Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

I can really go any number of directions with this. Just a quick background: I started swimming when I was 6 and I am now 30. I have never taken off more than 3 months consecutively and that was only one time when I had surgery on my hand. I love the sport and, more specifically, competition. I swam high school, club, college, and currently both USA-S and USMS. My physical challenges are probably the same as many...my body cannot handle the workouts it once could. If I swim a challenging 6,000-8,000 LCM practice, I need a full day to recover. In college, I could do doubles of that distance and be ready to go the next day. This ties directly to the mental side. Based on how hard I trained, I was always confident heading into a race. Now, when I'm racing these USA-S kids, I am well aware that they do significantly more work in the pool than I do. Not the greatest feeling in the world! So then the mentality switches to "well, I'll just do the best I can" type of mode. I will say though, the experience that comes with age is definitely advantageous. I never go out too hard and rarely go out too slow. In terms of managing the schedule, I probably have more options than most masters swimmers who aren't retired. I am not married and I don't have any kids. I have a full time job, so then it's just a question of balancing the social life. For me, it's infinitely easier to focus on swimming when I'm single. Try explaining to someone that you intend to work out five days a week for two hours for three straight months just so you can do a two minute race :)

For me swimming is my personal mental health time(also physical health time,meditation time etc.)It isn't so much what I have to juggle to swim(life) as what happens if I don't.I feel better and am easier to get along with when I swim.

... I am now 30.... My physical challenges are probably the same as many...my body cannot handle the workouts it once could. If I swim a challenging 6,000-8,000 LCM practice, I need a full day to recover. In college, I could do doubles of that distance and be ready to go the next day. You think it's tough at 30? You ain't seen nuthin' yet. :cane: Skip

Great thread! I swam one year on my high school team, but mostly my focus was diving. As an adult, masters diving is not something that I run across, well... ever. So I began swimming again after finding masters. I had always done sports my whole life, so after I graduated college, I really missed that social and physical aspect of being on a team and going to practice. I find that over the years on and off it has taken me awhile to adjust. I have had many a hiatus from exercise but eventually find my way back to the water. At 37 (now 38) I finally gained the self discipline to realize how to exercise regularly and make it a priority in my life. I also now realize how crucial it is to my overall health and well being. When exercising regularly, I find that I handle stress much better, I have more energy (usually) and I feel better about myself. That being said, trying to increase strength and stamina at this age after so long waffling with exercise, is a challenge. I have a full time job and family at home. We also don't have a team workout that I can attend here in Juneau so I'm on my own for motivation. I often find myself struggling to keep up with career, home and exercise. I've had moments of my mind wandering during workouts to what's at home in our pantry and freezer, and asking myself if I need to go to the store on the way home in order to cook dinner. LOL.. I am also working harder than I ever had as an adult, because the importance to me is now more than social and physical. It's about making myself push past barriers and improve on my own terms. I finally realize that the only person I'm really racing is myself!

I am happy to say that as a Masters swimmer, the one thing I don't have to manage is motivation. No matter how beaten down I feel, I can't wait to get into the pool the next day! :bliss:And, I hate the one day off I do take off each week to rest. :bitching: But, I must; my body needs it- desperately, at times. Which leads me to what I do have to manage as a Masters swimmer: My mind is willing, but my body isn't always quite as willing. Although I am a very fit and healthy (as far as getting "sick" goes) 50 year old, I didn't pick the best father when it comes to genes. I got it all from him: Bad back (I had back surgery at 25), bad knees (I had to quit the high school volleyball team and just swim, instead; a good decision, as it turned out! :D), mitral valve prolapse, high eye pressure, and auto immune disorders. My dad rarely got sick, but when he did, his body's immune system turned against itself. Same here. I have only had one cold since moving to Georgia three years ago- and, I picked that up overseas on a sick ship. Prior to that, I maybe get a cold once every two years. And, I have rarely been sick worse than that. But, when I do get sick, I am left with something permanent, like Meniere's (inner ear disorder) and tinnitus, which has left me unable to do flip turns anymore, without getting seasick after a few hundred yards. I have also had serious repetitive stress injuries, thanks to the body type I inherited from my dad. In addition to the back surgery, I had major surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. My surgeon said I would be able to swim again, but I don't think he ever envisioned me competing again and logging 92 miles in my FLOG, so far this year! :D So, all of this I have to manage. It's a fine line: Swimming is the best thing I can do to keep me off the treadmill (and keep my tarsal tunnel syndrome from flaring up- another repetitive stress injury), but still stay fit and keep the endorphins kicking in. It makes me happy, it keeps me motivated, and I love how it feels to be in the water. And, I love the competition and all that goes with it; especially USMS! But, I have to really listen to my body and make sure I am using proper technique and resting when I need it. My Tuesdays &Thursdays coach keeps a good eye on that, knowing how important it is. And, my husband serves as my deck coach after he finishes his workouts on the other days, making sure I am protecting my shoulders with good technique. When something doesn't feel right in my shoulders, I switch to kicking. And, if my knees have had too much breaststroke, I switch to pull-only breaststroke or switch to another stroke. I am constantly monitoring my body. And, if that isn't enough, I have medical issues with the heat, so I have to monitor that, too! :afraid:Air and water conditions are something I really have to pay attention to; especially if the combo. gets too hot. So far, so good. 3-4 taper meets each year seems to be what I need to keep from :cane:. My goal? To grow up to be like Anne Dunivin, my 95 year old teammate who is breaking national records, because she has outlived her competition! :cheerleader:

I learned to swim in Lake Mich. as a young kid, swam in H S & college at Ill. State Univ. From 23 to 28 took off & went thru life, started to run -swim - bike on my own & did a 5 miles Masters race in Fox Lake & was hooked. I have been swimming Masters for over 25 years at this point. Watching the Grandson, working on the kids houses to help them with repairs & errands for my wife are things I fit around swim practice. Swimming has always been a calming thing for me & still is.

I'll give two views, one as a swimmer and one as a coach. I started swimming competitively at the age of 16 in California. I really got into swimming in college, where my team was slightly better than my high school team. In grad school I loved the Masters swim team I swam with. I think that since I started competing so late is why I still love it. I am constantly trying to change/improve my stroke (breaststroke) and that makes it lots of fun. They keep changing the stroke every few years! I also am constantly trying new ways to train. I swim in Masters meets and for the past three years have been going to USA-S meets. It is sort of fun since I also often workout with the kid's team our Masters team is part of. So I know the kids and they know me. Of course it is fun racing someone one fourth your age. I think racing more often has really helped. My kids are both in college so my home life does not interfere too much with my swimming. I do have a long commute to work every day (75 miles one way), but that is life. As a coach I try to write workouts that challenge and motivate the swimmers. I often get smiles after workout from swimmers saying they loved that set. Also they'll tell me when a set really made them work hard. I let the lane and swimmers self-motivate themselves. Very rarely will I ever tell them to go faster. The trick is to write a workout that makes people go faster than they might want to and make it totally fun. I know that some swimmers have a hard time getting to the pool, but once they show up they always work hard. We also to let them pro-rate their dues if they cannot make it to workout (sick, injured, vacation or business). They are supposed to pay if they are just lazy. I also never bug people about not showing up. That way everyone who is there wants to be there.

Started swimming competitively around age 8, and things quickly took off from there. I was a pretty accomplished junior USS swimmer (state high point, placing at zones, etc...), but got burnt out by about age 14 due to the intense training and juggling 2 year round, highly competitive sports. I stopped swimming year round then to focus more on soccer, and I was a serious under-achiever in the pool in high school. Shortly thereafter, I quit swimming for about a 10 year period. Fast forward to now, and I have just recently started getting back into the swing of things. I'm with a team now, swimming 4-5 times/week, about 3000-3500 yards per day. It's been a difficult road getting back to what I consider to be in shape, however I have found that swimming regularly, with high intensity, has made me feel like I'm 16 again. :bliss: I have more energy than I can ever remember during my adult life, my level of satisfaction in life has increased greatly, and my relationships with co-workers, friends, and family alike have all improved. My motivational struggles at this point center mostly on being able to push myself like I want to. I would like to believe that I have the tools to become an excellent Masters swimmer, but I am SO far behind some of my teammates, it can be disheartening at times. I don't have the stamina that I once did, so understanding, accepting, and learning to work with that has been difficult. Other than that, my only major issue is getting up at 5:15am everyday to get to practice on time :bolt:

My swimming time is important to me for so many reasons: 1. I am a happier person after a good workout. Swimming = Prozac? 2. Physical Fitness is amazing. I love being 56 years old and having no problems running around and keeping up with my 10-11 year old students at school. 3. I love my master's swimming friends! Whether we're swimming, partying, or even cleaning toilets at the pool it's a fun time for all. 4. Swimming team mates create yet another fantastic support group for adults. I totally trust all my Nasti Team mates, value their opinions, and care for them deeply. 5. I love being a 56 year old female and wearing a size 2 skirt/pants. 6. Through Masters Swimming I have been able to network and become friends with some amazing swimmers from all over the country! It's so cool to become familiar with people on this forum and travel to meets where you get to meet them and become friends! I have never met a master's swimmer I didn't like. A truly dynamic group of people! 7. I try to swim 5 workouts per week. Whenever I am lacking motivation I try to remember the things I love about swimming and it's usually enough to get me to the pool. I am never sorry I worked out once I get in the water! 8. I love the fact that the water envelopes us in its cool slippery sheen! to be part of the group you have got to jump in. Once you're in it's total bliss!

What I have to manage is probably what most masters swimmers have to to some extent: desire vs. physical limitations. I have an impingement in both shoulders. If I swim they hurt. If I swim too much, I get long term injuries (tore both rotator cuffs at one point). According to the orthopedic surgeons, my shoulders can't be fixed. I do every exercise the physical therapists say I should. I have to ice after every swim workout. It's tough to accept that I can be good, but never elite at swimming due to chronic injuries.