Debating doing College Swimming... Never Swam Competitively
Former Member
Here is the low down guys. I am a Sophomore at a pretty average division 1 university. I am a member of the cross country and indoor/outdoor track teams so i have been competitively racing for almost 6 years. I have never swam on a team before but... I want to! I feel as if I've gone mad. I want to try in college!! Next year, not this year, I need to get my base up i know that. off of 2 swims a week (500yards) i swim 500 yards free in 7:48 as of yesterday (you dont need to tell me how slow that is I already know). I am not afraid of hard work, swimming 2+ hours a day I can do that. I want to try! can anyone tell me what I need to do to see if i can get to around 5 flat in the 500 yard free? or a fast 1000 time it doesn't matter, just good enough to walk on the team. the weird thing is, i think I am a better swimmer than I am a runner. the pool just seems to click for me. can anyone help me out? I am willing to swim every day from now till next swim season to make this dream a reality! ...ps i'm a guy if that matters
Parents
Former Member
Hi, xcrunswimmer.
I started swimming for fitness and for competition when I was twenty years old (almost four years ago), so that roughly fits your status as a sophomore in college. I competed for a community college swim team during the winter months. In my first 500 yard freestyle race, just 3 months into my competitive experience, I clocked in at 7:59. I remember being really happy I got it under 8 minutes. In another couple of weeks, I managed to bring that time down to 7:29 for another race.
After finishing that first season, I trained with a USAS team for several months in time for my second and last season with the swim team. In my first race of the season, I clocked in at 6:35. By the end of the season, when I nabbed the last spot in the consolation final of the 500, I got that time down to 6:08.85. That was a year and four months that I had been swimming when I made that time.
In another year and four months, for a USAS meet in July of last year, I made my current PB of 5:32. That came after 2.5 years of swimming. I wish I could provide a more recent 500 time, but unfortunately, I contracted pneumonia right dead-smack at the same time that I was tapering and had my season-ending meet.
I should note that I am not a 500 specialist. I swim everything, basically, just because I want to and I think it's fun. Who knows what you can do by specializing on the 500, focusing in on just that event like a laser, with all your aerobic base just waiting to be converted from those several years of cross country. When I started swimming, I had not been in a sport for 6.5 years and I was also overweight, so that probably extended the amount of time it took me to get to 5:32.
Good luck. :)
Hi, xcrunswimmer.
I started swimming for fitness and for competition when I was twenty years old (almost four years ago), so that roughly fits your status as a sophomore in college. I competed for a community college swim team during the winter months. In my first 500 yard freestyle race, just 3 months into my competitive experience, I clocked in at 7:59. I remember being really happy I got it under 8 minutes. In another couple of weeks, I managed to bring that time down to 7:29 for another race.
After finishing that first season, I trained with a USAS team for several months in time for my second and last season with the swim team. In my first race of the season, I clocked in at 6:35. By the end of the season, when I nabbed the last spot in the consolation final of the 500, I got that time down to 6:08.85. That was a year and four months that I had been swimming when I made that time.
In another year and four months, for a USAS meet in July of last year, I made my current PB of 5:32. That came after 2.5 years of swimming. I wish I could provide a more recent 500 time, but unfortunately, I contracted pneumonia right dead-smack at the same time that I was tapering and had my season-ending meet.
I should note that I am not a 500 specialist. I swim everything, basically, just because I want to and I think it's fun. Who knows what you can do by specializing on the 500, focusing in on just that event like a laser, with all your aerobic base just waiting to be converted from those several years of cross country. When I started swimming, I had not been in a sport for 6.5 years and I was also overweight, so that probably extended the amount of time it took me to get to 5:32.
Good luck. :)
