Yeah, I am sure I am not the only one. Not in any way an attack on her, just disappointed she wasn't faster...
I am also disappointed with how some of the swims have gone down. There have been quite a few poorly executed swims that may have resulted in missed Olympic births...
While I definitely agree with all this, I too was hoping that should would be a little more competitive -- top 20 maybe? -- if only because I think it would have been pretty cool to see. It doesn't take away anything from her "legacy" that she wasn't.
I have only heard little bits about what her current training was like, but I wonder if she was trying too much to replicate what worked for her (high volume) 20-25 years ago. While I am sure she kept fit, she didn't compete for a looong time. One thing that becomes obvious to masters swimmers as we age is that, EVEN IF the time commitment to career/family is not an issue, our bodies just aren't the same as they once were and this has to affect the optimum training program.
Dara Torres was maybe a little over-the-top with her training, but this is one thing that she seemed very aware of. Apart from being a sprinter, DT also competed pretty much in her 30s and 40s and this may have helped her devise a training plan that works for someone in their mid-40s. Or maybe it is just that sprinters lose less as they age.
I got from the Tavis Smiley that you swam 3 miles in the morning and 3 miles in the afternoon with lifting. It looks like she swam faster than summer at Masters meets than at Trials. Maybe she overtrained a little bit and didn't rest enough for Trials? It would have been cool to see her ranked higher but, it does show that she is human after all! What works in your teens might not work in your 40s.
While I definitely agree with all this, I too was hoping that should would be a little more competitive -- top 20 maybe? -- if only because I think it would have been pretty cool to see. It doesn't take away anything from her "legacy" that she wasn't.
I have only heard little bits about what her current training was like, but I wonder if she was trying too much to replicate what worked for her (high volume) 20-25 years ago. While I am sure she kept fit, she didn't compete for a looong time. One thing that becomes obvious to masters swimmers as we age is that, EVEN IF the time commitment to career/family is not an issue, our bodies just aren't the same as they once were and this has to affect the optimum training program.
Dara Torres was maybe a little over-the-top with her training, but this is one thing that she seemed very aware of. Apart from being a sprinter, DT also competed pretty much in her 30s and 40s and this may have helped her devise a training plan that works for someone in their mid-40s. Or maybe it is just that sprinters lose less as they age.
I got from the Tavis Smiley that you swam 3 miles in the morning and 3 miles in the afternoon with lifting. It looks like she swam faster than summer at Masters meets than at Trials. Maybe she overtrained a little bit and didn't rest enough for Trials? It would have been cool to see her ranked higher but, it does show that she is human after all! What works in your teens might not work in your 40s.
