How to keep going when circumstances change
What do you do when you can’t stick to your training plan and feel your swimming goals slipping away from you? Whether it’s an injury, a work crisis or a family emergency, there is plenty that can derail our plans, and it’s natural to feel frustrated and disappointed when (and not if) it happens.
But sometimes, changing your training intentions can help keep you on track.
It happened to me recently, although luckily in only a minor way.
One of my swimming goals for 2026 was to arrive at the National Masters Championships at the end of October in good shape and ready to match or get close to the times I swam last year.
My plan to do this was roughly as follows:
- Do lots of open water swims and challenges through the summer, both for fun and to build strength and endurance.
- Each week, or at least every two weeks, do one dedicated sprint session to maintain neuromuscular coordination at 50m and 100m race pace.
- Following my final open water challenge of the year, spend three weeks refining my pool racing skills.
And it was all going well, until I got tendonitis in my wrist while swimming UltraSwim 33.3 in Montenegro at the beginning of October.
This meant that when I returned to the UK, I needed to rest my arm completely. It was simply too painful to swim, and swimming may have damaged it further.
But I didn’t want to let go of my goal.
So after two days of total rest (I was drained after 33.3km in 4 days anyway), I returned to the pool. But as I couldn’t use my arm, all I could do was kick.
There are different ways I could have framed this.
- As something I just had to endure and get through. I might have gone to the pool reluctantly and done some desultory kicking before giving up and getting out, feeling sorry for myself. Or…
- Take it as an opportunity to work on streamlining, core strength and underwater dolphin kicking. For a week, I took my fins and kickboard to the pool and did only this.
Essentially, I changed my intentions for my training sessions away from sprinting to other areas that needed work. This allowed me to keep my connection to the water and my swimming friends, practice some valuable skills, and hold on to my fitness, even if it wasn’t what I most wanted to do. It also removed the frustration of being injured.
Luckily, the pain and inflammation in my wrist subsided after about 10 days, and I was able to start using my arms again in time for Nationals.
Whether or not I will still be able to achieve my speed goals remains to be seen, but at least I feel I’ve done everything I can to be ready for my events.
I know this is a relatively low-key example with minimal consequences, but the approach helps for more major issues too. The key is to look for the opportunity in the circumstances and try not to be overwhelmed by what you can’t do.
I also know that you cannot always save your goal. But having a process or approach like this can be a big help mentally, and you may be surprised how well it can put you back on track.
How Renaissance Swimmer could help
While this idea is simple to conceptualise, it can be hard to put into practice. Among other things, the Renaissance Swimmer Club provides a community of like-minded swimmers – including me – who you can ask for advice, support and encouragement.
If you enjoy the experience-driven approach to swimming we share in Reflections each week, you will feel right at home inside the Renaissance Swimmer Club.
