workouts for this slow lady.)

I swim with the Masters group because a) I get feedback on my stroke, etc., b) I get to swim in the 50 meter pool, c) there is a little extra shove to get to the pool because my lanemates would notice that I was slacking off, I mean, not there, and d) I push myself harder when I try to keep up with the other people in my lane (I am frequently the slowest).

How does anyone run or bike alone and finish the workout?

I typically have a written workout on the side of the pool that I'm following. I feel horribly guilty if I stop in the middle of the workout and don't finish it.

Just like a race... a schedule run of x miles... a scheduled bike ride of x miles... I know what I need to do, and I do it.

Yes, it's boring, but I also know that it's what I need to do to accomplish my race goals. So I suck it up (95% of the time! HA!) and I finish it all.

Also, if you just go and say, "well I'll go x yards/meters today", and you are just winging it, vs. following a written workout... it's very easy to stop when you get tired or bored. If nothing is written down for you to follow, you don't feel guilty for quitting.

Haha gotcha...well if you have a coach I guess you can't really dictate the swim session...for me I don't need to swim hard I just work on endurance and efficient stroke mostly because my goal is to just make it the whole distance in the race swimming freestyle and not die...but I do agree that I feel more tired during my swims after work, but I feel great after!