Getting back on track with swim training

Marathon swimmer Sarah Thomas has advice on getting back on track after an unplanned break from swim training.

You signed up for a race. You dialled in your training plan. Everything is going along swimmingly. You’re feeling strong and excited for your big event.

And then real life happens. Injury. Ear infection. COVID. Changed jobs. Got promoted. As a result, you have to take unplanned time away from training. What do you do? How do you know if you need to withdraw or defer? Can you get back on track? When the panic sets in, these are the questions I consider so I can make a logical decision on how to move forward.

Question 1: How far out am I from my event? 

If I’m close enough that I’ve done all the work, I roll with it. A couple extra weeks of rest won’t hurt anything as long as I’m still able to swim a few times a week. If the bulk of training was completed well, I will stay signed up for the race. I taper a little less to ensure I don’t lose fitness, but otherwise trust the previous work. Generally, you can’t make gains within two weeks of an event, so if something happens three to four weeks out, it’s not a huge miss. I work on staying focused and positive.

If I’m still six months out, I don’t stress at all. I get back on track with the plan and call it good.

However, when I’m right in the crux of the hardest part of training and disaster strikes, that’s the hardest time to decide. You have to ask yourself a few more questions.

Question 2: Do I think I can get back on track?

In other words, is what derailed my training resolved, or will it continue? If I caught the flu or suddenly had a week of unexpected work travel but know things will chill out, I know the derailment was temporary and that I can get back on track. But, if it’s a family crisis or work pressure that is going to keep me consistently away from the water, that’s a different consideration.

If the break in training was a short one to two weeks, I take a look at my plan and readjust. Those few weeks are now “recovery” and I rework my build and taper schedule. If you’ve been doing the work, you’ll bounce back quickly and are likely fine to continue to your event.

If the break is longer than two weeks or will continue, you need to ask one final question.

Question 3: How was my base and build six months ago?

If you maintain a pretty steady training volume year-round or are a lifetime swimmer, you can likely go into a long swim on less than ideal training. However, and this is where you have to be very honest with yourself, if you don’t train regularly and don’t have a great fitness base, this is the time to consider dropping your event or deferring until next year. Sometimes, good sense says to take a break from training, focus on life and come back stronger next year or later in the season. The last thing you want is to injure yourself by not being prepared. The water is ready when you are!