Falling asleep after late practice

General Forum
1

Just got back into swimming after a long hiatus (15 years-ish) with a masters program, once a week. Practice is from 9:00-10:15pm and pretty intense: 3k and a mix of everything. (Sprints, drills, pull, kick, IM, you name it.)

I’m loving being back in the water and I’m super drained afterwards, but simply can’t fall asleep. When I was 25 that wasn’t a big deal but I’m 40 now and I’ve got a job, two kids, dog, the whole nine yards, and lying awake in bed until 2am is messing up my schedule.

Any tips to help falling asleep after a late practice? I’m only a few weeks into this routine.

2

I’ve got two young kids myself and 9 pm is basically my bedtime but good on you for making the time for the pool!

1 Like
3

Mine aren’t so little anymore (10 & 7) but after all the kids after school activities, post 9pm feels like the only time I have to myself!

4

I struggle to sleep after late training sessions. It’s tough to wind down after a full sprint at 10 PM.

5

I think one issue might be the lack of cool down. We are typically doing sets right until the last five minutes and sometimes I can barely get in 100m easy before we get kicked out.

6

Talk to your coach about adding a 1-200 yard cooldown to help you relax after late workouts. Others may agree!"

7

The coach sets the practices, but swimmers adjust as needed. I can treat the last sets as a cooldown. Being in the second fastest lane means I can suggest we end early or cut a few 50s.

8

Great point! The coach can emphasize cooldowns as lanes modify sets, especially late in the day