I just got back from the SPMS meet and I am in a funk. I have talked to several of my contemporaries who share my dysphoria at getting slower. From age 50-62 I slowed down very little. Ages 63 and 64 were one injury or illness after another, but at least there was a cause and I felt I would do better. Age 65 I aged up and for most of the year was healthy. That was a great year,but my times were all significantly slower than at 62. Since then it is very unusual to have one swim that is faster than I did the previous year.At 67(almost 68) I am notably slower than at 65. I have seen the graphs of how times slow with age, intellectually, if I am staying at the same rate of decline as my peers I should accept it, but I don't like it. I know most forumites are much younger and what I am saying may seem like something natural that I should just acknowledge and go on, that is what I thought until I was 63. I know that our having age groups every 5 years is a partial solution to the problem, but there is more difference between a 65 year old and a 68 year old than between a 40 year old and a 50 year old, in my experience. How do the other older swimmers out there cope and have a good attitude? The common saying in Masters Swimming is that "you are only competing against yourself",but my slightly younger self is kicking my butt and I am tired of it.
The common saying in Masters Swimming is that "you are only competing against yourself",but my slightly younger self is kicking my butt and I am tired of it.
:bighug: I feel your pain, King Frog. (No matter what, and no matter who beats you, you will always be "King Frog!" :cheerleader:)
At least this didn't happen to you until recently. I will be 55 in January (Inauguration Day :afraid:), and I've been experiencing similar (mental) pain for awhile. I watch video of my breaststroke at 47 years old, and my current breaststroke technique; and, I scratch my head wondering why I am so much slower now. (Sure, we all get slower, but I have slipped an entire column in Swimosaur's motivational charts, which I didn't do before aging up to 50!)
King Frog, all I can offer you is the same pep talk I give myself when I want to kick myself in the *&%:
"Hey Aqua Dog, be thankful you are physically able to swim, and you enjoy it as much as you do! You are healthy, fit, and happy; so, quit beating yourself up! Look around you. Most people your age are physically waaay worse off than you, so give yourself credit for all that you do to stay healthy and fit. In the big scheme of things, it is just a time on the clock for a swim race! How does that really compare in importance to everything else in life? Just have fun at the pool and at meets; and, don't worry about that clock so much! Just give it your best shot, and congratulate yourself for your efforts. AND, even if you were a human meet delay :blush: "racing" the 200 fly, at least YOU DID IT! (How many 54 year-old women can even swim a legal 200 fly race, anyway?)."
King Frog, you are an amazing swimmer (World Records!!!)! The pool isn't half-empty; it's half-full. ;)
The common saying in Masters Swimming is that "you are only competing against yourself",but my slightly younger self is kicking my butt and I am tired of it.
:bighug: I feel your pain, King Frog. (No matter what, and no matter who beats you, you will always be "King Frog!" :cheerleader:)
At least this didn't happen to you until recently. I will be 55 in January (Inauguration Day :afraid:), and I've been experiencing similar (mental) pain for awhile. I watch video of my breaststroke at 47 years old, and my current breaststroke technique; and, I scratch my head wondering why I am so much slower now. (Sure, we all get slower, but I have slipped an entire column in Swimosaur's motivational charts, which I didn't do before aging up to 50!)
King Frog, all I can offer you is the same pep talk I give myself when I want to kick myself in the *&%:
"Hey Aqua Dog, be thankful you are physically able to swim, and you enjoy it as much as you do! You are healthy, fit, and happy; so, quit beating yourself up! Look around you. Most people your age are physically waaay worse off than you, so give yourself credit for all that you do to stay healthy and fit. In the big scheme of things, it is just a time on the clock for a swim race! How does that really compare in importance to everything else in life? Just have fun at the pool and at meets; and, don't worry about that clock so much! Just give it your best shot, and congratulate yourself for your efforts. AND, even if you were a human meet delay :blush: "racing" the 200 fly, at least YOU DID IT! (How many 54 year-old women can even swim a legal 200 fly race, anyway?)."
King Frog, you are an amazing swimmer (World Records!!!)! The pool isn't half-empty; it's half-full. ;)
