Does anyone know a thread or a website where I could get a better idea of what older and not former competitively trained swimmers are doing time-wise?
It seems to always be the winning times which are posted. I was looking at the USA Swimming Times, at the oldest age (50) and the lowest category (B) and the guy was STILL doing a 20min 1650!!
I'm 58, 6'1" (6'4" arm span) 180lbs. And I'm forever stuck at a 29-30 minute mile.
I know that if I was training with Masters I would do better, but they are too far away. (Money is being raised for a YMCA, so that could change)
I'd love to know what average times older swimmers who have taken up swimming AFTER college (no previous team experience), but have a passion for the sport are achieving.
Thanks
A 70th percentile triathlon swimmer would find him/herself in the 30th percentile of the 1-hour postal swim. And he/she is still way faster than a fitness swimmer.
Looking at triathlon results might not be a bad place to start. Obviously you can't directly compare open water swimming times with pool times, but it's a start. The One Hour Postal results are also useful. There's a huge range of swimming speeds represented in that event.
For men 55-59 the top swimmer swam 5,395 yards and the 186th swimmer did 1,550 yards. The median swimmer was around 3,840 yards or 2.18 miles in one hour. This is 27.5 min/mile pace.
A 70th percentile triathlon swimmer would find him/herself in the 30th percentile of the 1-hour postal swim. And he/she is still way faster than a fitness swimmer.
Looking at triathlon results might not be a bad place to start. Obviously you can't directly compare open water swimming times with pool times, but it's a start. The One Hour Postal results are also useful. There's a huge range of swimming speeds represented in that event.
For men 55-59 the top swimmer swam 5,395 yards and the 186th swimmer did 1,550 yards. The median swimmer was around 3,840 yards or 2.18 miles in one hour. This is 27.5 min/mile pace.
