Hi! I'm new to this forum. I swam competitively in college and continued to swim on my own for exercise since then. I'm now 43 years old. I don't compete; I've always been kind of a workout swimmer and measured myself based on the intervals I can make and how fast I can repeat a distance consistently on a particular interval. I've spent many years training on my own, and the last few years working out with a group. Up until I was about 40, I pretty much stayed the same pace and was able to make certain intervals on my own, and could make even harder ones when swimming with others. I've noticed that in just the past year, I've gotten significantly slower. I can't make the intervals I used to and my pace time for a 400 yds. is about 10 seconds slower than it was just a few years ago. I haven't changed anything in my training, but I must admit that all I do is aerobic work and anaerobic threshold work - no quality or sprints. Has this happened to anyone else? Any way to change things and get my faster self back? Thanks!
I agree with Allen that you need speed work. I started swimming Masters at 34 and had my best times as a Master swimmer at 50. I was able to do that because I trained harder that year. Race pace training hurts, but is effective. My observation of others and of my own experience is that drop off in time starts to be inevitable in your 60s. However, since other health problems pop up, it is hard to determine what is age. The good news is that although my times are slower (at 71), how I place in regard to others has improved. There is something to be said for sticking with it.
I've noticed that in just the past year, I've gotten significantly slower. I can't make the intervals I used to and my pace time for a 400 yds. is about 10 seconds slower than it was just a few years ago.
I am not against "speed work," but this description does not say "needs speed work" to me. It says "overtrained," or "not getting as much oxygen as before." I really do urge you to consider these factors and to address them, with your doctor if necessary, before assuming that just powering on will do the trick.
I slowed down considerably between 42 and 43, because I worked about 25% more hours in a high-stress profession during the year I was 43 than during the year I was 42. I got pretty overtrained (stress is stress, whether or not you are enjoying it) and had to cut way back on swimming volume and intensity. This year at 44 I was able to reduce work and increase swimming and I swam as well this year as I did at 40-42 (and considerably faster than I swam between 27 and 39).
Thanks for the feedback! I am going to start going to some speed workouts, which I have been avoiding, since I don't swim much faster when going all out than when I do normally and I get frustrated, but I am going to give it a go and see. It can't hurt to try something different!
I very much doubt that aging from 42 to 43 is an adequate explanation, all by itself, for getting "significantly slower" in just a year. You say you haven't changed anything in your training, but what has changed in the rest of your life? Have you seen your physician to explore what might have changed about your cardiovascular health?
There are so many variables,but if you keep doing the same workouts you probably will get slower with age,although as Orca said it goes in plateaus.
That said I think you will get faster if you do some speed work. For years you have been training your body to adapt to being a distance machine and it is doing that.If you want to train it to be faster, you need to do more faster/longer rest work.
Thanks for the feedback! I am going to start going to some speed workouts, which I have been avoiding, since I don't swim much faster when going all out than when I do normally and I get frustrated, but I am going to give it a go and see. It can't hurt to try something different!
Agreed on the advise you've been given. I started back in the sport at 40 and put in some good times by 42. Between 43 and 45 it seems that I hit a slight plateau.
I ran into my college coach at a meet back in 2009 and we talked about workouts etc. (which I do on my own). He highly recommended practices which incorporated fast pace sets to get the feel for racing again. I started getting away from survival sets of 100's and 200's on tight interval and tried things with ez hard type efforts at least twice a week. A long story short it works. I never would have thought it possible to be faster at age 50 than my early 40's.
A time machine ??? Not a great answer but, one that I find is true to ALL of us. As we get older , we will stay at a stage then for no good reason drop off in time & energy level !! Damn those decades. I will be 67 at this year's state meet & find ,at times, a lack of commitment that I had just a few years ago. What I do think that we as swimmers stay at our sport MUCH longer than almost anyone else - -imho
Dave Radcliff,faster at 75 than at 70(and he was smoking fast at 70.) Rich Abrahams under 50 for 100 yd at 60 and at 65.I am not as fast in my 60s as I was in my 30s,but I am not far off my times from age 50.I don't try to do the intervals I did 20 yr ago,but my workouts are longer and more intense.I need more recovery time to swim fast both in workout and between workouts.
Jerry Meyer just did an interesting piece on this in the most recent Swimmer Magazine where he generated a normal "aging curve" for backstroke events. I hope my aging process is slower than the norm.... I might have a shot some day at the top ten :)
