worth joining a masters group?

I've been a swimmer my whole life, but since I've been a triathlete, I've alternated swimming on my own and with different Masters groups. Here's what I'v noticed: when I swim by myself, I can tailor the workouts exactly to my needs. Now while that sounds all fine and dandy, the corollary is that I *always* swim faster, and get better results with a group.

When I swim by myself, I can swim my own pace, but I find that I rarely push myself, especially on long, monotonous sets. But when I'm with a group, I elevate my game. I'm in a lane with two or three other swimmers of about equal ability and that provides a little competition, which benefits all of us.

Now if you happen to get a good coach that spends time with you working on technique, it's a bonus. 

Another benefit is actually looking forward to going to the pool, instead of dreading it when I'm on my own. 

Autumn you're already fast.  I am a slower swimmer and am in the medium lane at my masters class.

I tend to push myself much more in the group and it is way more pleasant swimming with others than just getting throught it by yourself. The coaching is great too.

That is still a great price even if you only swim 2 times per week.  I end up paying about $7 per class.

I love my master's swim class, great cameraderie, great coaching, great motivation...  And 45 a month is a good deal!

It made a HUGE difference in my swim, challenging me to try new things, work on breath control (which I thought I was good at, but not even close!) and more intense speedwork than I could do on my own. ALso, my coach is GREAT, and has helped me tremendously 

I thought I could swim before I started masters.  But, I found I had a lot to learn and with the support and instruction of a coach and the group my swimming is getting better.

Go for it

I occasionally will work out with one of the local master's clubs and have picked up some very good advice on my freestyle technique.  I don't do it full time because the club is very competition-oriented their workouts.  The shorter intervals are good for raw speed, but I also like to do sets with longer intervals - 400yds and longer. 

Go for the master's swim.  It will be worth the extra cost.  What I like the most about master's swim is the instruction on form.  When I started master's in January, the coach immediately started correcting my kick.  I was kicking with my feet too far apart.  She got that corrected.  Then she worked on my habit of not following through on my stroke.  Etc. Etc.

TJ