Or are you better off resting?

I’m shamelessly borrowing an idea from another coach this week because the timing couldn’t have been better.

After returning from the Hellespont Swim in Türkiye, I was exhausted from travel, and I had picked up a bug. That made my decision about training easy: I was ill, so I shouldn’t do it.

By the third day, I no longer felt ill, but I was still tired. The decision on whether to train was now less clear. I didn’t think I was up to doing anything intense, but I could do something. So I went, but I swam slowly and got out early.

The point is that training sessions are not all or nothing. It’s easy to fall into binary thinking: either do the training as planned or skip it. But we don’t need to be absolute. It’s OK to do part of a session or swim at a lower intensity than usual. In fact, sometimes it’s the right thing to do.

I hadn’t particularly thought about this. It was just something I did. But while I was deciding about the session, I received one of Simon Ward’s “Be Battle Ready” emails in which he shared his guidance for deciding whether to train.

It’s meant for those days when you’re not ill but not feeling brilliant either. He suggested asking yourself three questions:

• How did I sleep?
• How do I feel?
• How is my motivation?

Then, “if two out of three are poor, the session doesn’t get cancelled. It gets changed. Easier, shorter, less intense. Something that keeps the habit alive without digging a hole you’ll spend the next two weeks climbing out of.”

Decision framework

I immediately saw the appeal of putting a framework around something I was doing instinctively. If someone asks me for advice on whether to train, or how hard to train, and I say, “just go by how you feel”, it wouldn’t be particularly helpful. Now I’ve got something more concrete to suggest.

The framework also reinforces something I do but had never articulated: reducing a session isn’t a sign of weakness or lack of commitment.  

What I like about this approach is that it isn’t about giving yourself a metaphorical kick up the behind to get your training done. It’s permission to take a sensible approach to it.

I know this isn’t always easy, especially if you follow a plan or swim with others. Writing “half-done” in your training log can feel like skiving. But it isn’t. If you swim with others, they may try to push you to take your normal place in the lane rather than slide to the back. Sometimes it takes strength to take it easy. But it’s worth it.

The bigger message is that training schedules are not written in stone. They are guides rather than rules. Of course, you usually follow them. But if sleep, energy or motivation are lacking, backing off – rather than cancelling – might be the sensible thing to do.

Swimmers often say some swim is better than no swim. That’s true. But it’s also true that at times, some swim is better than a full-on training session.