Can someone start at 31 with the intent to compete?

Thanks Elaine! Watching you recover from your injury so quickly and be so positive throughout the journey has also been inspirational. I'm excited to see you swim in Greensboro next spring. Thanks, Fly Trap! :D It (my recovery) was great while it lasted; however, I had a setback 10 days ago. It wasn't even on a breaststroke kick, either. On a dolphin kick off the wall before the backstroke leg of an easy-paced 100 IM, I felt a pain in my hip and had to stop. :badday: Since then, I have been doing sculling and pulling exclusively while I wait to see if this is going to heal. If I tore the labrum again, it won't; however, my surgeon said he thinks I only "aggravated the scar tissue". He has ordered 3 weeks rest and Meloxicam (NSAID). I sure hope that does the trick! Meanwhile, it has shaken my confidence in my hip. It was going great, and I was able to build back up to race-pace intensity; however, my future in competition is back on hold. :censor:

Thanks, Fly Trap! :D It (my recovery) was great while it lasted; however, I had a setback 10 days ago. It wasn't even on a breaststroke kick, either. On a dolphin kick off the wall before the backstroke leg of an easy-paced 100 IM, I felt a pain in my hip and had to stop. :badday: Since then, I have been doing sculling and pulling exclusively while I wait to see if this is going to heal. If I tore the labrum again, it won't; however, my surgeon said he thinks I only "aggravated the scar tissue". He has ordered 3 weeks rest and Meloxicam (NSAID). I sure hope that does the trick! Meanwhile, it has shaken my confidence in my hip. It was going great, and I was able to build back up to race-pace intensity; however, my future in competition is back on hold. :censor: Sorry to hear this, Elaine. Hope it's nothing serious! Keep us posted. All the best :)

I had a setback 10 days ago.Hate to hear that Elaine. Hope you are better soon and can make it to Auburn next Feb. If not, our team is looking at going to SCY nationals next spring. Maybe we will see you at both! As to the OP, lots of great advice on this and not much I can add. It can be done. Granted, I didn't learn to swim at age 40 but I did begin to learn to swim fast. The top 10 isn't the exclusive domain of individuals with college swimming experience. However, it isn't easy and requires a lot of work and dedication. I've had to find time for it but I enjoy it immensely. It really helps that I've got some great teammates that keep me motivated and push my abilities. They are awesome swimmers to model and great people to be around outside the pool. There's lots of USMS teams out there like that. Find one and enjoy the experience.

I had a setback 10 days ago. OH NO! What a bummer! Well, let's hope that the surgeon is correct (which he probably is) and it was just a mild aggravation of scar tissue and you'll be back on track soon.

Sorry to hear this, Elaine. Hope it's nothing serious! Keep us posted. All the best :) Thanks, Swimspire! Hate to hear that Elaine. Hope you are better soon and can make it to Auburn next Feb. If not, our team is looking at going to SCY nationals next spring. Maybe we will see you at both! Thanks, Peter! I sure hope to make it to BOTH meets! :agree: OH NO! What a bummer! Well, let's hope that the surgeon is correct (which he probably is) and it was just a mild aggravation of scar tissue and you'll be back on track soon. Yeah, that's what I said, too, except it was more like :censor:. Thanks, Fly Trap! In the meantime, I dusted off my pull buoy (again...) and my forearms are going to look like Popeye's the rate I'm going with sculling!

Elaine, get that hip going well soon!!!! Thanks, Rob, I'm trying! :agree:

You are doing well RobH. Just keep at it. I plan on keeping it going. Thank you for the kind words, as well as those from Julia and Elaine. :)

Thanks, Fly Trap! :D It (my recovery) was great while it lasted; however, I had a setback 10 days ago. It wasn't even on a breaststroke kick, either. On a dolphin kick off the wall before the backstroke leg of an easy-paced 100 IM, I felt a pain in my hip and had to stop. :badday: Since then, I have been doing sculling and pulling exclusively while I wait to see if this is going to heal. If I tore the labrum again, it won't; however, my surgeon said he thinks I only "aggravated the scar tissue". He has ordered 3 weeks rest and Meloxicam (NSAID). I sure hope that does the trick! Meanwhile, it has shaken my confidence in my hip. It was going great, and I was able to build back up to race-pace intensity; however, my future in competition is back on hold. :censor: Elaine, get that hip going well soon!!!!

And there are so many technique points to focus on from breathing and turns to catch and body position. And if you're interested in IM events, you can multiply those technique points by four! Having good body awareness and control will be key to success. Flip turns used to be exceptionally challenging every time I did them. Finally, after doing them for 1.5 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 3.5 years or so, they've become much more natural. So it is possible to "teach an old dog new tricks" so to speak. I'm still not as good at turns as most people of my ability level, and probably never will be, but I just keep focusing in improving. It's a lot of fun to continually improve! A lot of the other responses to this thread that encourage competing against yourself are very true. While I do use the TT times for motivation, more than anything I really love seeing my times improve as compared to what I swam previously. fatboy's post at #14 in this thread really resonates with me. I think that's sound advice! Matt's experiences are somewhat similar to my own. It took me a long time to get comfortable doing flip turns (years in fact). It is a tough skill to learn when older, it seems. Fatboy's post is very insightful, indeed. I also agree that the skill development required for IM is substantial. There are just so many nuances to learn and improve upon to swim a quality IM. 4 different strokes. Starts. Turns (3 or 4 types in an IM). SDKs (front and back). I think that I was most proud of my 100IM time at Nationals precisely for this reason. And while I am proud of what I was able to accomplish, I am also excited about how many different ways there are to improve. There is a lot of potential time to be gained. Like Matt said, it is a lot of fun to continually improve. I think that is one of the best motivators.

I'm 54 and just joined usms. I had three lessons two years ago, stopped, then took up swimming about a year and a half ago and only more seriously since September of 2015. I have relentlessly practiced and watched videos since September, taken more lessons and observed. As of last week I can now do a great butterfly, the last skill on my bucket list--Needless to say I'm very proud of myself. What I may lack in natural athleticism I more than make up for in drive. You know how you learn best. Make sure that you do some core/strength training, practice, take a lesson or two if you're not sure and have someone video you to keep track of your progress, etc. Competition can be both perspective enlightening and distorting. Set some practical and achievable goals and evaluate as you go along. Whatever you choose to do, recreationally or competitively, you're in the pool and that in itself is a good start. Congrats to you, Me1ani, on your accomplishments from your hard work! And this is really sound advice too!